Travel with Ralph Velasco to Cuba.
You will be immersed in the rich culture, and strong willed people of Havana;
as well as the spectacular UNESCO World Heritage site of the Valley of the Sugar Mills,
and the colonial town of Trinidad on Cuba’s southern coast.
This is a perfect introduction in to the people of Cuba.
Wander and explore with Ralph through Havana’s colonial architecture,
while watching the antique vehicles pass you by.
There will be traditional salsa music and dancing, cigar factory exploration,
and visiting with local families of Havana’s diverse neighborhoods.
Cuba is a special destination.
Americans are able to travel under a new 'people-to-people' program, which includes daily activities,
immersing you into the heart and soul of Cuba.
The 'people-to-people' program is authorized by the U.S. Treasury Department.
A native of Chicago, Ralph Velasco is currently based in Corona del Mar, California,
where he teaches a variety of travel photography classes at a number of institutions,
including Santa Ana College, Saddleback College, UC Irvine Extension and others.
Ralph has a unique series of walking tours that provide hands-on experience for photographers of all levels.
He guides tours locally, domestically and internationally.
You can learn more about these programs at www.ralphvelasco.com.
Ralph tries to differentiate his photo tours by providing an overall cultural experience,
which in addition to photography might also include the food, drink, music, dance, sport and other cultural aspects of a destination.
Additionally, Ralph is creator of the My Shot Lists for Travel app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, available on iTunes.
The app helps photographers of all skill levels to bring back a more well-rounded portfolio of images
that truly captures the essence of any destination or subject.
He’s been awarded “Open Photographer of the Year” by the Professional Photographers of Orange County two years in a row
and he’s the author of “Ralph Velasco On Travel Photography: 101 Tips for Developing Your Photographic Eye & More.”
Ralph is a member of the Circumnavigators Club, an elite group of travelers whose charter requires that its members
have traveled “around the world, in a single journey, having crossed every one of Earth’s meridians.”
My goal with any tour is to help you to create a cultural portrait, both in images and in memories.
For the photographer in you my style is to provide leadership and guidance that will get you in front of
some of the most awe-inspiring architecture, interesting people and iconic sites and landmarks in the places we’ll be visiting,
while at the same time explore more off-the-beaten-path locations.
With our travel schedule in mind, we’ll plan get out early in the day in order to capture each location in the best light,
and before the tourist crowds overwhelm. The main goal of any trip is to help you to advance your capability to ‘see like a photographer,’
but also to provide an overall cultural experience that will not only reveal the location through your camera’s lens,
but also through your mind’s eye.
Participants of all experience levels are welcome, and after an orientation I’ll provide advice about photography when asked, however,
my style is to allow you the freedom to discover photo, and cultural, opportunities on your own, but to always be available to assist.
In my experience, the traveler who gets the most out of any international experience
is the one who is open to going with the flow and is flexible.
I’m a photographer who insists on traveling light, and I shoot 100 percent digital.
Leroy D. Baca, Sheriff - The Exploration of Space and Spirituality
LEROY D. BACA, SHERIFF LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
Sheriff Baca, as the elected Chief Law Enforcement Officer of Los Angeles County in 1998, commands the largest Sheriff’s Department in the United States with a budget of $2.5 billion. He leads nearly 18,000 sworn and professional staff who compromise the law enforcement providers for 42 incorporated cities, 140 unincorporated communities, nine community colleges, and thousands of Metropolitan Transit Authority and Rapid Rail Transit District commuters. More than four million people are directly protected by the Sheriff’s Department.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department manages the nation’s largest local jail system housing 20,000 inmates. Sheriff Baca developed Education-Based Incarceration (EBI) to address the high rate of offender recidivism in Los Angeles County. EBI uses innovative, evidence-based strategies to deliver education and life skills that provide hope and opportunity to offenders who want to live a better life and become contributing members of their communities. The Department also protects the largest court system in the nation.
Sheriff Baca is the Coordinator of Mutual Aid Emergency Services for California Region I, which includes the County of Orange. Region I serves 13 million people.
Sheriff Baca is the founder of Public Trust Policing that includes diverse advisory councils; a Clergy Council of more than 300 ministers, pastors, priests, rabbis, imams, and leaders of every faith community. He also operates sixteen nonprofit youth centers; ten at-risk regional training centers for at-risk youth ages 10-18, and provides 27 deputies to 240 elementary and middle schools who teach 50,000 children about positive solutions to the problems of drugs and gangs. He operates one of law enforcement’s largest prevention and intervention programs in the nation.
The Sheriff’s Department’s service area has one of the nation’s lowest crime rates for a major metropolitan area. Deputies arrest more than 90,000 felony and misdemeanor suspects, as well as respond to more than 1,000,000 calls for service annually.
Sheriff Baca, a United States Marine Corps Reserve veteran, earned his Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Southern California.
Deep in the interior of South Africa, surrounded by veldt inhabited by wildebeest, impala, kudu, and gemsbok, lies a raw, open gash.
At the bottom is a pond, the water hidden by bright green duckweed. And hidden by duckweed and water is a chasm.
At almost 1,000 feet deep, the chamber is thought to be the third deepest water filled room on the planet.
A cavity which has lured many of the world’s top divers; to explore, to set records... and some to die.
This is Boesmansgat, or Bushman’s Hole as it is known in English.
Jeff and Evan will discuss their recent journey to dive there.
Jeff Bozanic has been diving for 40 years.
A prolific writer, adventurer and scientist, he has participated in over 70 scuba diving expeditions to countries scattered around the globe.
He is known for his work in Antarctica, cave diving, and most recently with rebreathers.
He is the recipient of many awards, including being honored as the DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year.
Evan Bozanic is a sophmore in high school, and has been diving since he was 11.
He set his first world record in diving at the age of 11, becoming the youngest person to dive in Antarctica.
In addition, he has built his own rebreather and conducted scientific research while diving.
Night to Honor one of our clubs most esteemed members.
The club is hosting a tribute to honor John Goddard.
This special presentation is open to all.
The event is free; however, for $20.00 a specially prepared complete dinner will be available with a reservation.
This presentation is open to all.
Come and celebrate with us the life of John Goddard one of the great adventurers’ of our time.
His philosophy changed and inspired so many, his challenging "life lists” served as a launching pad to an incredibly productive life,
his explorations of the Nile and Congo were the firsts of their kind.
His list of accomplishments is impressive and the number of people influenced by those accomplishments is even more impressive.
If you would like to talk: Write down or video-tape a 2-4 minute speech paying tribute to John Goddard;
then please contact Ralph H. Perez, our Program Chairman
(ralphperez@adventurersclub.org or 310-831-510) so he can schedule you.
If John is unable to attend in person, the entire presentation will be live video streamed to John’s home for him to watch and participate.
Ralph Velasco's Blog
