Paddle Tennis at Venice Beach

As many of you know, who follow my blog, in addition to photography and nutrition, I play paddle tennis at Venice Beach paddle tennis courts.  And I've been combining the paddle tennis with photography, and posting photos on FB and here - hope you enjoy.

Paddle tennis can be addicting - but if you're going to be addicted to something, this is good for you, you won't get in trouble for it (except, perhaps, with your significant other if it keeps you away for long periods of time), and when you sweat, you get rid of toxins.  Just make sure you drink enough water to replace what's lost.

Oh - it's a great way to meet some wonderful people and you can almost always find a good game.  And if you like an audience or to people watch, Venice Beach supplies that, especially on weekends.

For those of you who don't know paddle tennis - the court is about half the size of a tennis court, you play with paddles with tennis balls (that have had the air let out), you get one underhand serve.  The scoring is the same as tennis.  For a complete list of rules, you can go here:  Paddle Tennis Rules.

And now for some photos from the past 3 years (which have been posted on FB also):

Venice Beach Bikini Contest at Muscle Beach - August 23, 2014

Here are some of the photos I shot at Saturday's #musclebeach bikini contest - I have many more, and if you are one of the contestants and would like to see more, feel free to contact me here or on FB.  Hope you all enjoy the photos.  Click on any one to see larger.

Do You Read a Lot of Books?

Thought you might be getting tired of all the bikini and paddle tennis photos, so here's something a little different to think about.  I got this idea from another photographer who, every so often posts about the latest books she's reading, along with a mini synopsis of what the book is about.  The books are both fiction and nonfiction.  But of all the books she's talked about, none that I have seen in her posts are about health and nutrition.

If I had to answer a survey about the 10 most important things in life, at the top or very near, would be health.  So if you have time to read books, it makes sense to read some about health.  Here is a photo of part of my bookshelf relating to health, although the very first one I ever read, and which got me started on following a healthy diet is not there - Hunza Health Secrets - I gave it to someone who needed it.  But here are some of the others:

Of course, in addition to these, I have read the usual "How To Win Friends and Influence People," "Think and Grow Rich," books by Tony Robbins, etc.  And I still enjoy science fiction - Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury, Ellison, Vonnegut, and more.  But without my health, I'm sure I wouldn't enjoy all the other books quite as much.

Some people tell me eating a good diet won't let people live forever.  True, but they will most likely enjoy the time they have a whole lot more.

Back to bikinis and paddle tennis in my next posts.  Hope you found something useful in this one.

The Beach, a Sunny Day, and Beautiful Women

As someone once said, "Give me the beach, a sunny day, and a beautiful woman, and you can keep the beach and sunny day."  Well, now you don't have to give any of it back - so far, all the bikini contests at Venice Beach's Muscle Beach have had all three.

But wait, there's more - check out the paddle tennis courts while you're waiting for the bikini contest.  Still better, play a few games - you can rent the paddles at a few places, and the courts are free.

Here are some more photos of both - click photos to see larger:

And the paddle tennis:

And finally, a spectator skater at the contest - sometimes they look like they should be in the contest: