A walk I should remember

I forgot, Los Angeles, Ca c.2010

The text in this image embodies what photography means to me and to so many other enthusiasts and professionals alike. I honestly cannot remember where I took this, but it obviously had enough of an impact that I had to take it home with me somehow.

Although I suspect it was taken at the Central Library, I can’t be certain. Not remembering where I walked isn’t very characteristic of me. “Citing your source” is something that was etched in my mind as an undergrad. I also have a freaky memory for the mundane things. Or maybe remembering the mundane things is just part of being a female.

Either way I can’t remember. But I do remember why I liked it so much. I credit the selected quote by Edward Steichen. I was a fan of Steichen before I even knew who he was. I remember checking out a book from the Central library popular culture in the 1930s when I was about 16 or 17 . There were several old Hollywood portraits I loved, especially one of George Gershwin at his piano smoking a cigar. I photocopied it and placed it in a sheet protector in my school binder.

George Gershwin, c. 1927 Edward Steichen

This particular book (which I also can’t remember the title of) and photography pretty much solidified my interest in history, which would later lead into a serious interest in photography. I didn’t know Steichen was to credit until I saw a traveling exhibit at LACMA back in 2008 titled ‘Vanity Fair Portraits’. This is where I saw and recognized so many of the photographs I had seen in that book nearly a decade ago, including that George Gershwin portrait that I had photocopied. By default, he already was one of my favorite studio portrait photographers. All it took was a single quote to remind me of that fact.

The lost art of walking

In the winter of '08, I inadvertently received one of my favorite photography books as a christmas present. Inadvertent because I was given a gift card to Borders, and well, the rest is history. Over the past year I've read what I could here and there and only until recently have I come to appreciate the treasure I found on Sunset and Vine.

This book embodies everything I admire about the man and everything I hope to build through my own vision. His life's portfolio is so much more than Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville.

A visual historian of the city of Paris is how I choose to approach his work. The stories, observations, and of course his photographs, takes the viewer through the rapid changes of this metropolis while simultaneously going inside the mind of an old man who adores his hometown in spite of many of the transitions.

There are others that have their last names titled with a specific city...Lee Miller's Paris, Cartier-Bresson's Paris etc etc However each vision is completely different. Like with any major city in the world, there are many recording their cities as they know it. Each vision is unique even if the subject has been covered before.That is something I have to keep reminding myself from time to time...and time to time...

At this point in time, my approach to photography is one of preservation. Whether I take someone's portrait or shoot cityscapes, I feel its important to record something that can be used as a visual document in the future. I suppose some artists say "someone else will do it" when it comes to using visual tools for historical purposes. For now, I guess I am that "someone else"