A repetitive walk: Pay phone hunting on Sunset Blvd

"In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little, human detail can become a Leitmotiv."
~Henri Cartier-Bresson

C. 2008 - 2011

Figueroa St to Silverlake Blvd

An contagious walk

How original...

The flu. I find it more annoying than painful because it disrupts everything I want to get done (or the option to postpone what I want to get done). It's such a waste of precious time. Even more wasteful than sleep. Having battled the virus all week, I was literally sick of not being productive on my personal things. Well, Saturday morning I decided I'd leave the house... if only to buy more medicine and food.

Somehow I justified taking the train to downtown to pick up more dayquil.

After picking up some tissues and medicine, I thought I might as well go to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) which is only a few blocks away. I hadn't visited in ages and there was also a temporary exhibit on the works of Weegee that closes on the 27th. As soon as I walked in I saw a sign that reminded visitors that photography is not permitted. Right...

"I have no inhibitions and neither has my camera" ~Weegee

I first came to like Weegee when his work was exhibited at the Getty about 7 years ago. His raw photographs of murder scenes and fires were the kind of photojournalism that I find quite fascinating. This exhibit, however, was more tongue in cheek since it has to do with his observations of silver screen old Hollywood and Los Angeles in the 1950s during his 4 year residency.

My absolute favorite display of works were the red carpet pictures that captured the reactions of the fans, ushers, security guards and other photographers as celebrities walked by. There were other sections that displayed his manipulated and distorted images, which are quite impressive considering this was lightyears ahead of the digital age.

Every now and then an exhibit inspires me and this one was one of them...almost enough to buy the $50 book at the museum shop. Almost. There's always the library, right?

Weegee. Google him. He's worth looking into.

A Symmetrical Walk

c.2011

On a warm December Sunday I took a walk through the fashion district in Downtown L.A., better known as the Santee Alley. Somewhere along the maze of product stands and sidewalk stores I began to head west, towards the financial district. I was walking with my camera in hand and looked around for something to catch my eye. It had been awhile so I was feeling a tad rusty, photographically speaking...or so I felt. At the same time, I walked right past a city bus that was on layover. I stopped to take a picture of a payphone that happened to be in front of the bus when the driver came out and called me over. He asked what I was working on and before I could respond, he asked that I take his picture. I smiled and agreed. I only had a fixed lens at that point so I couldn't zoom in or out. After I snapped a quick one I asked him how long he'd been a bus driver for. He then countered my question by asking if I knew what the stripes on his sweater sleeve meant. I told him I wasn't even aware the stripes meant anything. He said each one represented 5 years on the job. His sleeve had 4 stripes. I smiled, congratulated him and began to walk away. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" he asked. I explained I was on a time limit and pointed towards the sun. It was later in the afternoon and winter days are so short as it is. Winter days in downtown with all of the buildings blocking the sun make the days even shorter. I thanked him for teaching me something new and continued on with my walk. 

As I thought about the sun and the buildings in my race against time, I happened to look up while waiting for a green light. All I saw were lines. Perhaps it reminded me of my drawing classes in college, but I couldn't help noticing all of the lines that were intersecting in an orderly fashion, right from where I was standing. From that angle, everything made visual sense. Normally I don't like to stand under wires due to my fear of earthquakes...well, my fear of falling debris that could kill me. But I didn't mind standing underneath all of those electrical and brick hazards. I suppose I have that bus driver to thank for making me look up and continue my race against the premature sunset of the downtown skyline.

No no, thank You

A walk through Tom Bradley International

c.2002

Print dated 2/23/03 for Grandma's birthday

I took my first transatlantic trip when I was 20 yrs old. My mom wasn't thrilled about the idea and much to my surprise, neither was my grandma. She was the brave one in the family so I thought she'd be on board when I told them I was going to spend a semester in France. My grandma was the one that said I didn't need to go to another country in order to learn a new language. She was missing the point. I just felt the need to go especially since I wasn't going to college to far from where I grew up.

When the day finally arrived, September 12, 2002, I was extremely nervous since I had no idea what I was doing and I hated the idea of a non-stop flight overseas. My mom and grandma decided to take the train ride with me to LAX, which is something they had never done for some of my other domestic flights.

We rode the blue line, then transferred to the green line and took the free shuttle to Tom Bradley International terminal. My mom was spewing out last minute motherly advice, and my grandma was all smiles and much to my embarrassment she collected beer cans to recycle along the way. She kept them in a non discreet bright blue grocery bag. My grandma had that blue bag full of cans in my picture with her. It was such an eyesore that I sepia toned the picture so the focus would be my grandma and I. Aside from my mom grabbing my camera to take a picture of Simon Cowell who was checking into first class on my same flight, I don't remember too many other details from that day. I just know I was extremely excited and I was happy my mom and grandma were there to bid me adieu.

I've taken other international flights since then but none have flown out of Tom Bradley, until recently. When I booked my flight for my trip with Habitat for Humanity, I didn't realize Turkish Airlines flew out of that terminal, which made me really happy. I don't travel nearly as much as I'd like to, and travel internationally much less. My flight to Romania ( via Turkey ) was also in September, the 29th to be exact.
I decided to take the same train route to LAX, but alone this time. I can't explain why it felt like I needed to. Probably because the two most influential people in my life were gone and I wanted to feel as if they were there with me, bidding me farewell and spilling last minute advice over my repetitive declarations that I am not 20 anymore. Once I got to the same terminal that served as a portal to a life changing journey, I felt ready to face the last epic journey of my 20s.

I missed them everyday of that trip. It felt weird not to call anyone to "check in" and confirm I made it ok. It was also weird not to send them postcards from every city I visited as they always demanded in their loving ways. Through the familial loneliness, the memories of the first time at Tom Bradley International Terminal with them made me smile and triggered the same type of excitement I felt as a fearless 20 yr old. I trust it'll always happen whenever I fly out of there in the future.

An underground walk

Gregory Peck C.2011

I'm not a do-gooder. It embarrassed me to be classified as a humanitarian. I simply take part in activities that I believe in. ~ Gregory Peck

I became a big fan of Gregory Peck when I saw Roman Holiday years and years ago. By fan I mean I simply thought he was devastatingly handsome. My fandom grew when I watched films like The Gentleman's agreement and To Kill a Mockingbird, two very gutsy roles in very admirable films. The latter is the well known role, but I HIGHLY recommend The Gentleman's Agreement if you haven't seen it yet. When I read he made former president Richard Nixon's enemies list because of his political views, well I think I may have fallen in love. I read various things about what a wonderful man he was on and off camera and how amazing he was to his fans, well into his last days. He was quite the L.A. enthusiast too and love that he was a huge supporter of the L.A. Central Library. 

I remember hearing about his death in the news towards the end of my junior year in college. I was genuinely saddened! Perhaps because I thought there was a little hope that I would find an opportunity to meet him, the last of my silverscreen heroes. That may sound silly but I'd read stories about such encounters and therefore it was technically possible, so I thought. One thing I didn't know was where he was put to rest. You could imagine my pleasant surprise a couple of years ago when I stumbled across his tomb at the mausoleum in the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels in Downtown L.A. Right in my backyard so to speak.

I visited the church and the mausoleum again just after Christmas this past year. It was so quiet and peaceful, which was hard to wrap my head around since the cathedral is not only in downtown, but it also borders the 101 freeway. Not the most secluded of places.

As I stood in front of Peck's vault, it made me think about what kind of legacy each of us hope to leave once our run on this earth is done. No, I never got to meet Gregory Peck, but reading so many positive stories about him along with a collection of great quotes, I find my admiration continues to grow. Just as his good character and his name became (and remain) synonymous, I can only hope that will be the case for me one day...preferably in the distant future.

A walk through artificial light

 C.2012

If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. 

 Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.  

~Raymond Inmon

Now, where was I...

I'd be lying if I said I haven't realized I strayed away from my favorite things. Things like walking for pleasure, taking pictures, and visting the occasional gallery for inspiration. Sure, I can blame a million things why I let the lapse happen. But at this point I'd rather be proactive and simply pick up where I left off.  

Over the weekend I decided to take a walk over to Samy's camera on Fairfax and drool over equipment that I will own one day...then I walked to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)...then to The Grove... then back to LACMA. A consecutive zigzag but it felt great, mentally and physically. I suppose you can say I greased up the wheels. It was exciting to play around with a new camera after what seemed like an eternal wait. I also couldn't help but smile at all of the different people during their various photography sessions at the famous lightposts outside of the museum. I definitely plan on returning there in the very near future.

I've missed it all dearly and I look forward to capturing more this year. I think it'll be a good year. I'll make sure of it.