The Wonder of It All by Ryan Wentzel

The world is an amazing place, especially for a one year old.

Here’s another one from a morning spent shooting alleys in Escondido.

Back Alley by Ryan Wentzel

You can find more photos from this outing here.

This gem can be found a few doors down from my office. It’s amazing how different many of these shops look from the other side.

Escondido Alley by Ryan Wentzel

You can find the previous photo in this set here.

The rain let up for a brief period on Saturday morning so I explored a few alleys around town hoping to find some interesting shots.

Closed for Business by Ryan Wentzel

This is an all too common sight these days. Though I work in this neighborhood I don’t get out of the office much so I was surprised to discover just how many shops are vacant right now.

Stay tuned for more shots taken in and around downtown Escondido.

My son doesn’t like to have his picture taken so I’m not sure how I got this one or why he cooperated, but I like the way it turned out.

Mr. B. by Ryan Wentzel

Oktoberfest in Julian, CA means good food, good music, and fun times with the family.

Oktoberfest Band by Ryan Wentzel

Heading to Julian for the annual Oktoberfest celebration has become a bit of a tradition in our family. This time I had my camera with me and was able to capture some of the scenes.

My interest in photography began in high school. The photo below is one of the very first photographs that I shot and developed myself (as if you couldn’t tell it wasn’t professional work). As you can see the paper is water stained, but I guess it fits with the subject matter.

Sea Isle City, NJ by Ryan Wentzel

The photo was taken in the fall of 1996 in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. I was the only person on the beach and the only one who surfed that day. Several weeks later the water was simply too cold for me to continue surfing so this was one of my last surf sessions on the east coast (I moved back to southern California after the school year). This photo has a nostalgic feel to it and brings back fond memories of the surprisingly good waves I surfed in New Jersey in the fall of 1996.

My son wasn’t tall enough to reach the water fountain, but he didn’t let that stop him from getting a drink of cool water on this warm summer afternoon.

Quench Your Thirst by Ryan Wentzel

I crouched down near the water fountain and began clicking away. I think this shot best captured the moment.