My daughter Sarah couldn't wait to finish building her lego bakery, a gift she received over Thanksgiving.  She completed it in the car on the way home with very little assistance.  I received my very first text from Thea just before I pulled up to our house.  Once I parked the car, I looked in the back seat and saw the lego bakery and I took my first image...

Legos brings back some great childhood memories for me.  It made me happy to work with Sarah and her cousins over the weekend to put together their lego sets.

This morning I was sitting on my chair getting some office work done when I got the text to take a GoPro photo.  I dropped down from where I was sitting and shot a photo from UNDERNEATH my chair.

I was driving towards Universal Studios to shoot another episode of The Voice.  If the traffic is bad on the freeway I will take Mulholland Drive as an alternative route.  I love the beautiful view points while driving on this road.  Normally I don't stop to take a photo during my commute, but I had no choice when I got the text from Thea stating "Take Golden gopro challenge pic #3 now!"  It felt good to pull over, stretch, and take a photo of the sunlight shinning through the clouds....

I love this light up turtle in the backyard which I found at a garage sale.  Ode to garage sales!  :)

First time I got a text to take my GoPro photo while at work.  During some downtime, I took the camera out and took a shot of a disco ball that was being used for the scene.  I enjoy shooting disco balls, as you can see by this image on my Facebook fan page.

A shot glass was thrown at a mirror on set today (this was scripted of course).  It is the job of the professional set dresser & the prop guy to quickly replace the broken mirror so cameras can continue rolling.  Once I realized we had a minute of down time for the mirror switch I pulled out my GoPro and got right up in the action to get today's shot.

Thea and I were fortunate enough to honeymoon in Japan. While there, we visited my friend Mikey who not only introduced us to great friends, but also introduced us to clear umbrellas.  As soon as we got home I went out and bought one.  This morning Riley and I took our clear umbrella out for a walk.  When we reached the Venice boardwalk we saw hundreds of people running the Santa Monica-Venice Christmas Run.  While we were checking out the run, Thea texted me (then went back to sleep) to take a photo for the challenge.  I pulled out the GoPro and snapped this shot of my boy and I under our clear umbrella while runners ran in the rain behind us.  It was a great morning!

Since we don't have cable at our house, we were excited to find out that the new Intel LA Pop-Up Shop on Abbott Kinney would be playing the football games today.  We got ourselves out of the house at a decent time and headed over to watch the Eagles beat the Lions.  While there, Thea told me to pull out my phone to take a picture of Riley.  When I pulled my phone out, I realized she had sent me a text to take my next GoPro photo.  Very sneaky.  I saw this neon open sign near all the cool lights they have rigged up around the place.  I like it when pop-up shops come to town, we can play around with new technology and have fun at all their on going events at the same time.

When Thea was pregnant with Riley, the egg became a staple breakfast food in our house.  We still to this day have eggs and toast for breakfast almost every morning.  Thea sent me a text to take the next GoPro photo while I was shopping at Sprouts Farmers Market tonight.  I made sure to get and photograph eggs.  Thank you chickens!

One thing that is mandatory when working onset is to be aware of all the cables.  I have to constantly watch out for cables on the floor, however, when they are in a casing like this, there is no way I can miss them.  This "cable village" is what I saw today when Thea texted me.  I always love the look of cables onset.

The sound blimp is an encasing used to keep the still camera completely silent while shooting onset.  The man in this photo,  Mark Jacobson, is repairing my lens tube.  Mark's dad, Irving, invented the first sound blimp, which allowed photographers to shoot while video and audio were recording onset. I've been using his blimps since I started shooting and they have treated me well.  I got a text from Thea to take a GoPro photo just before I arrived to his shop.

Got the GoPro text just before getting to the Venice Beach US Post Office.  Trying to get all our snail mail out before the last minute holiday rush.

Got the GoPro text while Riley was taking a nap and all the lights are off.  The only light that was entering the room was through our closet window.  Near this window is a glass fish where we keep our loose change.

I was walking with our daughter Sarah this morning when the text came in.  We had just stumbled upon an event at the Venice beach skate park.  I waited for exactly the right second to snap this photo. I had my eye on this skater because I found his choice of red shirt and red glasses intriguing against the concrete/beach scene background.

Our wonderful neighbor invited us to her holiday party last night.  Thea texted me just as we were heading out the door, but I didn't get the text until we opened our gate and stepped into our backyard.  When we moved into our place I rigged up some marconi lights in our trees.  I really dig these lights and the magical feel they bring to our space. I wasn't sure how this close up of the light would turn out using the GoPro. I was pleasantly surprised.

I was onset when I got the text from Thea.  This piping on the walls of the studio caught my eye, so I took my shot.  There's a lot details behind the scenes that nobody sees or thinks about.  Not sure whether this water is used for drinking or for the toilet, but either way I'm grateful for water on set!

I was onset (once again) when I got the text from Thea.  I love the lights used onset, so I decided to get a shot of one of them.This is a specific type of light used many times. Can you guess the name of the light?

Thea sent me the text while I was in the kitchen working on my laptop.  I got up and looked around the kitchen for ideas.  I decided to turn on the toaster to see what it will look like to shoot the inside with the GoPro.  This is about as close as I could get before my fingers started to burn.  We live without a microwave which I got used to, but I would have a more difficult time living without my toaster oven.

I was working just outside the Egyptian Theater when I got the text from Thea.  During my downtime I went inside and started to walk up the stairs to get a view of the theater.  When I got to the top of the steps, I realized how cool it looked with the lights and the cage in the center.  The GoPro does not give me control of the exposure, but I like how it kept it dark for this image.

Every winter at Venice Beach they create giant sand hills to protect public property from possible winter storms.  Riley at 8 months, loves to climb down the hills by laying on his belly and scooting himself backwards.  In this image, he was half way to the bottom, when he decided to take a break and check out the view.

The Venice Canals are incredible at night, especially during the holidays.  Can you read the message on the dark side of the Venice Canals post?  That's my wish for the new year and every year!

We don't have extreme seasons here in Southern California.  I love how it's wintertime but I was able to capture leaves changing colors as if it were fall.

Thea and I often find ourselves under this statue gazing at the waves and taking in all Venice has to offer. Although I've always found this giant art piece intriguing, it wasn't until I took this picture earlier today that I finally looked into its meaning.  This statue made by Mark di Suvero called the Declaration was placed in Venice in 2001 (read more about the statue here).  

You can also find out more about the artist and his work here: https://www.artsy.net/artist/mark-di-suvero

What better way to spend Christmas Eve as a jew then to watch one of my favorite movies, Brave Heart!  While watching I got a text from Thea to take my GoPro photo.  The room was dark, but the light from the projector shone bright. I quickly snapped this shot without disrupting the film.

Thea, Sarah and I love eating at Teya Thai. The owner Teya (pronounced the same way as our Thea) has become a good friend of ours. I looked down at my phone to see that Thea had texted me to take a GoPro photo just as we were about to unwrap our last gift at the restaurant. Teya just so happened to be there at that moment so she got in on the unwrapping action. Thanks to Grandma Bonnie and Pop-pop rich for the present to our family. We feel the love all the way from DE!

I was working in the kitchen when I received the text from Thea.  For the first time since this challenge started, I turned all the lights off to get my photo.  I love looking out this window from our kitchen.

Day 27 of 31

I love climbing up to see what I discover and to get a different perspective.  I'm not sure what this pipe is for, but it sure is unique looking on this tiled roof. 

While visiting some relatives in San Diego, I looked around the house to figure out a good spot for a GoPro pic.  I found an unusual, unseen spot to photograph, the range hood just above the stove top.  very cool pattern and lighting.

My cousin-in-law has built one of the best tree houses I've ever seen. It has two stories and he's talking about doing a third.  Meanwhile, he continually works on projects around his backyard creating his Shangri-La day by day.  So inspiring!  I really dig the Yin-Yang sign!

We discovered that our 9 month old loves to do laps in the vacant parking lot with his push car.  I feel like Thea wanted me to get a shot of our little guy in action because she sent me a text while we were out for our after dinner stroll.  I'm so happy that I caught this look of pure joy on Riley's face.  He is extremely happy simply because he is walking.  Our kids Sarah and Riley are the best!  Like all kids, they are a constant reminder to stay present, and that is a beautiful thing. 

I decided that the best way to end this challenge would be to reverse things on Thea.  She started it so why not have her finish it.  Instead of waiting for her to text me to take a photo, I left my camera at home and sent her the text to see what she would come up with.  She happened to be out back with Riley when she got the text and ended up taking a really great photo of plants in our yard.  It makes sense that she would take a photo of the plants, she LOVES plants, especially succulents.