I thought I'd give this a try and see where it leads, without necessarily planning ahead of time what I'm going to draw and just going with it.
The concept of InkTober was started by Jake Parker. You can check out his work here, and get a short intro into what seems to be a growing community of artists working in unison.
...and as I removed the film from my Continette I see that I had written the number 14 on the side of the roll. By the looks of it, there's some shots of Chris Burden's "Urban Lights" installation at LACMA and some other random shots of plants and streetscapes showing through each of these frames. In some cases they make for a nice composition.
From a productivity point of view, today was one of those days in which not much on my list got done, but I'm going to blame the weather for that. You see, it's Winter in Los Angeles, and it is about 80 degrees outside. It is not my fault.
My friend Dylan texted me yesterday saying he wanted to shoot some pieces of graffiti in my neighborhood. He has been working on a wet plate collodion project called "Public Access", and since he told me about it, I have been pseudo-scouting my surroundings for him.
We met around 8:30 and headed out all the way to the end of the block to shoot a piece called Supernatural Conductor by Ekundayo. I shot around the block, and documented his process on film as he prepared the plates, loaded up, shot the image and developed the plate in a make shift chemistry lab / dark room right on the sidewalk. Then, we drove around back streets and alleys looking for other potential pieces to shoot. We wrapped around noon and went our separate ways.
Having shot just one roll of film and carrying two other loaded cameras with me, I still had the urge to explore some more and look for opportunities to shoot for myself. Instead curiosity struck me and I had to check out a small retail community brewing up on Adams Blvd. West of Fairfax, Adams Gateway.
Adams Gateway is a brilliant, guerrilla type urban retail intervention in shipping containers which has the potential to revive, or jump start the soul of the West Adams community by bringing together new and potential residents as well as deep rooted families that have lived in the area for decades by offering cool shops with local crafts, a soon to arrive coffee truck, vintage goods, amazing and funky music at Dig It Vinyl and locally designed wicked clothing for those with a rockabilly attitude at Superiority Complex. I myself can't wait to get my WA T-Shirt from Tastemaking , they didn't have my size today :(. I think it is going to be the I ♥ NY of Mid City. Oh! And here's the best bit; ORGANIC vegetables at DO. Yes, I said "organic". And it is right next to J n J's Burger Shack / BBQ, a neighborhood staple serving BBQ ribs, Pork Belly sandwiches and burgers.
Don't get me wrong, I still cringe at the idea of gentrification, but what I think that I'm witnessing here is perhaps the best example or urban sensibility to the existing community and growth while addressing need; and it is happening from within, promoting residents, and local crafts before corporate sterility.
Just a fun shot through the2nd street tunnel in downtown Los Angeles. Perhaps the first recorded polaroid cool cam drive by shooting.
DOCUMENT: West Adams - Auto repair
Yesterday, I met a potential buyer for the building I live in. Nice guy. He was about my age. We had a short conversation about surfing and the recent and rapidly increasing changes in West Adams.
That said, it is becoming more and more obvious that I am dead center in the heart of the newest economic muse for investors & speculators of the housing market. On the one hand, it feels nice to have new art galleries and coffee shops pop up in the area. My neighborhood could be the next Venice or Silver Lake. Soon enough, it is going to be cool to live here. Perhaps, I'll be one of those guys that says "yeah, I lived there before it was hip". Or not. On the other hand, I must pause for a second and recognize that despite my skin color, higher education and good salary, I'm still a little fish in this pond...
...but to survive, I must keep swimming.
One thing I love about this place is its character. West Adams, like most old neighborhoods has its roots in a period of a growing middle class of about a century ago. In fact, this used to be an affluent place to live in. Check out "Uncovering Los Angeles’ Forgotten Neighborhood" by Jordan G. Teicher.
The beautiful old houses, the greenery and old tree lined sidewalks, the churches and ministries in every corner, the store fronts, auto repair shops and that community feel that I remember as a kid in Puerto Rico, still thrive here. People know their cashiers and bag boys, and neighbors talk to each other at the grocery store. Businesses still make a living among friends and neighbors. Something you probably can't say about places like Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice anymore. BTW, I lived on Abbot Kinney in 1997/98 "before it was cool to live there, but not early enough to be one of them super cool artists from decades before when it was really cool, and dangerous to live there".
Here's the ironic part, despite the fact that Venice is 64.2% white people with a median household income of $67,647 according to a 2008 The Los Angeles Times | Local study "Mapping LA", and West Adams is only 2.4% white and the median household income is $38, 209 crime (in the last six months) is almost twice as much in hipster Venice than it is in West Adams. Property crimes alone and four-fold. Hmm!
When you look at the cost of housing after a neighborhood has been gentrified, specially as we have witnessed on the West Side, one can only assume it is a safe and happy neighborhood. Why wouldn't you? People with money live there. Right!
But while fancy coffee houses, tailored jean shops and high priced bungalows and modern homes may be the magic dust that glitters over such a neighborhood and some people make a small fortune, while investors just rack it up , it seems that the unaddressed social issues not only remain under the surface, but may even compound after time under the whitewash that is gentrification.
Abstracted Landscapes is a series of handheld - long exposure - unedited shots taken while hiking in Malibu, CA the night of the Blood Moon Eclipse 2015. The results of shooting this way are unpredictable. I'm continually attracted to the blurred, almost unrecognizable forms, smeared colors and their painterly qualities captured while shooting in motion.
I can appreciate a perfectly crisp image, but a lot of the time I shoot from the hip, not looking for perfection. I think, I just want to capture a feeling more than anything, if that is even possible.
If I captured the moment, then great. If I don't.....then shit, I'll have to go back!
As with many forms of expression there is something about the feel of the pen on the paper, the touch of the brush on a canvas, or in this case the need to press that button and hear the click and shutter noise that keeps us wanting to do it again and again. We don't know why this happens. We just know that we believe we see something that we must record.
Whether it is in the form of a painting, a poem, a photograph, a story written or told, there's an idea behind it pushing in our veins and activating our bodies to express it in physical form in order to get it out into the open.
For this particular exercise, I decided to give myself a destination and do a little street photography in an attempt to get a more intimate understanding of what makes Los Angeles special. Now, please understand that I find photojournalism, nature, and street photography to be some of the most challenging genres in the medium, and that I hold those who do it with the upmost respect.
This is by far a craft that is very difficult for me, and my little field trips are small attempts to walk in the shoes of those who have mastered the craft such as André Kertész, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bill Cunningham and so many others and examine the relationship between the photographer, the city, and its people in an age where our consciousness of the camera is either this ubiquitous annoyance of people taking selfies all around us, or that of an intrusive eye hatching over our everyday lives.
Whether we like to admit it or not, the relationship between a photographer and his / her subject is very different today than what it was just 20 years ago.
Digital vs. Analog
There is of course many sides one can take about what equipment is best to use for what situation. I will leave those discussions to those who are well versed in the latest equipment and / or tutorial sites, which by the way, can be very helpful if you are looking for a place to start your research. My personal attention is more towards the experience of being a street photographer and what effects it may have in my (or your) growth as such.
Most of the time I shoot with a Canon 50D, and if I'm going to an event or location where photography is typically expected to occur, or while travelling I will take that with me. But, for me, digital has two consequences;
1. Since it allows you to collect as many photos as you can fit in your memory card, one tends to do just that and shoot indiscriminately while letting the camera do most of the work. In this situation, I find many times that although I may have collected many photographs, I have missed the experience of being there, especially if visiting a museum exhibit, travelling, visiting a building, or a performance event. The rare exception to this is in occasions where your whole body is fully involved as when taking photos of sports like surfing or skateboarding. I believe in those situations, your level of awareness is heightened exponentially for reasons of self preservation.
2. Disposability. When shooting digitally some of us may simply not take the time it takes to make the shot count. Although I do have a tendency to "shoot from the hip" and sometimes catch some worthy images, I mostly appreciate those shots where I slowed down, composed the shot and waited for the right moment. The limited number of exposures, and the cost of film and developing force me to think about what I'm shooting.
That said, I currently shoot with a very well worn Canon A-1, or a Continette Ikon. I also find that most people are curious about someone shooting with film and tend to be more friendly. Compared to the 50D with a zoom lens, the smaller size of the film camera body and (fixed) lens are also perceived as less intrusive. On the other hand, it does mean that you have to be where the action is to take the shot.
What I chose to share with you in this blog are mostly shots of the mundane day to day details of the world around us that for some reason grab my attention. Moments or situations that are sometimes inspiring, sometimes ironic, funny, disturbing, sweet, graphic, violent, romantic, unique, redundant....you name it. Basically the shit that we see everyday that perhaps if captured in a photograph may just slow us down for a moment of contemplation.
Thanks for stopping by.
Jorge
In contrast to Los Angeles, nature in Orlando Florida, is in your face, the horizons are limitless, wildlife and fictional characters are everywhere, stucco and neon seem to be the vernacular building materials and cramming the maximum allowable thrills per square inch is a common practice.
As I return home to visit family and friends, I have to say it is nice to see the rain and the verdant landscapes, and to study the surreal juxtapositions of the ubiquitous tourist attractions, gift shops and thrill rides from an architectural / urban planning point of view. It is on the other hand a little depressing to see the lack of architectural imagination in the last 20 years, yet getting around the vast landscape has been greatly improved by new infrastructure, freeways and toll roads.
With no time to wander and photograph during this short and bittersweet trip home, I mostly did some drive-by shooting while riding in the car with my family and friends.
I have been living in this area for about 3 years. Already I've been noticing some changes. Not that I'm an expert or anything, but about 10 years ago the thought occurred to me: "people can't keep coming to Los Angeles and commute in from a continually expanding periphery. They'll eventually have to come back in."
So, according to Anthony Bourdain gentrification goes something like this. In a neighborhood were mostly immigrants and low income families live, and were rents are usually lower than average, first come the craftsmen and artists followed by the hipsters. Then a handful of galleries and coffee shops open. After that, the middle class is attracted to the area by it's artsy, eclectic feel (just look up Echo Park and Silver Lake), and the rents skyrocket, leaving people that have been living in these areas for generations no choice than to move out. It all culminates with a quick one-two punch, a banh mi / cup cake shop combo open up next to each other followed by a deadly body blow of a Whole Foods (check out Lincoln/Rose in Venice CA).
I've known people who lived in this area way longer than myself, so by no means do I consider myself a trailblazer. I'm also neither a an artist, nor consider myself a hipster. I have no tattoos and wearing "product" on my hair doesn't really help that much.
That said, in addition to the recent new businesses like Delicious Pizza / Delicious Vinyl, the art gallery across the street and the fact that I recently saw a white girl with blue hair walking a poodle and a man mowing the lawn with an electric lawnmower, I'll say West Adams is somewhere between stage 2 and Stage 3 of this transformation. I believe the crucial surge will occur when the Expo Line hits the Ocean in a couple of years.
My intention is to capture the minute details of this transformation of West Adams Blvd. between La Cienaga and Crenshaw Blvds. with emphasis between Crenshaw and La Brea for as long as I live in the area.
Some of the following posts will include photos taken in the past 3 years along with current ones.
Union Station: Downtown Los Angeles
Although lomography purple film makes people look like oompa loompas (not good), it gives buildings a certain Constructivist Poster feel that I think has much potential with further exploration.
Street vendor in Echo Park.
This is my first blog entry, and perhaps a new way for me of feeding those curious bugs with nibbles of what captures my attention on a regular basis by sharing my photos.
Most of the time, you'll see random shots of those details that are such a part of the city of Los Angeles; a street vendor, a taco stand, a sign spinner, a billboard, a traffic jam.
I love this city. The foods, the colors, the sounds, its juxtaposition of cultures (ethnic puree), its people and the fact that Los Angeles can drop its trousers for a laugh from time to time and not take itself so seriously, make this city the place that I call Home.
I look forward to future posts and I really hope you enjoy this blog and return often.
Gracias.
Jorge A. Marien
