Sharp Memorial Hospital San Diego

Ron Niebrugge California, Photos, San Diego, Travel Leave a Comment

This LED backlit image of San Diego is one of 20 in a newly remodeled section of Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, California.

This LED backlit image of San Diego is one of 19 in a newly remodeled section of Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, California.

Last week we got a call from the folks at Sharp Hospital letting us know that our 19 large images were hanging up and looked great!  They were really hoping we could see them and sign a plaque.  We have images in other hospitals, including Veterans Hospitals in Alaska and Las Vegas, but have never seen the final result – so decided it was worth making the round trip to San Diego this past Friday to see the results – I am sure glad I did!

It was great to meet the contractor, and the key people involved in the project, including our main contact who had been so helpful during the whole process.  But what was really rewarding was seeing the actual images on the walls.  Not only seeing them, but hearing how hospital personnel who use this hallway  to transfer patients to  surgery will challenge the patients to try and identify the different San Diego attractions represented in the photos, giving the patient a much needed distraction to what is a stressful situation.

So much of my photography is a solitary endeavor, where I spend countless hours waiting for the perfect light, sometimes coming away with nothing.  When capturing these San Diego images, little did I know how they would one day be used.  To hear stories of my images having an impact on another persons life is incredibly satisfying.

Downtown San Diego

Ron Niebrugge California, Photos, San Diego, Travel 10 Comments

Downtown San Diego, California.

Downtown San Diego, California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Here is another photo from my aerial shoot.  The Aircraft Carrier in the foreground in the U.S.S. Midway.  The U.S.S. Midway is no longer active, it is actually a museum parked near downtown.

Mission Bay, San Diego, California

Ron Niebrugge California, Photos, San Diego, Travel 11 Comments

mission-bay-san-diego

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is looking down on the roller coaster in Mission Beach, in the mid ground is Mission Bay, and further out is downtown San Diego, California.

Last week I got a phone call from fellow photographer Phil Colla offering to split the cost of a helicopter charter flight over San Diego.  I jumped at the opportunity!  I love flying and photographing from a helicopter; you can pretty much go anywhere you want, and most importantly, you can do so with the doors removed.  This is really important, as you often need to use a polarizer to cut the haze, and polarizers add funky rainbows for some reason when you use them through Plexiglas.  Not to mention, shooting through Plexiglas is a great way to end up with soft photos, so doors removed is the only way to go.

Well thanks to the Santa Ana off-shore winds, we had wonderful clear conditions – I ended up with a lot of images of the area to add to our existing coverage of San Diego photos.

Crazy Weather

Ron Niebrugge California, Photos, San Diego, Travel 6 Comments

Down powerlines Julian, California.

Down power lines in Julian, California.

I’m not a lineman or electrician, heck, I can struggle with on / off switches –  but I don’t think this meets code.  🙂

There are few places in the U.S. that have avoided winter storms this past week, but I don’t know if anyplace looked more unique then the upper Mojave desert.  I was there this weekend and there is still a good two feet of snow on the ground!  One person told me they received more snow last week, then they have in the last 18 years combined.

That much snow on the jumbo rocks and Joshua Trees was absolutely beautiful.  I snuck away from family activities Saturday evening for some sunset photography.  I had hoped to come away with a photo for today, but ended up getting my 4 wheel drive truck so buried in the snow that it took me a hour and a half just to dig it out!  By the time I was out, it was dark, and I was just happy to be driving. 

In the future when I drive down that narrow dusty dirt road in the heat of the desert, it will be hard to imagine anyone could ever get stuck in snow!

Julian California

Ron Niebrugge California, Photos, San Diego, Travel 12 Comments

Julian California

Julian California

We made it up to Julian, California yesterday.  It sure looked great with all the fresh snow.  There was a good foot or more of fresh, wet snow still on the ground.

Julian is a cool little historic gold mining town that has a lot of character and charm.  It seems to be a popular choice for magazines doing stories like “Best Places to Live in the U.S.” or “Best Small Towns in America”  Stories like that are a great way to ruin a good thing, but besides too much traffic, it is still a neat little place.  O yeah, it is also famous for it’s apple pies – and they are good!Read More