Makeover

On Robertson Boulevard, south of Olympic.

Doug and Anna

I’ve noticed that the intersection of Bronson Avenue and Hollywood, not far from the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard the Hollywood (101) Freeway and the Tommy’s Burgers at the corner, has been a hang out for people living on the street. It’s not far from the Salvation Army’s Weingart Youth Center, and there are generally a half dozen or so kids who look to be in their teens hanging out at all hours. I’d had in mind for some time to talk to the folks who spend their days there, but many of the regulars haven’t been around in the last several weeks. On a recent Thursday afternoon, a middle-aged guy who said his name was Doug was sitting on the sidewalk, leaning back against a wall with his eyes closed, when I walked up to him. He said he was a diver and hadn’t worked in four months and had arrived in L.A. with his girlfriend 10 days earlier. Unable to find steady work up in Seattle, they made the decision to leave because “the economy sucks and the weather sucks, and if you’re going to be miserable you might as well be miserable in the sunshine.”

Top two images from the Nikon, bottom two from the Ikon.

Like a...

...bird on a wire. Flock of pigeons roosting on a wire around the corner from the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. Rarely take the DSLR out, not sure why other than I prefer the textures I get with film. I also think often in black and white, and while the digital can just as easily produce those images I somehow think of it as a color machine.

Dusk, Downtown

Headed over to hear some music at Cal Plaza last weekend and spotted these lights left on on an office building at Grand and Fifth.

Alone in Glendale

The side of the Glendale Galleria. And one wonders why they were so keen to fight the new Americana at Brand...

Break for Color

It's been a while since I posted anything from the DSLR, in part because I don't carry it around as much as the others and in part because I haven't been as into the crispness it provides. This one, from a little while back, was shot on Vine Street in Hollywood. It's south of where the real action is but still boasts a nice, garish mix of colors.

Drive By

I really want to allow myself the time to stroll around a bit, but the need to rush from here to there (real or perceived) gets in the way.

So from the car it is, at least for the time being. The other day, while rolling by the Kaiser hospital in Hollywood, I saw this old woman waiting for a bus.

Black-and-White on Bronson

There is a group of three homes on Bronson Avenue in Hollywood that stand out to me. They're not the Craftsmen that dot the neighborhood, just white clapboard houses that feel like they belong in a beach town back east. They also feel like they ought to be rendered in black-and-white. Working with the Nikon, this time I fiddled a bit more with the image in Photoshop to try and get a little more depth to the image. It looks better than the original, but somehow seems not quite there. Have generally shied away from Photoshopping (as I have cropping the film images), though whether that's because I fancy myself a purist or am just to challenged by the software I'm not sure.

Parade Season

Brought out the long lens to shoot a little at this past weekend's Hollywood Christmas Parade. The thing will be aired on a Sunday at noon in a couple weeks, and am anxious to see how they deal with the dissonance bound to come when night has fallen on the screen but it is sunny and 72 (as always) out the window.

Back at SCI-Arc

Had another occaision to head to SCI-Arc, and this time was better prepared. In the end, looking out from the installation seemed to me more interesting that trying to sort out all the whiteness inside.

Trifecta

This one, for me, was a three-fer. Good light, a person... and a dead cat for pathos. It was the light I was looking at first, yesterday in the late afternoon was particularly hazy because of the fires by the coast, and it was by chance that I looked down to see the cat. I find shooting people a bit of an intrusion, as I've mentioned earlier, and I had some complicated feelings about even taking aim at the cat. There is another shot without the bicyclist, but when I saw him out of the corner of my eye I knew I want to wait for him. Not only does he add life and motion to the image, but he's looking at the cat, too.

Dawn, Catalina

I was up before dawn on Catalina this past weekend. Actually, was more like up all night and dawn just sort of happened in the middle of that. Shot with a Nikon pocket digital.

Big

Rolling through East Hollywood.

Let Me Out

Again over in NoHo, where there is an extraordinary amount of residential construction going on. I know it's on top of a transit hub and pretty convenient to the freeways, but I can't say I get all that high-rise living there. Anyway, the other day there was a lone drywaller working in this new condo development, all the more lonely for the pleading body language as he took a break and looked out the window.

Waiting for a Train

I'm waiting for film to come back - actually waiting to take it in - and so I pulled out the long-languishing DSLR. Over in North Hollywood, I figured I'd shoot black and white, just noodle with the digital image on Photoshop until I got something I liked. I thought this image, at first, would be better in color, but I happen to like it this way better. It does drive home the point, though, that digital still can't deliver the tone and softness of film.

My Little Angel

Well, I pulled the 70-300 out to the backyard to give it a test run and focused on this little angel that was dug out of the dirt a year or so after we moved in. It's been banged around a bit and not all its pieces have survived the kids, the various gardeners, the rain, etc., but it hangs in there. There has been discussion off and on over the years about throwing it out, but I figure it's survived this long - I don't want to tempt the fates.

The Bird

This one, too, a little far afield. Not L.A., exactly, but I took my little girl to Seaworld not that long ago. Other than her and some jumping dolphins, there wasn't that much interesting enough to me to shoot (even the dolphins got old after a couple frames), at least until we sat down to lunch. I like how the little guy's feet appear to belong both to him and his shadow (click on image to see it larger).

A LIttle Light

On the flip side of Skid Row, there are some bright spots. The folks at the Inner City Arts program on Kohler Street, in the heart of Skid Row, have put together an extraordinary facility for fine art, dance, music.

Nothing If Not Colorful

Spent the day on Skid Row the other day, though I really didn't have the time to shoot much, there were a few memorable moments. It really remains a godawful place, a shocking gash of castoff people and materials, all dumped in a hard, arid, dirty couple square miles. It's a few blocks from City Hall, but that's not enough to effectuate change: it's still far enough from the hills, the valleys and the beaches to remain out of sight - and out of mind.

Demolition Man

I was in South L.A. for the demolition of an apartment building that had been overrun by gangs. It was one of the hottest days of the year, bright sun, and the contrasts and color were great. It was also kind of cool to watch the thing come down.