An unwelcome walk...

Digital reading for film project

There are many days when I wish I would have been an aspiring photographer during the days when having your picture taken was a rarity and a privilege. People seemed more willing to let a stranger capture their image…or so the history books have made it seem. Too often I’ve seen people dodge my path at the sight of my camera, whether it’s an SLR or a little point and shoot. I sense their uneasiness immediately. Some see me as a type of thief. No one has ever said that to me but that’s the vibe I often feel.

Recently, I was walking westward on 8th street, expanding my collection of payphones. There was one outside of a small liquor store that I came across and shot it. Immediately, I noticed the storeowner nervously come out to see what I was up to. Having captured what I wanted, I continued on with my walk. As I did this, I also noticed a customer step out behind me. I was about half a block down when I heard the heavyset customer exclaim, “We don’t like cameras”. I didn’t turn back, although I did think about how many photographers they’ve come across and felt photographers are only interested in the exploitation of the area and the people.

This wasn’t the first time I’ve been confronted by someone because I took a picture of a payphone near their store. On Washington and Central I took a picture of a payphone near an entrance to a salon and a nervous young Hispanic man came out and asked me if I had been sent over by someone. I said no and explained the objective of my project. He went on to tell me that his store had been vandalized continuously because he was gay. I apologized for causing any alarm and hoped his troubles would stop soon.

I’ve also been confronted by less understanding storeowners. On Broadway and 8th I took a picture of a payphone that was across the street from the Orpheum theatre. The phone wasn’t next to the convenience store entrance so I was surprised when I saw the storeowner come out to the street and attempt to cover my lens. He was an older man of Middle Eastern descent. He told me I wasn’t allowed to take a picture of his store. I calmly explained what I was doing and assured him that his store wasn’t in my frame, only the payphone. He didn’t care and told me not to shoot anymore. I said the phone was city property and he couldn’t tell me what to do. To his disapproval I quickly captured my picture anyway. He kept an eye on me as I walked down the block. Normally I’d be intimidated by such a confrontation, but honestly, not in my hometown.

I would love to know the specific reasons some of the storeowners have for hating the use of cameras near their stores. Then again if they’re confronting me then they’re probably not in a chatty mood. Either way, this is my ongoing project and it’ll take the actual disappearance of the payphones to get me to stop.

Directions C.2009 Hollywood, CA

I was hesitant to post this picture. I was trying to reserve this little outlet of mine strictly to 35mm prints. After some thought, I’ve realized if these entries are about my findings while walking through this city, then I have to be ready to share what I’ve captured with whatever I have on me at that moment.

There’s no denying the advantages modern day technology. While there may be a fine line between technological usefulness and uselessness for certain things, I can appreciate the capabilities of our “essential” items, such as cameras and the Internet on mobile phones. Just yesterday one of these features helped me find the one public library in the entire city that had the book I wanted to check out; Istanbul to Cairo on a shoestring.

One of these features also allowed me to capture something that would break my three-month absence from this site.

Upon entrance into the Los Feliz Public library I noticed a piece of paper practically laminated over the center of a payphone.

“Not In Service
Please use the telephone at 2000 Hillhurst Av.
On the northeast corner of Finley Av.
2 blocks north of the library.”

Gutted payphones are becoming commonplace. That’s been my own observation since I started my mad hunt (or obsession) particularly in the last two years. However, this was the first time that I had seen a notice of any kind on a debunked phone. This was also the first time I had seen posted directions to the nearest working phone. I’ve seen notices on newspaper stands and mailboxes but never on a phone.

Why was this odd to me? Of the payphones that are out there in the streets of L.A., its usually quite obvious if they’re working or not… the phones are physically there or physically gone. In my fairly recent encounters with payphones, there hasn’t been a “middle ground”. The payphone at the Los Feliz library is an example of the middle ground.

In my quest to collect the city’s dying communication portal, I suppose its time to acknowledge my preexisting archived digital images…