Our photographers carry cameras (almost) everywhere. I have learned the hard way that as soon as my camera is left at home or in the car, the perfect photo passes by and I’m empty handed.

Unfortunately, this has happened a few times here in LA, especially because this area is extremely visual and too many things are happening at once.

The following is an incomplete list of missed photo opportunities thus far:

No pants man
This man was wheeling a colorful cart with a large umbrella attached for extra fancy-flair. He got our attention by dropping his pants, bending over and intently examining his kibbles and bits on the sidewalk while we were stuck at a red light. Face hit the gas and we drove away too quickly for me to document this image.

Locals braving the Beverly Hills tundra
People here seem to think 70-degree weather means breaking out scarves and fleece jackets. I passed pedestrians sporting earmuffs and mittens. My favorite scene was some ritzy-looking folk huddled under a huge space heater (!) near the valet pick up at the Beverly Hilton. P.S. Rest easy, we valet park the van now. No more worrying about getting stuck in the garage.

Dead dog
We drove down Hollywood Blvd. last night on the way to the media party. Outside one of the many tacky souvenir shops was a dead (?) dog in the doorway on it’s back with legs in the air. Passersby looked confused, maybe unsure if this was a movie prop or an actual dead dog. Apparently the latter was true. I definitely did a double take while passing by this.

Intent Barefoot Vagrant
Also strolling down Hollywood Blvd. was a gruff-looking vagrant. He was marching at a steady pace and stopped for no one. Not traffic lights or children or tourists. The sad thing was, he was actually pacing and eventually passed our van because traffic was moving so slow.

Reinforcements have arrived
Josh, wearing a fedora and driving a minivan full of Daily Illini soldiers, pulling up to the red carpet of Lawry’s. Even though these guys had been on a Greyhound for 50 hours, it was great to see them arrive. LA was lonely without my colleagues.

Last night we walked down to the harbor by Josh’s house.

Here are a few more photos from yesterday’s Illini practice at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. This complex is home to the LA Galaxy soccer team and Mr. David Beckham. The field next to where the Illini were practicing was even named after him. Too bad I didn’t see Becks or Posh.

We have been busy with media events all day. I’ll try to give everyone the ‘inside scoop’ of what went down on our second day of Los Angeles adventure from the perspective of a football-illiterate photographer.

Six a.m. came early, but we stumbled to our white, 12-passenger van by 6:30. On schedule so far. With reporter Dan Johnson at the wheel we navigated down PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and on to the freeway, taking advantage of the carpool lane. Traffic wasn’t bad and we quickly found the Beverly Hilton.

This is where things got interesting. The clearance to enter the parking garage was going to be close and our van was a bit tall. We bravely scraped our way in and soon realized this was a mistake. The ramp to go up a level was obviously too small. Dan cautiously backed DOWN the ramp, which caused a bit of a backup in the garage. We went down a level and wedged ourself in elsewhere. The truck next to us had a body in it. I hope the person was just taking a nap.

We went inside and found the sweet media rooms. After receiving our credentials we checked out breakfast. My favorite was the passion fruit iced tea and bagels. The reporters headed to the Illinois press conference while us photographers stayed behind for a bit… to play Moose Hunter.

Yes, the media room was equipped with free arcade games. Brad has apparently been moose hunting before because he was quite the expert. I failed miserably but managed to slaughter a few geese and a cute dog. Whoops.

Face and I headed down to the end of the press conference to get a few photos of the defensive players and coaches. Everything is and was extremely organized and media-friendly. We got the shots we needed and headed back to Josh’s house to edit and write.

Later in the afternoon, Face, Brad and Josh went to the USC campus to cover their football practice. I went with the reporters in the van to catch the end of the Illinois practice at the Home Depot Center in Carson. In all honestly, I don’t know much about football (hence my blogging about beef and moose hunting), but the players seemed to be relaxed and in good spirits. Everyone was leaving the field smiling and joking with each other. Juice told the reporters the teacup ride at DisneyLand was the highlight of the trip so far, which was pretty cute. Other players didn’t even seem bitter about turning down Hugh Hefner’s invitation to the Playboy Mansion.

On the drive home we spotted quite a few characters selling roses on the street. One gentleman decided it would be a good idea to stand in the middle of an intersection with peanuts and roses for sale.

We’re back at the Birnbaum’s now. Josh’s mom and dad are excellent hosts. They’ve definitely gone out of their way to make all eight of us feel at home. Right now they’re cooking us a huge barbeque dinner and it smells delicious.

“Who needs the Beverly Hilton when you have the Birnbaum’s,” Alex just said.

Check out today’s story and photos from practice on DailyIllini.com if you actually want to know anything about football.

Tomorrow is the pep rally and media day so we’ll be up early again bringing you the latest Illini news.

I should probably start carrying the real cameras around before the photographers completely shun me, but I’ve been getting some great images with my phone. Expect artsy beach photos taken with a real camera soon. For now, imagine having this a few yards away from your house

Moose hunters in action. This whole game was full of camouflage and country music. Very reminiscent of Illinois, and kind of out of place in the Beverly Hilton.

I was the last to leave and the first to arrive in LA.

Unlike the Greyhound riders, my travel experience was awesome. I took a flight from St. Louis early yesterday morning and was in LA before noon. The two-hour layover in Vegas was the definitely highlight of my travels. I’d never gambled before so I made a beeline for the slots. I invested $5 and quickly won $20. Sweet success! The noise and lights of the machines are addicting… it was hard to step away while ahead. Then I hopped on bumpy one-hour flight to LA and was here by 11:30 a.m. The time-space continuum was definitely on my side.

After arriving I had a couple hours to get settled before heading to the Beef Bowl at Lawry’s The Prime Rib in Beverly Hills. Josh Birnbaum’s dad drove me there and I experienced LA traffic for the first time. The six lanes of traffic are the busiest in the U.S. but he was an expert at weaving in and out of traffic. He showed me all kinds of landmarks, my favorite being Inglewood (Dr. Dre songs were stuck in my head for the rest of the day) and the Larry Flint Publications building which was HUGE and incredibly classy. I also saw the Academy of Motion Pictures, a lot of trendy people, a lot of homeless people, cactuses the size of trees and the ocean.

The Beef Bowl was epic. A huge red carpet was rolled out and the Lawry’s staff lined both sides to welcome the team when they arrived by police escort. With all of the commotion, press, flashing cameras and the long red carpet, a passerby might have thought Lindsay Lohan was in the mood for some beef. The restaurant was completely shut down to the public for about two hours while everyone got their fill.

We got back to Josh’s house to upload our photos and stories before walking down to the beach, which is literally a block away. I forgot how loud and calming the ocean is. Even with the smog, the air smells cleaner and fresher than Illinois.

These are mountains over Nevada. Taken with my iPhone.

Slot machines at the airport in Vegas.

This was epic. I was only able to finish less than 1/3 of this.

Sometimes the reporters and photographers wear matching outfits while editing. All that time on the bus must have brought everyone closer together.