Author: Alik Griffin

Bridge to the Westfield Century City Mall

I live only a few miles from Century City, maybe two, but I’ve never been there to take photos. I’ve been to China, Indonesia, Japan three times, and the Grand Canyon twice, but I haven’t been to this cool little place only two miles from my house. Funny how that works. Century City is pretty…
Batu Bolong Bali – Canon 5DmkII

Shot from Bali of Batu Bolong taken with the Canon 5DmkII.
Sunset at Solana Beach

When I lived in San Diego, this was one of the main beaches where I would surf. Every year, San Diego seems increasingly crowded, and more cities are trying to do the L.A. thing by putting a parking meter next to any place that could fit a car. This is one of the last beaches…
Kecak Monkey Performer of Bali

This is one of the monkey performers of the Kecak dance in Bali, Indonesia. He was quite the character during the performance, often interacting with the audience. A few times, he would jump into the crowd and take their sunglasses and put them on, which is, I guess, what monkeys do. He gave them back,…
Bali Plumeria In HDR

The Plumeria of Bali reminded me of Hawaii. They were so healthy and full and in bloom everywhere. We can grow some plumeria in Southern California, but they are never nearly as healthy-looking as they are in Bali. So, I took the opportunity to get a few shots when I could. This one I colored…
Bali Rice Field Tower

This is a photo from when I was in one of the rice fields of Bali. I don’t know about you, but this shot reminds me of old Chuck Norris movies. Missing in Action or something. They loved blowing these things up with grenade launchers.
Bali Kecak Dance Ceremony

When I was in Bali, I went to one of the famous Kecak Dances. In the beginning, there is this ceremony where a priest starts by lighting the fires and blessing the dancers by splashing them with water. I was able to get a pretty cool shot of him lighting the fire with the sun…
My Lovely Wife In Her Kimono

Well, it’s not her Kimono. These things can run into the tens of thousands of dollars (for the good ones). The occasion was her brother’s wedding, so all the girls decided to get Kimonos and do something more traditional. The wedding was fun, even though I usually had no idea what anyone was saying. My…
I Heart Shanghai

I took this photo a little over a month ago in Shanghai when it was raining. It’s a pretty cool city, but I was sketched out when they wanted my passport number so they could use the hotel’s Internet. Besides that, the food is great, and people seem friendly despite the cultural differences in public…
Looking Down the Grand Canyon

This photo was taken from Mather Point, looking down at the Colorado River as it continues cutting its way through the Grand Canyon. To process this HDR photo, I used a different method than usual. I did something called exposure fusion. It’s a setting in Photomatix that blends the colors differently. It seems to work…