I took these shots on Winterton Beach in Norfolk, England last week, even though they are 6000 miles from California they feel strangely familiar. To my mind a spell is cast wherever sea or ocean meets land.

The new web site I designed for Liz Anah.

Liz Anah escaped from New Jersey at a young age, never looking back. Her spare, smoky vocal style and simple but unforgettable songs grew out of a journey that included stops in Michigan for school, a pilgrimage to an Ashram in India, and serious hard time teaching in the Oakland public schools. Liz Anah’s music has a kind of gritty innocence. Her songs are direct, potent stories of real-life heartache and shattered love, powered by an indomitable optimism that demands attention. (Excerpt from her website bio).

Liz's new CD realease 'Fade to Black' Photography by K.Stokes

I met Liz Anah through other local coastside musicians, namely Montara locals and good buddies Mark and Mike (The Fourth Street Experience). One night at Cafe Lucca open mike, Liz and I got talking after her set, she knew that I designed Mike McCalls CD ‘The Lone Cypress’ and worked with him on several photo-shoots. She told me that she had a new CD nearly ready for release and that she needed a design for the cover. We took it from there and agreed that I would shoot her for some promo shots and her CD cover and re-design her website to fit in with her new look. I’m really pleased with the result (so is Liz)! Visit the website www.lizanah.com it features several shots from the photo session taken one very cold day around the HMB boat yards. Liz wanted a gritty urban look, but also wanted to retain a feminine feel, I think we achieved what she was looking for. The final CD cover image was taken toward the end of the session in the afternoon light. ‘Fade to Black’ is Liz’s first CD release and you can get hold of a copy on her web site by clicking this link.

These shots were taken by me from the bluffs which are about a mile from the wave, thanks to the Canon 600 mm lens my buddy Michael has lent me I was able to get some half decent shots of some of the first heat waves. It’s great to see shots of the pit from a boat close up, but these distance shots really give you a sense of the scale and magnitude of these waves. The surfers truly are modern day gladiators! Enjoy my photos, by clicking the full screen viewer.

Here is the second installment on my ‘Waves and Riders’ surf photography series, this time the shots are mainly from sessions shot during the big storms that have been hitting the NorCal coast. I hope you enjoy (be sure to click on the ‘Fullscreen’ button in the middle of the image box to enjoy the work at full size).

This is my latest photographic project, I hope you enjoy my work, I had much fun making it. Big shout out to by buddy/photographer Michael Winokur for lending me his badass Canon 300mm lens. Most of these shots where taken either from Montara Beach or Surfers Beach. Make sure to click on the window and view full screen to get the full effect.

A while back I started to bug my good friend guitarist Mike McCall to write an instrumental song with Montara Beach as a theme, the reason being that I wanted to shoot some video of the beach and set a soundtrack to it. He came up with a beautiful original Spanish flavored piece called simply ‘Montara Song’. So this weekend I finally got around to filming and editing, I hope you enjoy it.

Click this link Montara Song to view the original Music video. © Music & film – Mike McCall & Kevin Stokes 2009

Nancy Korbet's web site, mindbodywardrobe.com

“The way we experience life is directly related to how we see ourselves. Learn how to forgive the flaws and flaunt the fabulous! Discover your personal style and express it with confidence.” –Nancy Korbet

Nancy Korbet was an apparel-marketing professional for over 25 years, she recently founded www.mindbodywardrobe.com to help empower women feel better about themselves and look their best no matter what their body shape, size or age. Nancy has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Millikin University and lives in Montara with her husband and two fashionably furry friends. But right now she needs to take a break from being a style guru and answer these 10 MontaraLife.com questions:

What inspired you to start your own business?

I started this business while I was still working full time out of a need to do something more meaningful, and it grew from there.

Why mind/body/wardrobe, what’s the link between the three?

The goal of Mind Body Wardrobe is to help women see themselves in a positive light. The mind is the most powerful part of this equation. The mind creates the chatter, “I’m too old, too fat, too wrinkled”, etc. The body is what all the chatter is about. When you get the wardrobe right, you can dissipate the chatter. It doesn’t mean you have to have an extensive collection of clothes, you can do it with a simple, easy wardrobe. The key is to recognize, focus and accentuate your assets. When you get that right, you look in the mirror and see your body in a whole new way, the mind then starts down the positive road of ”Girl… you look Great!”  That is powerful! [Read more →]

©Wildlife Studios

This looks like a great place, I wish them good luck with the studio. Come on all you talented local musicians give these guys some support!

Check out the web site by clicking here.

New studio opens its doors to Coastside musicians : Half Moon Bay Review

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Premiere tonight at La Costanera 6-11.00pm movie starts at 7.00pm, no cover. Come and support our local film makers.

Over the last couple of years I have been building custom made Cajón Drums for myself and local musicians. Each drum is unique with one-off hand painted designs, click the link below to browse an electronic brochure of some of my work.

Redwood carving of the moon takes shape.

I was given a fantastic slab of nicely figured redwood by my neighbor Bill, first thought was to turn it in to a side table. On reflection it was way too thick and heavy for that, so I thought why not have a crack at carving something? This is the biggest project of this sort that I have attempted, it seems to be turning out OK so far, I’ll post again when I have a little more done. No idea what to do with it afterwards, hang it on a wall maybe?