In Focus: Staff photos from June 15 - 21
Robin Tyler, left, and Diane Olson rejoice after marrying in a Jewish ceremony in Beverly Hills. Together 15 years, they were the original plaintiffs in the 2004 California lawsuit challenging the ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Tiger Woods celebrates after sinking a birdie putt on the final hole to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate during the final round of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla. Woods went on to win his 14th major tournament on the 19th hole of the playoff. (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times)
Isaac Voirin, 7, takes in a mist of cool water outside Universal Studios Hollywood, where temperatures neared the 100-degree mark as a heat wave hit Southern California. A high-pressure system in Mexico and waning sea breezes were to blame for the hot weather, forecasters said. (Benjamin Reed / Los Angeles Times)
José Nuñez plays his accordion to a nearly empty dining room at Zamora Meats Restaurant on Cesar Chavez Avenue in East Los Angeles. He travels by bus to several restaurants in East L.A. and Boyle Heights, where he plays for tips. (Aurelio Jose Barrera / Los Angeles Times)
Watching from the bench, the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, from left, Pau Gasol and Vladimir Radmanovic view the final minutes of their one-sided loss to the Boston Celtics, 131-92, in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. Looking nothing like the team that ripped through the Western Conference, the Lakers were yanked apart at the seams by a Boston team that pushed them from one end to the other in one of the most decisive games in NBA Finals history. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
By far the most-strapped cowboys are the ones who compete in events such as calf-roping -- like these at the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo in Santa Maria, Calif. -- who must haul their own horses. Some cowboys are rodeo ride-sharing, with half a dozen cowpokes cramming into a truck and splitting fuel bills. Rodeos are feeling the gas crisis, with fewer cowboys able to spend the thousands of dollars needed to haul horses and gear from one arena to the next. The annual Santa Maria rodeo featured about 150 competitors -- 20% fewer than usual. (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times)
Ignacio Lujano, 85, is surrounded by some of his 13 children, 25 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren at a recent family gathering in San Juan Capistrano. He is the caretaker of one of the city’s last commercial orange groves, but is being evicted by the city so it can convert the land into a maintenance yard. The city bought the Swanner Ranch parcel in 1992 but had allowed him to live there and tend the groves. Lujano says he thought that he would die before before he stopped tending the soil. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Attendees at the 30th annual Playboy Jazz Festival dance in the bleacher seats at the Hollywood Bowl, where Al Jarreau and Herbie Hancock were among the performers. (Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Dave Dixon, 60, relaxes aboard the weathered, 37-foot mahogany boat he bought with a credit card for $10,000. He is moored near the Balboa Pavilion in Newport Harbor, but his mooring must change several times a month, and he often is forced to anchor in the open sea off Corona del Mar. Dixon supports his lifestyle on $535 a month without food by singing at private parties and two Orange County restaurants about 15 hours a week. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)