Travels with Wallace

New Years resolution.

2011-01-23T23:53:00.000-08:00

This year I want to start making more stuff. My photography has faltered a bit over the last few years and I want to try to pick it up a little. Nothing major, just try to make it a habit again. So to that end I've been trying to plan some small projects and figure out different ways I can integrate my art making into my life.

One project, inspired by a couple of friends I correspond with occasionally, is to create a postcard once a month to send to people who want to get cool stuff in the mail. Not Art, really, but decorative I suppose. It will be photos for the most part, maybe some illustration if I get inspired, and I'll do it once a month. It will be something you can put up on your fridge if you feel inspired or decorate the interior of your trashcan. For me it's a way to motivate myself to make things. Here's what it won't be: pix of my kid, or sunsets or kittehs or spam. Or of naked people, violence, blood or dungeon porn. That's all for me. Right now I've got a few months sort of pre-planned (trying to settle on paper) and I hope to get January's out just a little into February, then I'll hopefully send the next eleven out by the end of their respective month.

So, if you're interested in getting cool stuff in the mail, send me an email with your address and I'll put you on the list. If I have your address and you want to get one, let me know. I don't want to send them out willy nilly.

Devil's Gate Dam

2010-11-23T14:23:00.000-08:00

I've driven past the dam, built in 1920, about a billion times and always wanted to take some pix. During the Station Fire I took one, but it was dark and I didn't really get to explore. I finally got the chance last Saturday when I walked around the park a but in the rain. Apparently there's a lot more to explore however, and I'm already antsy to go back.

I shot a roll of film while I was there as well, but I think it will be a while before that's developed. Will just have to wait and see on those.

A walk in the rain: The Hahamongna Watershed

2010-11-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

I took a walk Saturday in the Hahamongna Watershed and around Devil's Gate Dam. The park sits at the top of the Arroyo, just beneath JPL. Though it was empty except for a few joggers while I was there it's apparently a popular place for horseback riding and dog walking. I only saw a fraction of the park because of the rain and am looking forward to checking it out again. Some of the pix I took:

Looking through old pix tonight...

2010-11-20T00:44:00.000-08:00

and came across this portrait of my grandmother.

Walking along early one morning...

2010-08-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

I never get the chance to walk around and shoot these days. Keeping up with a speeding toddler takes way more attention than I ever thought, lift the camera and focus and the boy is taking off through a parking lot or hailing a taxi to take him to the airport. So it was kind of a treat the other day when I had to drop off my wife's car at the break of dawn and found myself alone with some nice light. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera, just my phone.

I liked this yard though, or whatever it is. And the enormous AC.

A few pix from Palm Springs...

2010-08-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

Finally got my film developed. There were several rolls from our trip to Palm Springs in May (so long ago, what happened to the summer?).

This one is my favorite. It looks so stark. The strange texture along the top is something that happened during processing, maybe from the film being out of date. A happy accident I think.

Officially Cabazon I think. Continuing my love affair with chain link fences.

And dinosaurs.

There was some color as well but it is not I have a harder time digitizing that with my camera. The colors turn out all wonky. I may post it later though.

B & W

2010-07-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

Jasmine outside our bedroom window.

Variations on a theme, from Palm Springs.

Clifton's Cafeteria...

2010-07-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

A Los Angeles landmark, Clifton's has been downtown for seventy years. I finally got my chance to visit on my last day of my internship in May. The food is questionable, but the atmosphere is outstanding.

Waiting in line. I didn't take any interior shots because I was in a hurry and I'm not sure how well they would have come out on my phone anyway. It's a must see though, at least once.

Cherry Picker

2010-07-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

More Backlight...

2010-07-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of living in Southern California is year round grilling. This is appropriate for today, but I think I took it in mid-May.

*

2010-06-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Oinkster

Backlight

2010-06-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

From the Archive -- BSA

2010-06-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

My brother on his bike in TX. This was before he lovingly restored it. Also before a woman in a Buick drove into me while I was riding it.

Finally, pix not taken with a phone.

2010-06-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to "digitizing"* some old film. One is from my Zeiss shot early last year some time, with pix from the roadtrip I took to pick up Charlie when he moved out and a few shots around Venice, CA while I waited for a singer I was photographing to get her makeup done. Then there were a couple rolls from my lomo, random shots around town. You can check them all out on my flickr site if you're so inclined.

From my road trip. I was having an issue with the camera so I unloaded the film and put it back in, this is a double exposure.

Venice, CA.

Chinatown.

Hhmmmm, donuts.

Mysterious tanks.

The Arboretum.

F-104, March Air Museum.

Abandoned garage, Glendale.

I have six more rolls to process, plus the one in my camera. I'm trying to get away from the phone a bit, just for kicks.

*I don't have a scanner really. I can occasionally use my wife's work scanner but I tend to not get enlargements made, just contact sheets. This has led to a sort of lo-fi, hi-tech solution to digitizing my negs. I put them on a light box and shoot them with my digital camera. People have copied photos this way since the beginning (I've read of daguerreotypes of other daguerreotypes) and it does lend a sort of vintage look to the final result (especially with color, which is tough to balance this way).

Silverlake

2010-06-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

Disneyland

2010-06-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

Pix from Disneyland a few weeks ago.

Charlie wrangling toddlers. T had gotten soaked in a fountain and was stripped to the waist almost immediately.

Castle. You have to take this pic.

It's a Small World. Still the creepiest ride in the park, though it's been updated since last I was there. It's also always good for the awesome A/C and short lines. It's pretty much the only ride we went on, unless you count lines in restaurants as rides, which I kind of do.

*

2010-06-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

Downtown fun...pt 2

2010-06-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

I've been to Grand Central Market downtown a couple of times but I don't remember all of the neon being lit. I'm not sure if it's recently been restored or if I just didn't notice, but I spent this trip taking pictures of much of it. It reminded me of the mercado I visited on a trip to Mazatlan several years ago. Unfortunately we had an impatient toddler fresh of a funicular bender so we didn't get to stop and eat, I could have spent the whole day looking at the ceiling. Also, great for people watching.

Some more neon.

Not sure I'd recommend the especial, but at $.79 lb the price can't be beat.

Tried to explain catfish to the boy the other day, not sure what exactly he expected but I don't think this was as exciting as what he had imagined.

On the other side of the market is the Bradbury Bldg. home of Ross Cutlery, a great place to go for all your blade sharpening needs or if you just like looking at knives. Or want to see the Bradbury.

Why do kids always have to go up the stairs?

Check out all the pix from our little trip in my flickr site.

Downtown fun...pt 1

2010-06-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

J wanted to look for some fabric to recover a chair so we decided to head downtown to Michael Levine. As soon as the boy heard us mention downtown he got really excited, "can we go see the orange thing?" he asked. He was talking about Angel's Flight, which we had driven past a couple of months ago and just reopened after an accident a few years back. I can't believe he remembered it from a quick pass on the street and a stop shortly afterward (before it reopened). But he did so we thought we'd check it out and take a little walk around downtown. Here's some pix.

Lost amongst the fabrics.

Spooky. Metropolitan Water District.

Angels Flight. Puts the FUN in FUNicular.

Looking down the hill.

This location featured prominently in last years story of boy meets girl.

Next up: Grand Central Market and a second location from the movie mentioned above.

PX 100

2010-05-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the two packs of PX 100 First Flush I shot. It was pretty unpredictable and it seems there is some inconsistency between film batches, but it was fun to try. For the price though I'm not sure how much I'll be using.

From my first pack I shot in Chinatown. Low contrast, red brown, these were the best of the bunch.

From my second pack in Palm Springs. I got a little more contrast and I can't decide if I like this yellow brown better than the red brown. People have been attributing the difference in tone to the development temp (saying the red brown comes from warmer environments) but this second pack was shot under hotter circumstances so I think it has more to do with chemical batches. In both cases though I had a hard time covering them fast enough to avoid additional exposure during the process period (as you can see from lighter streaks and darker spots I think are from my fingers), even taping the darkslide as suggested by the website didn't help that much. Hopefully they work that out. It does have a nice look if you have the right subject though, kind of early photography crappiness that works with downtrodden subjects. You can see everything I shot in my flickr set. The second pack.

This one may be my favorite of all of them.

There and Back Again...

2010-05-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

A couple from the road in, it was raining which made us a bit nervous.

Windmills.

On the way back we stopped in Cabazon to see the dinosaurs. Skipped the museum, stopped for a coke.

Jess makes friends with T. Rex.

Eat.

More Windmills.

You can see all the pix on my flickr page.

Lost Weekend

2010-05-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we got to go away to Palm Springs for a couple of days, our first weekend free of the burdens of parenthood (thanks to the in-laws). We just sat by the pool and it was good. Here's a few pix.

The view from our suite. We got an upgrade because the sink in our original tiny room wouldn't drain. We stayed at Korakia Pensione, it's better in the middle of the summer though when the ridiculous heat keeps the tourists at bay.

The view from my pool chair.

I also shot my second pack of PX 100, which turned out better than the first but still pretty unpredictable. More on that later.

A few more from Macy's.

2010-04-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

Macy's

2010-04-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

Beautifully restored modernist department store. Originally opened as a Bullock's in 1947, it was designed by Wurdeman & Becket architecture firm and featured in Architectural Digest. Wurdeman & Becket also designed the Capital Records building, Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Downtown Los Angeles.

Toys

2010-04-10T23:29:00.000-07:00

Montrose

Gold Line pt. 2

2010-04-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Some more pix from the trip back into Pasadena.

Grafitti

Don't know.

Where school buses are born.

Park near Chinatown, not sure of the name.

Same park. The lines are vertical supports for the chainlink, they appear diagonal because of the iPhone shutter from the moving train.

Gold Line pt. 1

2010-03-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

Been taking the Gold Line downtown for my internship and it's been kind of fun. I start at Lake (between the freeway lanes on the 210 and head through Pasadena, South Pas, Highland Park, Chinatown etc. to Union Station where I change to the Red Line to Pershing Square. For the most part the Gold Line follows the original route and is elevated through the last quarter or so across the river and through Chinatown, allowing for a unique view of the city you don't get from the freeway. Some pix from the trip down...

San Fernando Rd. Looking north toward the freeway.

The River

Chinatown Station

After Chinatown I think. Not sure of the intersection.

Just before Union Station

I've yet to take it past Union Station, so a visit to Little Tokyo may be in order.

We want...

2010-03-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

...A shrubbery!

One that looks nice.

And not too expensive.

Gimlet

2010-03-20T23:11:00.000-07:00

After Weston?

2010-03-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

Blogs you should be looking at...

2010-03-13T23:21:00.000-08:00

Unhappy Hipsters takes images from high end design magazines (mostly Dwell but Wallpaper and New York magazine also show up) and re-contextualize them by adding new captions. Super funny and about the only blog I check religiously right now. I really enjoy this sort of exercise, it's easy to overlook the importance of context when looking at pictures.

At breakfast this morning...

2010-03-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

Pylons

2010-02-23T22:47:00.000-08:00

Four pictures of clearings

2010-02-20T22:45:00.000-08:00

*

2010-02-16T22:43:00.000-08:00

Deli Case

2010-02-15T00:10:00.000-08:00

33 cents: or, how Bank of America edged out AT&T as the most loathsome company I have ever dealt with.

2010-02-14T02:09:00.000-08:00

This is a long story. One you may or may not want to read but that I need to get off my chest.

I've had a BofA checking account since my first week living in Los Angeles twelve years ago. I opened the savings account more recently, but the fact is I've been a customer of theirs for a long time. I also had a credit card with them for overdraft protection (kind of a ripoff) that I opened when overdrawing my account was a real concern. It bailed me out of bounced checks a couple of times and BofA got a fee in return. Three accounts total.

Fast forward to today. I opened a checking account at a credit union a few years ago for a car loan (they offered a MUCH better rate) and when I got married my wife and I had our joint checking at the credit union, so I never really used the BofA account. I paid $12.00 a month to park a few hundred bucks there to keep it open, and I had a weekly online transfer set up to move some money from our credit union checking to my BofA savings. See, this is all just the setup.

I've been thinking of closing my accounts for a while, as I said, I did my banking from the credit union and I was just paying them to keep a little bit of money safe. It didn't make sense but I was kind of lazy. I wish I could claim some kind of political ideology finally motivated me to pull the trigger (I love the Move Your Money thing) but in the end I was just trying to simplify and on January 20th I closed my accounts.

Two days later I got the familiar email from BofA, stating that they were planning to make a transfer, per my request, and to make sure I had the money in the bank. This was not out of the ordinary except that I had closed my accounts a few days earlier. A glitch I thought, surely they won't do it. Three days later, the money was gone from checking, transferred to my phantom accounts at BofA. Naturally I called customer service (I won't get into the endless phone trees, the transfers, the security questions asked and answered ad nauseum, it's too exhausting) to see what was going on. I was assured it was a glitch in the system, a transfer initiated before the account had been fully closed on their servers (or some such) and that once the system realized there was no account the money would be bounced back and I'd never be bothered again. And that's what happened, until I got the second email. We're taking your money, get ready it said.

Surely this has been solved I thought. Until the money came out a second time. I won't get into the customer service nightmare because I'm sure it's all too familiar. The phone trees, finally getting through to be told I don't have an account, trying to explain the problem, the transfers, the security questions. I spoke with a dozen different people over the course of several hours over a few days, none of whom could answer my questions or give me a solution. One woman kept telling me my account was open when the transfer was initiated. When pressed for the date she kept telling me November 17th. Why she was back in November is still beyond me, but for some reason she couldn't move forward in time, it was unbelievable. Finally I got someone on the phone that said they found my money, that "the system"had issued me a check for the full amount minus a .33 cent service charge. SERVICE CHARGE? WTF? For the inconvenience of stealing my money? She explained it was a charge due from the month before I closed the account, but she couldn't explain why they didn't take it out at the time they wrote my check when I closed the account or whether they planned to bill me for it previous to their unauthorized money transfer shenanigans. She still hadn't solved my initial problem though, so I hung up, stomped around and called another number. Finally (after the same security question, explanation, computer crash transfer rigmarol they always put you through) I found someone who could re-activate my account online so I could cancel the transfer plan myself. Problem solved (I guess).

Which brings us back to the "service charge". 33 cents. I've lost more than that from my pockets at the dentist. You see that on the ground and keep walking because it's not worth the effort to pick up, much less go to war with one of the largest banks in the nation over. But they know that. It's like the heist movie where the protagonist (or antagonist depending on the pov) comes up with a brilliant computer program that skims a fraction of a cent of some huge transaction, making them millions. How many tiny "fees" do they assess every day to their millions of customers? To us, it's not worth dealing with, but to them it could mean millions. Writing about it now seems to come dangerously close to conspiracy theory territory, but it just seems so dishonest to me, so arrogant, to just take this tiny bit of money from me. When they already have so much. When they've already taken so much. Knowing that it's not worth the effort to bother with it. Am I alone here?

So that's where it stands. I've been violated by a bank. It's gotten to the point where they can just reach into our pockets and take what they want, as long as it's not enough for us to complain individually. But as a whole, they must be making a fortune.

Forest

2010-02-08T00:09:00.000-08:00

The last of the rainy days...

2010-02-04T22:36:00.000-08:00

Extra Eyes

2010-02-03T22:34:00.000-08:00

If you look closely you can see the remnants of his extra set drawn above his originals.

He says they enable him to see five minutes into the future, but I'm not sure I buy it.

Train ride

2010-02-02T22:47:00.001-08:00

Speed

2010-02-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

I used to not like the way the iPhone treated motion, but it's started growing on me.

Makes me think of this photo by Henri Lartigue.

Chinatown

2010-02-01T00:07:00.000-08:00

Fashion Plates

2010-01-27T23:23:00.000-08:00

When we were trying to decide how to dress T for my sisters wedding the idea of putting him in a kilt somehow came up, and it stuck. We did some research and found my families tartan (we went with the green one) and that was pretty much the end of it. When it first came in the mail T wouldn't wait to put it on and spent an afternoon running around outside bare from the wast up, wearing just the kilt. Like he's going to go throw logs or whatever. Here's the inevitable photo-shoot, I couldn't coax an ounce of cooperation from my guy of course, so this represents about five minutes of activity.

These last two are my favorites.

Chinese Take-out

2010-01-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Flight Home

2010-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ft. Worth

2010-01-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Taken from our hotel during our weekend in TX.

The day we arrived.

Some views from our room. They had overbooked and gave us the option of taking a different room, better and higher up, or spend two days at another hotel at their expense, then move back when they had a room. We chose the former because it seemed easier but walked by the other hotel later to find it much nicer. Oops. Still, I think downtown Ft. Worth is pretty and we had a great view.

T got a new car.

Cattlemen's Steak House. Ordered a Manhattan and got a rocks glass with just under room temp bourbon. Probably should have known better.

Halloween

2010-01-20T00:19:00.000-08:00

T went as Huckle Cat, a Richard Scary character. Almost every morning since then, as part of his routine, he requests whiskers be painted on his face. He's recently begun requesting additional flourishes such as eyebrows and additional eyes. It can be a little disconcerting.

Looking for clues.

With our neighbor, who went as a jazzerciser or somesuch.

Monrovia

2010-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Took a trip to Monrovia the other day to drop a fountain pen off for restoration. Turns out the pen I wanted to get fixed will cost more than I want to pay for now (the end of the nib is broken off, almost microscopic but enough to triple the cost for restoration). I did get to stop for a second to take some pix of the old train station there.

Love this typeface.

The side.

Not the station, but the light and the trees looked nice.

I even shot some film (!!!). No idea when I'll be able to develop it, but it's nice to have something better than a phone pic.

As for the pen, it's back to the drawing board, so to speak. I inherited a few, one of which I believe can be fixed cheaply. So I plan to do that and use it a bit, then if I feel it's worth it, spend the money on the others. Of course, the two I like the most are in need of new nibs, the expensive part.

Flight to TX

2010-01-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Twelve Years...

2010-01-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Twelve years ago today I packed up my little car and came out to Los Angeles.

I have some pix of that first trip out; of Roswell where I spent my first night, the desert and the VLA, but they've gone missing somewhere. So this will have to suffice, a picture I took in Roswell last time I was through bringing Charlie back from TX. It's changed a bit, the Denny's I ate in the first time is closed (a Denny's!!) but the UFO museum is still there, preserved by the arid desert heat.

But twelve years in LA, happy anniversary to me.

The view of Griffith Park Observatory from our kitchen in Los Feliz.

Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Thom Mayne's Caltrans building. They call it the Death Star.

Cranes at the harbor.

A gift

2010-01-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

I received a nice gift in the mail yesterday (though the friend who passed it on insists I consider it "a redistribution of crap" instead, I can't help but think of it as a gift). Uh huh, what is it? It's an old photo album a friend said his mother picked up in Berlin in the 60's. Not sure how to date the book itself but it seems to have been designed for carte-de-visites. Big leather binding with a coat of arms and flower motif embossed on the front. Actually reminiscent of some daguerreotypes I have. And it's full of someone's family portraits. All cabinet cards, mostly what look like albumen prints but a few that I suspect are platinum. I'm tempted to pull them out to see if any are dated and to look at the studio imprints on the backings which are always interesting. The pages are really brittle though so I hesitate to do that. That said, it's a nice addition to my collection.

Last Saturdays Sunset

2010-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

The clouds made for a vivid display sort of unusual for this area.

Trip Downtown

2010-01-12T00:26:00.000-08:00

Took a trip downtown today to see how long it takes to get there on the metro. Took these during the trip.

Pershing Square station ascent.

I've taken this picture before, but I can't help it. I love this fixture.

LA river.

New Years Day

2010-01-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

The best thing about LA during the holidays is that's everybody pretty much clears out or stays home so it's relatively easy to get anywhere in the city in about 20 minutes. And it's the only time you can get from Pasadena to Malibu in 45, so, lacking any other plans, we decided to avail ourselves of the easy transit and go visit the beach.

It was overcast and a little chilly so we bundled up...

But it didn't slow some of the locals down. My teeth chattered watching them.

T's new game was to pitch his firetruck out into the surf and have his dad go fetch it. Good times. I only had to fetch T from the waves a couple of times.

Dear Blogosphere...

2010-01-02T10:32:00.001-08:00

It's been so long since I've paid any attention to you, since early October in fact. Don't feel bad though, Flickr has suffered the same neglect, so it's not just you. Of course, I have my excuses but we all know about them. Since the beginning of October we've had a wedding that involved a bit of travel, birthdays, holidays, the end of my second to last semester which involved a lot of writing, and a constant plague of colds and general yuckiness courtesy of our pediatricians office and T's new daycare. The end result is that I haven't had the motivation to pay the kind of attention to you that I know you deserve.

I promise though, on this second day of twenty-ten, to pay more attention to you in the next year. Or at least to try, let's face it, most resolutions are long forgotten by mid February so I'm not really going to lose any sleep over my missing blog posts while I'm washing down an In 'n Out with a tumbler full of whisky at 2am and wondering at my expanding girth. That said though, I do have a few things coming up that might get me back on track. I'm starting my final semester of school at the end of the month which involves an internship at the Los Angeles Public Library Central Branch, which in turn means by-weekly trips downtown and hopefully some picture taking. I'm even considering starting another blog to help record my interning experience on a regular basis to make it easier to write my papers or whatever is involved at the end (and we all know the world needs another self absorbed blog to eat up some bandwidth, and I'm happy to oblige). I also have a backlog of Flickr-ing and picture posting to do. I haven't been shooting much, but I have a few posts worth I'd say. So we'll see.

Thanks for your patience, though, blogosphere. I promise to get off my ass 2.0 and try to show up on occasion.

Still Life

2009-10-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

Not many people know this but cameras do not stand up well to what they call "benign neglect". They need a little attention, especially cameras with mechanical shutters. So it should not have surprised me a few months ago when I found my poor neglected Hasselblad had given up the ghost after sitting in the closet for too long. These are from my last roll, shot last August I believe. I want to make a really big enlargement of the saki bottle, just need some wall space.

Angeles Crest, before the fire...

2009-09-27T15:18:00.000-07:00

From a drive we took up to Mt. Wilson last year. I don't know what it's like up their now, or even if the roads are open again. But another trip to see the difference would be interesting.

Oops, this is the last of the polaroid, I promise...

2009-09-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

I found out they had discontinued SX-70 film about a year after they actually stopped producing it (the cave I was living in was dark and deep). When I asked for it as Samy's the guy looked at me like I was Encino Man. But I love that camera, so when I found a bunch of expired (way expired) packs of Polaroid 600 I went about converting it for use in my camera, which consists of cutting some plastic pegs off so that you can fit it in the older model camera and fashioning a neutral density filter to put over the film pack. In the end, I got about 15 not so good exposures out of it the endeavor, enough to satisfy my final polaroid urge. I've only scanned a few, so just the top five or so of this set. Enjoy.

From the Archive -- Polaroid

2009-09-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Just a couple more polaroids.

Devils Gate Dam

2009-08-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

I drive past this on occasion and I've always wanted to poke around there but haven't had the chance. It's got a strange history apparently. Stopped on top tonight though without realizing it to watch the fire for a bit and got to take a picture. Suitably spooky I'd say. More pix of the fire here.

From the Archive -- Denton Airport

2009-08-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

I used to enjoy riding my motorcycle out toward Denton airport, long ago. These were taken in the vacinity.

This one is from the end of the runway I think.

Mulberry Street

2009-08-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

From the Archive -- Polaroid

2009-08-22T13:44:00.001-07:00

From the Archive -- Nick

2009-07-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

I found these as I was going through old pix. That's the bike I rode through college. Wonder where that is now.

Cross your fingers...

2009-07-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

I ordered some more Kodachrome to shoot, one last hurrah of sorts. I should have done it as soon as I heard the news that it was being discontinued but I didn't get around to it for a few days and basically everybody has it backordered. The guy at Freestyle said Kodak has one last batch and that once that's sent they're done for good. Freestyle doesn't have it listed on their website at all so they're not taking orders. Calumet on the other hand is taking orders but it's basically like the guy said, backordered and all I can do it hope for the best.

I have no idea what I'll do with it if I get it, apparently they'll process until 2010 or so, giving me a little time to get it together.

From The Archive -- Santa Barbara II

2009-07-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

from the Archive -- Polaroid

2009-07-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

Flora

Moon Landings

2009-07-18T00:25:00.000-07:00

Earlier today the Aperture Foundation reminded us by twitter that Monday is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing by posting a link to the sales page for a book by photographers Kahn & Selesnick that is the companion piece to a show they did called the Apollo Prophecies. I'm skipping the book though and directing you right to their webpage which actually shows the photographs instead of the book cover. All of their work is stunning and this show is one of my all time favorites.

From the Archive -- Polaroid

2009-07-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

Giant

2009-07-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

I don't believe an explanation is needed.

From the Archive -- Polaroid

2009-07-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

Taken from the front yard of the house I lived in on Ave. C (I think, I could be wrong) in college.

From the Archive -- Polaroid

2009-07-13T23:49:00.000-07:00

Whit's Cafe, Denton, Tx.

I guess this is what it looks like now.

From the Archive --Los Angeles

2009-07-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Shelter

2009-07-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

Dabbling in Illustration.

From the Archive -- Thomas

2009-07-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

I was digging through pix the other day and found these of Thomas from a while back. He was so chubby.

This is one of my all time faves.

From the Archive -- My Old Apartment

2009-07-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Exterior of my apartment in Century City. It was so small.

From the Archive -- Square

2009-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Another from Santa Barbara.

From the Archive -- 405

2009-06-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

The true story of how I rescued a dog with an assist by Michael Jackson

2009-06-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, this story it true. All of it, strange as it sounds.

Several years ago I was driving with my girlfriend up on Los Virgenes in Calabasas where she lived. Los Virgenes is one of a few roads connecting PCH (and Malibu) with the 101 (and the world). It can get kind of busy at times near the 101 where it's a little built up and we were sitting in traffic when I noticed the nicest Rolls Royce behind us that I'd ever seen. All Rolls are nice, it comes with the territory, but this one was the prototypical Rolls. The Rolls all others aspired to be. I don't know its vintage (though I know it was an older one) but it was clean and shiny as the day it came off the assembly line. There is a subtle difference between an expensive car and a really great car, they shine differently. It's subliminal.

Anyway, here's this car distracting me from the business at hand, which is maneuvering through the slow moving group of people trying to get on the freeway, when this dog comes bouncing of nowhere into traffic. He was frolicking, something I've never seen an animal do until then, but there he was. Forty or so pounds, basically still a pup, chasing after god knows what while cars swerve around him and an older lady comes flapping down the road behind him. She's obviously distraught as her dog goes barreling down a side road into a parking lot for a school. My passenger says we should stop and we're not going anywhere so we pull over in the lot as the dog does his dog stuff around the lot and various temporary buildings. I notice the fancy Rolls pulling in behind but don't think much about it as I get out and start thinking about how I'm going to get this crazy dog.

Now in retrospect I realize the logic behind following a strange animal into a blind alley is probably faulty but he seemed nice at the time and I was trying to be the hero so off I went. As a kid we had a dog that would bolt at any opportunity presented him so I knew it was just a matter of being patient enough and waiting until he decided I was ok, then I could grab him. So I'm heading down into this lot with my girlfriend and Rolls Royce guy, following this dog. Rolls Royce guy was quiet, wearing aviators and a baseball cap pulled low but that's all I got, since I wasn't paying much attention.

I just realized this is a short story getting long. Here we go: the dog ended up trying to dive into a crawl space where I got him by the collar and started heading back up to where his owner was waiting. As I turned around, there's MJ. Ball cap, pony tail hanging out the back, sunglasses. Full on celebrity disguise. I said thanks for the help and he mumbled something in his high pitch and that was it. We walked up together, got in our cars and headed out. It was strange to say the least, and I was caught up in grabbing this dog and trying to impress the girl that I didn't think about it until later. "That was Michael Jackson" I said as I started the car to go. "No" she replied, "it was some tranny stripper". I don't think she got a good look though.

More Kodachrome

2009-06-25T23:42:00.000-07:00

Here are a few cool kodachrome related links.

The Billboard Show opened a couple of weeks ago at Take my Picture on Broadway downtown. I've never been there and don't know much about it, but this show looks cool so I'm thinking it might be time to check it out. From what I've read it's vintage kodachrome slides of billboard adverts from the 50's. The examples I saw in Los Angeles magazine look pretty great. Hopefully I can get down there before it closes.

Also, Photojojo offers its guide to kodachrome. I haven't gone through it all yet but there looks to be several great kodachrome related links to peruse. I'm thinking of picking up a couple of rolls to shoot before it all goes south.

From the Archive -- Square

2009-06-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

They give us the greens of summers...

2009-06-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

So after 74 years Kodak has announced they will discontinue Kodachrome. I understand the need to move on, that it's not viable for them to produce anymore (you have to send it to a third party to develop because they stopped that a while back). I understand that it's expensive and tedious to use, it's 1930's technology after all. But nothing can compare to looking at a vintage, large format kodachrome. The color is so rich and the detail so sharp it's like you're there. The experience is similar to looking at a daguerreotype, in that you really feel the presence of the person (or object) in the picture. They transport you to a different place and time.

I shot a couple of rolls last year (I was buying film and saw some rolls in the fridge and thought "that won't last long" and decided to give it a whirl. I hadn't shot kodachrome since college) and it's strange but it even makes contemporary images look vintage. It's that distinct in its color rendition.

In the end though I'm not sure how much I'll actually miss it. As I said, I haven't shot it since college and it is kind of tedious to use (exposure has to be spot on and it's pretty slow, not to mention sending it out to develop and the 4 or so week turnaround) so what's to miss? I think it has something to do with being at the tail end of the generation of photographers who learned the craft with film. When I was in school autofocus was still a novelty and pros didn't trust zoom lenses. When I started working for wedding photographers we lugged around Hasselblads and Lumadyne flashes. A lot has changed in 11 years and though I love the convenience, speed, ease, cleanliness etc. of digital photography, It's still kind of a bummer when the things I learned with are put to rest. It makes me feel like such a dinosaur.

Hey look...

2009-06-21T23:38:00.000-07:00

it's my Library of Congress Name Authority Record!

010 n 2004007985
040 DLC ‡b eng ‡c DLC
100 1_ Scott, Miles
670 Twentieth Century Fox, 2004: ‡b e-CIP t.p. (Miles Scott)

From The Archive -- Santa Barbara

2009-06-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

From the mission in Santa Barbara no a trip up there several years ago. I'm sorry to say I just found out my Hasselblad lens is broken (from neglect) so it will have to be put up on the shelf for a while longer until I can afford to fix it.

From the Archive -- France

2009-06-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

From the Archive -- Eclipse

2009-06-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

Space Invaders

2009-06-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

The big one looks worried.

It's Chinatown

2009-06-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

From the Archive -- Mexico

2009-06-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

backlight

2009-05-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

Ranunculus

2009-05-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Dio-RAMA!

2009-05-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

Gnome

2009-05-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

Bioshere

2009-05-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

Our last stop was Biosphere 2 in Oracle,Arizona. I was really hoping for a slightly run down dome with Pauly Shore working as the docent and maybe a couple of old airstreams outside. Imagine my surprise (and disappointment) when, after driving an hour out of the way, we found a glittering monument to science. Thanks a lot University of Arizona, you're nuts if you think I'm paying $20.00 to check out a bunch of cactus.

So this is as close as we got. Never even saw the actual building.

More Roswell

2009-05-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

Of course Roswell is known for the whole close encounter thing, so the entire town is one big tribute to alien life. We missed the museum though, I think it cost too much.

This bar looked pretty spooky. Would have been nice to check out the inside though.

Roswell

2009-05-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

Our longest stop was in Roswell. Stopped for lunch and to take a look around.

This last one may have been outside of Roswell. I hung out the window at a stoplight to get this nice neon.

Sneaky

2009-05-01T23:15:00.001-07:00

Was just going through some old pix and found this one.

Very mysterious.

Windfarms

2009-05-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Near Sweetwater, TX I think. Shot this from the car, they're so unbelievably big. We used to drive through the windfarm out in Palm Springs when we came out to CA as kids, but I've noticed a lot more cropping up across the desert each time I drive it.

A Little LA architecture

2009-04-30T13:28:00.000-07:00