A view of GrettiLink

2009-07-05T21:00:00.001-07:00

After working on the "Exploring Idyllwild" video for a month, it's now complete and uploaded to Exposureroom.com.

Runtime is approximately 14 minutes. Here's the link-

http://exposureroom.com/members/Linkloftproductions.aspx/assets/5e8d78f7458846d3bf28ca0d92c482e9/

2009-06-05T20:13:00.001-07:00

Today I hosted a buggy run on the mountain.
The meeting point was at our house in Pine Cove.
From there the buggies drove north to an overlook
to Hemet, then to Lake Fulmer for a short walk.
Lunch was in Idyllwild, and afterwards, we drove
to Thomas Mountain, south of Idyllwild.

I put together this animated gif, which is a
brief preview of the upcoming video.

Additions to the Family

2009-05-21T16:10:00.001-07:00

Quique and Nena

Monday May 18 2009 was an exciting day

for us. We welcomed two 5 week old female

kittens to our home to join the family.

The kittens are...Queque

(pronounced Kee Kay)

And Nena

(pronounced Nayna)

At the vet for a checkup-

The doc says all is well with the little ones-

Playing at home-

All that playing makes me thirsty-

Planning my next attack-

Feeling exhausted-

Nappy time-

Tuesday on the Mountain

2009-05-21T15:02:00.001-07:00

Since Patti was at school in Palm Desert, I thought I'd take a drive in the baja.
I started out driving off the mountain to Beaumont to look around in Best Buy....but didn't
buy anything....this time. Then after dinner at Panda Express, I headed back up the mountain.
Instead of shooting plain old landscape pics, the object this time was to shoot landscape photos
with the baja in the pic. Shooting later in the afternoon gave me nice lighting.

The first turnout was a few miles south of Banning on 243. This overlooks Banning-

At the next turnout was this memorial-

Continuing south up 243, I stopped here for a minute-

Then I backtracked a few hundred feet to the intersection of 243 and Poppet Rd.
This sign told me it was time to hit the brakes-

A few feet from the big red sign was this-

Looking south down Poppet Rd-

10 minutes later, I drove 2 miles south to this turnoff-

4S06...let's see where it goes-

The first antenna on the south side of 4S06-

Lots of flowers blooming-

Coming up on the second tower-

The end of the road is here, where I saw the largest capacity clothes hanger ever-

I contacted someone in Zimbabwe with my new CB antenna-

Random shots-

It was getting late and my senses were telling me that hungry animals were watching me from the bushes.

I continued south on 243 a few miles and snapped this last shot-

The New Canon G10

2009-05-18T15:17:00.001-07:00

My older Canon S3is was having focusing problems in

macro mode, and it already had been repaired a year

ago. Instead of having it repaired again, I replaced it

with a Canon G10.

The G10 has an all metal body and the controls are

nicely arranged. The menu is intuitive. It can be used

in full auto or full manual modes...or anywhere in between.

The ability to shoot in uncompressed RAW mode gives

better image details than with jpeg at the expense of

having larger file sizes. Larger memory cards are

recommended for shooting RAW.

So far I'm very happy with the purchase and highly recommend the G10.

Here are some shots from the last couple weeks-

2009-02-28T13:47:00.001-08:00

We just finished making a dance music video featuring Patti's niece Sara Perez.
The music was written and performed by Patti (online name Buzz) while we lived in LA.
Camera work was by me, Greg Matson. The video is called "Falling For Sara".

The medium viewing screen is here-

http://exposureroom.com/members/Linkloftproductions.aspx/assets/d62dec08fff040f39172d42c2c6f0fc5/

I've added the embed codes to see it on a smaller screen-

Falling For Sara By Greg Matson
View in HD Download 720p HD Version Visit Greg Matson's ExposureRoom Videos Page

2008-12-25T09:54:00.001-08:00

Between plowing and snow blowing, I had time

to put together some GIF images from in front

of our house.

Using Windows Live Writer

2008-12-24T19:57:00.001-08:00

Posting to Blogspot has been less than perfect. Photos seem

to position themselves wherever they want to, and moving

them is difficult at best.Tonight I learned about Windows

Live Writer, which is a free downloadable program that allows

you to set up words and photos almost exactly where you

want them. Then the post is uploaded to your weblog...easily.

My first post using Live Writer was "Carnage Over the Last Week"

which came out great for a first try. The photos will be a bit

larger next time, and I need to learn how to edit an existing

post in Live Writer.....but so far so good. One cool thing is that

photos are still clickable, and open in a new window in a larger size.

Carnage Over the Last Week

2008-12-24T19:41:00.001-08:00

An exciting week up here in Pine Cove.

There were 2 snow storms which caused trees

to fall, power to go out, and vehicles to get stuck.

The 3 day power outage was caused by an oak

tree that tore down 3 spans of power lines

(according to power company employees)

5 of our trees had the top 20'- 25' snap off. One

took out our phone and cable TV lines, and one

other tree pulled down a main upper power line

but luckily didn't break the line.

This is an example of why the trees

were snapping-

Between bark beetles and the drought, many

trees have been weakened and can't handle

the extra weight of snow. Unfortunately, this

is happening too often in Pine Cove. Here's

another shot of trees that snapped from the

snow.

Half mile east of our house, we spotted

this flattened car port.

This is disappointing because I was

planning to buy one.

Contracted power company repairing

cables at our corner.

Being ex- phone techs, Patti and I re attached

our downed phone cable, which pulled off the

house. Unfortunately our TV cable pulled off

the utility pole, and we had to wait almost a week

to get it re attached. Last night Time Warner techs

fumbled around on our icy road getting stuck

several times, but eventually got to work.

I was asked to help pull out a stuck Dodge truck down

the road, but without a winch, my truck couldn't

get him going. A local with a winch equipped Jeep

got the Dodge out of the rut.

The winner of the "Crackhead of the Year Award" goes

to whoever abandoned their brand new Ford Explorer

in front of our neighbors house at 2am Monday. It was

also blocking the road, which blocked a snow plow

from doing it's job.

At 8am a CHP officer came by. He cited the car

and had it towed. Our neighbor was happy.

It wasn't all bad however. The fresh snowfall gave

me some nice photo ops.

2008-12-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

Finally, December looks like it should. I spent part of the day plowing and snow blowing our driveway and our neighbors as well. Here are some shots from today.

The local market and gas station, about a mile from our house-

2008-11-24T18:00:00.000-08:00

I'm learning to work with Adobe Image Ready, and this is the first test.
And Yes, we're keeping warm tonight.

2008-10-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't been happy with Youtube's quality for a long time, so I poked around on the 'net and found excellent alternatives. After experimenting with video processing (rendering) and many upload trials, I have it mostly figured out. I also registered and uploaded a video to my new hosting site "Exposureroom.com" Compare the quality of the previous post's video to this one.
Yes, I know this screen's too big...

Surf Dog By Greg Matson
View in HD Download 720p Version Visit Greg Matson's ExposureRoom Videos Page

2008-10-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

Back in Sept of '07, I taped this dog surfing contest at the dog beach in Del Mar CA. The event was a fund raiser for the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe CA. This is a re edit with new royalty free music.

2008-09-22T19:34:00.001-07:00

Today I put together a photo report on what's inside a GM distributor. How exciting, huh? It was split in 2 parts due to photo upload limitations.

A Look Inside a Distributor Part 1......................... A Look Inside a Distributor Part 2

Patti and I have been spending the last 2 months doing projects around the house. We built a fence to keep the truck, camper and trailers out of sight. The workshop got a much needed 7 x 14' expansion, and we cleaned out the basement and set it up as a gym. Now that the important projects are done, we can take it easier now! Maybe I'll even start some video projects sitting on the back burner...

2008-06-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

I finally made the time to put together this promo for my upcoming movie "Exploring the Mojave Road". I miss the trip already, but the video keeps me there.
The sound track was done by me in my soon to be music studio. That's another project!

2008-06-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

2 Years....gone in a flash.

The last day in LA-

Our Downtown Los Angeles experience has come to an end with my wife Patti retiring. It has been a wonderful and sometimes frustrating experience living in LA for the last 2 years, but the move to Pine Cove is something we've looked forward to for years.

The mess we made at the Pine Cove house-

After some much needed projects are completed on the house...like a workshop expansion, basement gym installation, music studio completion, etc...then you'll start to see video and music projects posted here again. Along with the house projects, I'm putting together a video from the Mojave Road where some friends and I went a couple months ago. The video will take the form of a story complete with narration and music. It will be uploaded to Veoh.com and Youtube, and linked to my blogger (Grettilink) Patti has written a new song that has been recorded and mixed and will be used for a dance music video. We're waiting on the dancer to work out her routine so it can be shot. Another new song Patti has written has most of the instrument parts recorded, but the drum parts are on hold until our order of new microphones, stands and cables are delivered. I love seeing the big brown truck out front!

2007-12-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

Edited on Jan 24 '08- The video screen below can play any of my videos. Place your cursor on the screen, click the arrows on the sides and thumbnails appear at the bottom, which you can click to play. Our newest is an all original music video "Pine Cove Rain". We recorded the song a year ago and recently shot and edited the video. The direct link is HERE ......... Have you seen KCET TV host Huell Howser? Well, meet "Huellette Bowser" Go with Huellette on her first of many unusual adventures! See her HERE

Or, select "Huellette Bowser" below.

2007-12-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

I put together a 53 minute buggy video after spending a weekend in the Borrego Desert in late Oct '07. The video was burned to DVD's and I ended up selling quite a few.

I'm adding a link to a product review I just uploaded. It's for a "Modosteady" made by Manfrotto. A Modosteady can be used as a camera table tripod, a shoulder support, and a stabilizer. Click this link to get to the Muvipix site, then click "Review of the Modosteady" LINK

2007-08-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I purchased this Canon XH A1 video camera. I'm going full steam on shooting videos, and being able to have control over most of the camera functions (like depth of field, shutter speeds and audio) made it a no- brainer to spend the money. A wireless microphone gives me more options for recording audio. The camera pairs up great with my new video editing computer that features a Duo Core 2.6 processer, 3 GB of memory, and a 24" widescreen monitor.

2007-07-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

I've been out of town working on a small garage expansion after we had some vandalism at our house. Gas was siphoned from 2 of my vehicles and the filler hoses were cut open on my truck for access to the gas tank. The wheels were stolen off my Baja as well. Very discouraging to say the least. To remedy the situation, I spent a month upgrading security at the house, by adding motion lights, expanding and enclosing one of the horse barns, and having security systems installed in the house and truck. I also added a gate in the fence to the backyard to keep my 4Runner out of sight. It was well worth the thousands of $$ spent to have some peace of mind. Here are some photos of the barn/ garage project.

2007-05-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday May 1 '07, the May Day Protest Rally marched down Broadway from Olympic to City Hall, at 2nd St. Unlike the events at MacArthur Park, demonstrators and police remained civil to each other. I watched as wave after wave of demonstrators walked by, and it continued for over an hour. I ended up shooting 325 photos.

2007-05-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

More Photos

2007-05-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

On April 22 '07, I decided to do a video shoot at the Santa Monica Pier/ Venice Boardwalk CA. Luckily there were several performers willing to be videod...(With the help of a tip) During the boardwalk shoot, I got a light rain to help spot up the camera lens....but it made for nice cool walk! You can see the video HERE

2007-05-07T20:35:00.000-07:00

Having a busy life has kept me away from updating our blogger....SOOOOO, here is an update!
Back on April 7 '07, we took a couple friends for a day hike at Joshua Tree National Park. We had a seven year old in tow, and he did great, keeping up with us just fine. The temps were in the mid 80's at noon and cooled off nicely later in the day. If you haven't been to Joshua Tree.....It's a great place to take photographs, hike and explore the high desert.

2007-03-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

I shot photos and assembled a slideshow of the Bradbury Building, at 304 S Broadway, in Downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Conservancy, it is the oldest commercial building in the central city. The interior has a Victorian court, with the original open cage elevators, iron railings and marble stairs. The building went through a complete restoration in the early 1990's. You can see the slideshow HERE

2007-03-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

Scaffolding came down on a newly rennovated building up the street from us, and what was in the window really got our attention! I shot these photos last night from the sidewalk. The attention to detail on these metal sculptures was awesome.

2007-03-08T14:36:00.000-08:00

March 4 '07 was the date of the Los Angeles Marathon, which ended at Flower and 5th. The sidewalks were so crowded with onlookers that I couldn't get a good view of the runners. I've posted a few photos, including one of the mayor, who was sneaking away on a side street with his entourage.

2007-03-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

2007-03-05T22:25:00.000-08:00

I just finished work on my new music video- "Boomerang". The inspiration came from the song "Boomerang" from my nephews band, "The Ills". Everything shot in the video was spontaneous, which worked great for me, since I was shooting on the go. I spent several days with my camcorder walking around LA looking for interesting shots, and ended up with several hours of footage. Trying to plan the shots wouldn't have had the same feel. Here's the LINK

2007-02-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

The "Downtown News" came out today with my photo and caption of the recent fire. My new job as a news photographer is right around the corner!

2007-02-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

Pics from the LA Boat Show, Fri Feb 9 '07.
Interesting how few people were there.

2007-02-11T11:04:00.000-08:00

2007-02-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

Window shopping downtown reveals some peculiar displays.

2007-02-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

More photos from around town--

2007-02-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

2007-02-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke to
the smell of smoke, and
after grabbing the camera
I took these photos. The
fire was in this building
at the corner of 4'th and
Broadway.

2007-02-05T10:46:00.000-08:00

2006-12-13T10:12:00.000-08:00

Wednesdays, 5th Street becomes the location of a "Farmers Market". You can find clothes, flowers, cheese, herbs, and of course hot food and drinks, and veggies of all types.

2006-12-02T19:09:00.001-08:00

Fri Dec 1st, some friends and I rode our motorcycles to the old Ridge Route Road by Castaic Lake in So Ca. We started out on dirt roads, gaining altitude until we were overlooking the old and new versions of the road. There was a strong cold wind, but we kept the pace up and eventually made it to the original Ridge Route road, which is in remarkable condition considering it first opened in 1915. If you're interested in learning more about the old Ridge Route CLICK HERE.

2006-11-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

It's a 10 minute walk from our loft to the Disney Music Center, which is located at
the intersection of Grand and 1st, in Downtown Los Angeles. The intricate curves
and overlapping stainless steel exterior should be seen up close to be appreciated.

2006-11-27T16:08:00.000-08:00

Most of these photos are from the north side
of the Disney Center

2006-11-08T15:44:00.000-08:00

Olvera Street started out as a short lane called Wine Street. In 1877 the street was extended and its name changed to Olvera Street in honor of Agustin Olvera who was the first county judge of Los Angeles. If you come to visit, plan to stay a while. There are many vendors and restaurants to experience.

In reference to the "Day of the Dead" photos- -

Day of the Dead in Mexico represents a mixture of Christian devotion and pre-Hispanic traditions and beliefs. As a result of this mixture, the celebration comes to life as a unique Mexican tradition including an altar and offerings dedicated to the deceased.

2006-11-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that It feels like I'm ripping the sellers off in the "Grand Central Market". You can walk out with a couple bags stuffed with vegetables for $5 or less.

Night photography from the top of "Lofts at the Security Building".

2006-11-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

Posting these old boating photos brought back some fun memories- which is easy for me to say, since I wasnt in the tube!!
Most of these were taken at Pine Flat Lake, in the late 80's and 90's, and a couple at Lake Piru in the mid 90's.

If you havent sailed, beg, borrow or steal a ride from someone with a catamaran. When the wind picks up and one of the hulls comes off the water (flying the hull) it is exhillerating!!

2006-11-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

The "Water Court" is such a nice place that I'm adding a few more photos.

2006-11-06T15:02:00.000-08:00

Buildings and places is the the topic today. The old buildings downtown have awesome architecture! You'll never see detail in newer buildings like they put into 100 year old buildings. I can't imagine the amount of time and effort it took to stack so many bricks into one structure.

So where do the stairs lead to? A Starbucks, of course.

One of the many vendors along Broadway.

This "art" is found in a small courtyard between Spring and Broadway.

I love heading up these stairs. Why? Is it because of yet another Starbucks at the top? Well, kind of. The real reason is "Grand Performances" happens there. Summer brings some terrific music, acting, and dance to the stages, and the best part is that its all free. The main stage is a water display in the off season. Quite a few coffee shops and restaurants are there, as well as an optometrist, florist, post office, and many other small businesses.

2006-11-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

Photos of people are always interesting. I always knew there would be a wide variety of characters in the city, but knowing which ones were CEO's and which are homeless is difficult. While walking in the early morning, I watched as a guy dug his way out of a pile of cardboard, where he had been sleeping. At that point, his cell phone rang, and he started having a serious conversation with somebody......Interesting.....

Many of these photos were taken by holding the camera at my waist and shooting so the subjects were unaware. Sometimes the photos came out blurry due to snapping on the move, but sometimes I got some surprisingly good images.

I loved some of the clothing people wore. The woman in the photo above was so colorful that I saw her a half block away.

This guy was hobbling along in front of the
Central Library on 5th Street.

Expect to be hit up for change once in a while. You can either hand over some money or blow them off, its your choice. Most of the time, they will ask you for change and then leave you alone.

Parking prices can vary wildly. If there's an event going on downtown, plan on robbing your piggy bank to pay for parking.

Consumer goods anyone? Broadway has all the goods that you'd ever want. You can buy a camera or watch every 20' or so.

Speaking of consumer goods, you can find cart after cart of pre-cut fruit for sale. Watermelon, cantaloupe, coconut, mango- you name it.

This jewelry business owner
takes a break to people watch.

Sometimes, its gritty downtown.

2006-11-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

Procrastination. Possibly pre-occupation. Whatever it was, has kept me from making a website. When I stumbled onto this "blogger" website, I thought "OK, it's time". It was also time for coffee, so after brewing a cup of caffeine (which is one of my addictions) , I sat down and worked on this blog. FINALLY!!

I guess the first thing up would be introductions. The first photo is of my wife Patti and myself (Greg) at a fundraiser for Glendale Memorial Hospital. Dont think for a second that we dress like that around the clock! Im more comfy in blue jeans and a "T". The second photo is "Link". Yup, that's where the Gretti "Link" comes from. Pretty sappy, huh?

So this big building is where we live..for now. Its called "Lofts at the Security Building". It's located on the corner of Spring and 5'th in Downtown LA, in the "historic core". Some of the buildings are over 100 years old in "the core" including ours. The building was a bank years ago, and was built with beautiful marble floors and walls. Im still looking for money stashed in some secret hidden hole.

This is our senior feline kitty, "Nieve" (pronounced Nee Ay Vay) Believe it (or not) she's a bit over 20 years old. She doesnt hear so well any more, so when she wants to be fed, her "meows" sound more like "MEOW!!!!". Im pretty sure the neighbors across the street hear her when she's hungry!!

So, when we feel like getting away from the city, this is where we go. "Pine Cove", is in the mountains south of Banning, and south/ west of Palm Springs at an elevation of 6000'. The white mound in front of the house is my Baja Bug. Well at least it's under cover!

When I get the time to play, Im usually seen around one of my VW's (a Baja Bug, or a fiberglassed body dune buggy) My Baja Bug is pretty trick. Its got A arm suspension at all 4 corners, and rides smooooth.

My "buggy" is basically a stock VW bug with a dune buggy body on it. Nothing special was done to the engine, trans, or suspension, but nothing really "had" to be done. It drives like a big go cart and is a blast to drive.

OK, Im not suggesting that Patti swings her days away when she's at the house, but I did catch a shot of her taking a break from "pine cone pickup day".