I play chicken with Mercedes and Audi's

While I play chicken with more expensive cars I also had some time to photograph at a meeting for people interested in the organic food movement. My time in LA is coming to a close and I will miss my roommates, the people I work with, and the old Victorian home I live in. I'll be leaving LA to be welcomed by the wintery air of the Northeast. Here are some things I've learned:

1.) Know your photo history. I was invited to a meeting a my boss's home and in every room of the house, the walls are covered with photographs ranging from Friedlander to Cartier-Breson. I was corrected by her son when I didn't correctly ID a Weegee photo. In case your wondering Weegee not only shot crime scenes at night but also used infra-red film in movie theaters.

2.) Simple skills like typing shouldn't be overlooked. I've had to transcribe interviews and I'm a two finger maybe three finger typer which doesn't bod well when you have to listen to 1-2 hour long interviews.

3.) There are many people who have photography degrees that don't shoot. I meet producers of commercials and movies who started out being production assistants but have a BA in photography.

4.) Don't assume anything and always check with someone above you (which is everyone). Minds change all the time so even if something was supposed to be one way an hour ago doesn't mean that it is still the same.

5.) In editorial/commercial work, the photographer is told what to do and the people making all the shots are the art directors and creative directors. While this may suck to many it's what helps to fund the work you'll want to produce.

Chinatown

This past week and half has been pretty chaotic between finding my around LA and the studio. This past weekend was the first one in a long time where I didn't get out of bed before 7am and didn't have any driving to do. Later in the evening I went to Chinatown. I know I shouldn't have been surprised that LA has a Chinatown but I was. I had real steamed dumplings, that's the great thing about being near a city that is on the ocean, all of the cultural diversity. All sorts of little communities form around the city. I live in an Hispanic neighborhood but two blocks south is a small Korean community. This does mean however, that the little Hispanic woman who lives two doors down enjoys waking me up, with her dulcet voice that proclaims "Tamales!". Over and over and over at from about 6:30am to 7:00am. Who needs an alarm clock?

Something I have noticed about LA is the bombardment of advertising. Billboards, road, newspaper, park benches, and t-shirts. Either has a label out here. I notice most of things on my way to work which being 45 minutes allows me lots of chances to see what's around especially with all of the stopping and starting. It's not the advertisements that offend me but rather what they are about. 1-800-GET-THIN, Best Buys for Purses, Clutches, and Bags, Ovation Cell Therapy Yes, you too can have thick gorgeous hair. For such a health conscience area, organic food is everywhere along with herbal remedies for any aliment, lap bands and chemicals to give you stronger hair don't seem too health to me. Maybe my feminist side is coming out, maybe my sarcastic East Coast mentality is playing a role, or maybe I have a photo story?

Chinatown

4:07pm

Venice Beach

The pier

This is a photograph I did not take. There are nine light poles each separated with enough space between them so that there is no overlap. Along the right hand side are three boats, one speed boat that has a small trail of waves behind it, and two sail boats that are moving in the same direction. In the foreground, on the right hand side, are two men fishing. One has a full head of hair the other is completely bald by choice. They seem to know each other because there is a comfort between them that seems like more than mere acknowledgment of each other. Both rest their left hand on the left cheek and stare at their fishing poles. The waves continue to rolls past their fishing lines without recognizing the lures. Further down the pier other clusters of people fish and in the middle ground two seagulls fight over a hamburger roll.

3rd day in LA

Is it that obvious that I'm from the east coast?

I've been in LA for about 48 hours now and there are something about me that are apparently east coast traits. I'm impatient and bouncing, jiggling, or moving your leg, hand and/or foot makes you seem impatient. I constantly want something to do and I move pretty quickly. Now this is odd for me because at home I walk the slowest out of my friends and family but out here I could join a speed walking team and easily become their best athlete. The way I talk I guess lets people know I'm from the east coast. When I get excited about something I talked faster and louder and tend to use my hands. I thought that was just an Italian thing.

Los Angeleans are an interesting type of people, they never seem rushed and generally don't rush others. For example I was hell bent on spending exact change at a grocery store, I wanted to use ever last penny, so I ended up counting out sixteen cents. Not once to the cashier get huffy with me, it was wild. The wildest part about was that I was still trying to counting the change out fast.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll ever be full acclamiated to the west coast but here are some photos from Big Sur.

“No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy, even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strength.”-Jack Kerouac

Tallyho!

It's been awhile since so here's a quick re-cap of the end of my trip, got to spend a day and a half with my grandparents in Utah and then traveled to California and basically traveled the length of the state. Somewhere between San Fransisco and Los Angeles the weather, people, and my nerves changed. Luckily two nights in Big Sur helped eased the transition.

In San Francisco I got to listen to a band that complied the accordion, violin, upright bass, drums and the bass guitar and realized that people in the west coast are very mellow, no one speeds. ever. or uses their directionals either, both irritated me to no end. I also found it interesting that once we crossed into California there was a stop on highway 15 where we were asked if we had fresh fruit or animals in the car. Do you suddenly have to go through customs to enter California? Apparently.

Also the moment we got into Illnois, there were all kinds of green energy suppliers. Windmills and solar panels were speckled across the landscape which was nice to see. However the west and midwest seem to make-up for their green efforts by dumping abandoned cars along the roads.

Thousands of feet above sea level

We made it to Colorado. Fourteen hours later, five rain storms, and fifteen construction delays later. Nebraska may be my new favorite state on the account that the speed limit was 75 mph and the scenery was beautifully flat. The closer I got to Colorado the more the sky darkened and then the rains came.

Our first day we made it to Chicago and I got to take a trip down memory lane and visit my old home. My very small 1930's bungaloo style home. Many things were still the same and many things were different fortunately the woman who currently lives there didn't get to freak out by a complete stranger asking to walk through her home.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to make it to St. George, Utah where my paternal grandparents live. Here's hoping I can get adjusted to the mountain times zone!