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Hollywood Boulevard, January 2004
Feb. 23rd, 2025 01:27 pm
From the early 2000's to about 2016, we used to take a long weekend in Los Angeles every January. It was a wonderful change to leave the cold, often foggy north for the sunny south. The drive down I-5 was a bit long but it was also an effective way to decompress. Driving down a gloomy, almost desolate freeway will do that to you. You forget about work and concentrate on avoiding the large trucks that dominate the route. On the rare occasions when it's sunny, you are bedazzled by the green of one of the most productive ag valleys on the planet.
This was taken with a film camera, the Contax G2, loaded with Fuji Provia. Scanned with a Nikon Coolscan. I flipped it to B&W in post.
Things are not going so well in the United States of America right now. We are experiencing something very similar to what happens in small, poor countries with underdeveloped political systems. A small group of people whose brains are addled by greed and hubris are testing the limits of what the system can stand. They don't care who gets hurt because they are sure it won't be them. But as this photo illustrates, things in life have a tendency to go around and come around.
When La La Land becomes hell on earth
Jan. 11th, 2025 08:42 pm
It's hard to be reasonable about something like this. There are so many things to make you sad and angry. I love California. I'm glad to be living here. I don't know if I could live in LA. It's a bit too big and too car centric for my tastes. But I've always enjoyed visiting. Had a lot of memorable times there. Seeing what's happening now, what's going to continue until the damned winds stop blowing. I know it's a cliche to say this but it's heartbreaking.
