Getty in September

Ring of bright water

Getty Tiltshift

Reuben gets the back seat of the stroller today

Reuben and Callum loving the sensory experience of the pebbles through their fingers, perhaps reminding them of that which gave them such pleasure in Mum & Dad's garden

I have loved this place for years as that which I chose to find out from my IVF Dr of my pregnnacy with Reuben, a fact which I knew in my heart and most certainly in my debilitatingly sick stomach way before any blood test could tell me.

The tram draws away from the base of the Santa Monica Mountains and steadily mounts the ridge, swerving in and amongst the groves and native flora, and, if you're very lucky, wild deer, til it reaches the precipice upon which sits the architectural wonder of The Getty Center.

Today was a manual-manual one, the former I needed to find a focus in a distorted sea of garlic stems, the latter because the dancing backlight played too heavily on my exposure. M-M I do not find the easiest solution for running toddler boys so I often settle for Av. I wonder how I would routinely now cope with my first film SLR from 20 years back which did nothing but. Do you remember that B button that you had to get spot on, the hover around 60, and as for flash, I found it impossible. Perhaps that's why I never use flash now, even for fill in.

I love this image for its pale simplicity and the tranquility of mood it conveys: in both this and the second, the muted greys, whites and honeys; the marble hauled from the same quarry which creates the Trevi Fountain and St Peters; I furnish my homes in a similar palette though no longer marble with the boys. My simple editing tonight has instead been confined to my first tiltshifts and b/ws. Not happy with the vast number of cars in the boys' collection, Mama has been persuaded to reenact the Interstate 405 for them. I think you'll see. 

I love so many of these and feel very happy for what I've captured today and with the boys' patience in the stroller throughout. Funny, as long as we're out, they have the patience of saints. At home, it's an entirely different matter. See how their hands mirror each other, their expressions, their body movements. I find it delightful. And that's just the flowers! If you prefer another image, please let me know too.

I often take the opportunity to see the roving photographic exhibitions here, yet on this occasion, I was delayed by the flowers, water and gravel. 

With but 3 minutes left til closing, we race towards the cavernous rooms where laggards are spilling out into the late afternoon sunshine. I lustily peek my head around and feel my eyes widen with excitement at the beauty of the images, but I'm all too late to go any further.

I'm ushered to the elevator. 

"You're lucky" says the security guard. "If I wasn't here, you wouldn't be able to use these". 

Upon inspecting my perfection of perplexion he continues "You see we're closed" and, withdrawing his pocket watch from his pocket he continues, "hmm, and we have been for 4 minutes". I can quite see how he maintains his rank in Getty defence.