Filming in Venice Beach, California

If you've ever traveled to Los Angeles, chances are you've spent a day cruising around Venice Beach, taking in the craziness of the circus-like environment, while also enjoying the abundance of ocean activities. Joining me a day of hanging out and filming is Joshua Johnson, travel ninja and all around cool guy. So our day began introducing Venice Beach, underneath it's famous sign welcoming you to the boardwalk. 

Luka setting up the opening shot of the Venice Beach Episode

Venice Beach is full of unique characters, and well known locations like Muscle Beach, the courts of "White Men Can't Jump," and other iconic LA seaside landmarks.

White Men Can't Jump

So we shot some hoops before strolling the boardwalk. 

White Man Can Jump! 

There's no shortage of unique characters to keep you entertained here. Hours and dollars can be spent tipping street performers and beggars for great entertainment..  Any photo or video we shot was usually accompanied with a tip. If not, it was usually forced on us, or they'd request us deleting the photos. This blog post would have much more photos, but our pockets weren't deep enough to pay everyone off. For more freaks, watch the video at the end. 

Strumming along. 

However, there's a calmer side to Venice that many people don't see during their visits - and that's the residential area of the Venice Canals.

Venice Canals! 

Before the popularity of the automobile, and their infestation to dirt paths around LA, it wasn't uncommon to see people traveling these canals by gondolier. This quickly changed once the car took over. What was once 26 canals are now just 5. 

Although a great reminder of Venice's past it's also a great refuge from the craziness of Venice Beach.

Skipping Stones

After some stone skipping, the boardwalk called us back for the sunset and some beer. 

Street Performer - Venice Beach

Lifeguard Sunset

And that was our day in Venice Beach. If you want to see more of our experience, please watch the video below, and don't forget to subscribe.

Filmed and edited by Bright Visuals.  

Photos courtesy of Nika Koncilja

My Peter Tosh T-Shirt and his 69th Earthstrong

Growing up I was a huge fan of Peter Tosh. If you don't know his music, then do yourself a favor and start listening. The EQUAL RIGHTS album is probably my favorite, so if you're looking for some righteousness in your day, give this a listen. 

My most vivid memories growing up in Illinois usually had Peter Tosh involved in them. Other than listening to his music, I also owned one of his shirts from his popular album, 'Wanted Dread and Alive." When I got my driver's license at 16 years old, I was wearing that shirt. Boarding my first international flight, that same shirt followed. Keep in mind, I'm not a fan of many people, and hardly ever purchase t-shirts, but without question made an exception with acquiring a Peter Tosh one.

As a matter of fact, my brothers and I used to write letters to companies requesting free clothes. Most of my wardrobe in High School consisted of t-shirts from various companies like ComEd, Jack in the Box, Chiquita, 7-11, Xerox, and others. I'd write these companies asking for any promotional apparel, saying it was my brothers birthday and that he's a huge fan of their product(s). How someone at Xerox  believed a teenager was a fan of theirs I have no idea, but it worked. From the hundreds of companies we wrote to, few responded by shipping us shirts, pens, and hand written letters thanking us for the loyal support. Because of this, I had no need to purchase any more tees, I had plenty. Nevertheless, after seeing Peter Tosh shirt for sale online, I jumped at the opportunity and ordered it. Below are a couple pics at 16 and 17 years wearing it. 

Left to Right: 16 yrs old drivers license, 17 yrs old 1st international flight

Left to Right: 16 yrs old drivers license, 17 yrs old 1st international flight

We've established that I'm a Peter Tosh fan. So, this October, my girlfriend and I bumped into a friend as we were walking out of a bar. Instead of wrapping up the night like we discussed, we followed him and his friend to another bar. There we proceeded to chat over some drinks. Come to find out, the friend of our friend is a manager at the Peter Tosh's Estate!  When I heard this, I naturally got very excited. After more drinks and conversation, I received an invite to visit Jamaica and celebrate the life and music of Peter Tosh for his 69th birthday. How can I say no? 

I had just finished editing the Trans-Siberian Railway series and  was in need of a mini adventure. There was no excuse not do this, so I called up my trusty director friend, Tony Corella, and we boarded an eastbound flight to JamRock for the weekend. Thus concludes this blog post and begins your viewing of part 1 and 2 of our trip (attached below).

Enjoy!