Commute, 14

I take "commute" pictures only when the traffic comes to a complete stop. I point the iPhone out the window and snap away, pretty much without knowing what I'm getting, because I'm watching what's ahead of me. I don't want to be the creep who holds up traffic when the light turns green. I dislike that person in the car in front of me, texting away about nothing that can't wait while I'm trying to get somewhere.

Accident waiting to happen: her texting, me freaking out.

And we all know I'm no better than she is. Taking pictures at the light. Who am I kidding?

Climb

You don't have to climb very far to see downtown Los Angeles from here (it's the dark, blocky things on the right), or even to see the ocean (the glistening, horizontal strip behind downtown). That is, if the day is clear.

WMM's Pitch

Pasadena is part of the LA film business. John and I have neighbors who work in television, film, animation, and commercial audio, and that's just our block.

Like the music business, which lost its old model with the advent of music downloads, and like the publishing industry, which is experiencing a similar upheaval, the film business is changing. But film is a different animal because it's a group effort, a collective work.

I've told you before about my husband's film collective, We Make Movies. Right now, Blue Collar Interactive is holding a campaign to award $100,000 in agency services to the emerging company that demonstrates the greatest need by delivering the best pitch, and We Make Movies is one of five finalists.

I'd love it if you'd go to the link and vote for We Make Movies by 12PM PST on Friday, November 16, 2012. Why? I'll quote John's Facebook post: "Because Hollywood has lost interest in taking risks. The studios are manacled to their shareholders. Individual voices in film have to strike out on our own.

"We Make Movies was founded by filmmakers to develop, finance & distribute movies to our audiences directly. We've produced 3 feature films and dozens of shorts. Our membership has exploded in the past 24 months. We've just opened our first satellite chapter, in Toronto.

"We believe that if we remove the layer of middle-men between artist & audience, the artist will be free to create pieces that are not only true to their vision but also more entertaining & satisfying to the audience."

The picture at the top of the post is of the party on the roof after a WMM showing: filmmakers, actors and audience share the experience. What a concept!

**********

Late Update: Past PDP guest author, We Make Movies founder and board member Tara Samuel won Best Actress this past weekend for her performance in Ruby Booby, a feature developed through WMM, at the International Film Festival Manhattan!

Commute, 12

I am soothed when traffic slows at this spot on Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles. I see this on the way to work. On the way back, I rarely notice it. You'd think I wouldn't miss it either way. Maybe it's all about what the sun is doing, or, more likely, what the traffic is doing.

I left the little corner of my car window in the photo because I like it.

I should mention that I take photos from the car only when traffic is stopped. I mean stopped.

Say, I wonder why there's no graffiti on the plain part of the wall? Someone must be taking care of the place.

Commute, 11

You can't take the freeway all the way from Pasadena to Hollywood. You've got to take surface streets a good part of the time.

Sometimes I take Santa Monica Blvd. instead of Beverly Blvd. Santa Monica is not all like this. It has interesting stretches, though Beverly is more lively more of the time.

I'm told Santa Monica is faster than Beverly, but I prefer Beverly. Go figure.

Commute, 10

It wasn't the first time I'd recognized one of Kevin McCollister's stark visions of night-time Los Angeles, but it was the first time I could place it, and the first time I had in my possession the day-time version.

Don't stop at one picture on Kevin's blog (as if you could). His is a wicked, daring eye, addicted to LA's particular brand of noir.

Commute, 9

I don't usually stop on the way to or from Bell Sound Studios in Hollywood for my weekly recording session. This isn't because the possible stops don't tempt me. It's because I'm on my way to work and I haven't included browsing time in my commute.

So I haven't tried Jollibee. Looks like it's a chain but I've never seen another one besides this one on Beverly Blvd.

Anybody?

Yahoo reviews say Jollibee is a Filipino fast food chain. After reading the reviews I might not end up going to Jollibee but I might seek out some Filipino food. It sounds pretty good.

Commute, 8

We're heading east on Silverlake Blvd. in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, approaching the corner of Reservoir St. This mural is on the back of what I think is still Tom's Burgers. Tom's is on a corner-shaped spit because really, where Silverlake meets Reservoir it also meets Parkman Avenue which, if we turn left on it, takes us behind ourselves to Sunset Blvd, under which we've just driven.

I love that sentence, even if you don't.

I didn't find out the name of the artist, but I did find Jubilee.


Update:
Thanks to Adele for discovering the name of the artist: Dcypher CBS. 

Commute, 5

If I take the right fork and continue on Beverly Blvd. I'll be in downtown Los Angeles in a few minutes. But I don't do that. I follow the straight arrow (straight arrow, that's me) onto Silver Lake Blvd. and head home.

Where these two roads meet I pass the Ambassador Dog and Cat Hospital, which has an interesting vintage sign. I've driven past this place many times and until yesterday I never saw anyone enter or leave the place. But sure enough, they had a customer. In fact, if you look at their reviews their average isn't great, but all their recent reviews (like, in the past year) are five-star. A change in staff, maybe?

It doesn't matter much to Boz because I don't take him to work with me very often. But sometimes I do. It's good to have a back-up plan.

Commute, 4

I don't know what my commute looks like to you. I suppose it depends on whether or not you're used to city life. I love driving along Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles between Silverlake and Hollywood. It's colorful and busy. People are always out.

Beverly is not exemplary of the entire commute. I have freeway driving (no photos until I get a chauffeur) and some hills. I drive alongside the Silverlake reservoir. I pass beautiful old architecture, pretty parks and graffiti-covered bridges.

Traffic doesn't always stop at those places so I might never get a picture of them, at least not while commuting. And if traffic moves like it did yesterday, I won't be getting a lot of photos of Beverly Blvd. either.

Commute, 3

This view of downtown Los Angeles isn't exactly on my commute, but I like the picture so here you go.

We're looking down an alley near 2nd and Vignes. I used to drive to that area years ago because my headshot photographer had a studio there. Space was cheap and the light was good, but it was an iffy neighborhood and I always made sure to park where I could see my car from the big, bright studio windows. Now the area is artist lofts and condos.

John and I drove there (and parked safely) last weekend to see a play called The Last Day, written by Christina Joy Howard and directed by Tiger Reel. While exploring her relationship with her father, a daughter tells the story of her dad's experiences aiding the American exodus from Saigon during the last days of U.S. occupation. As with any brand new play, there are minor rough spots. But I do recommend this baby/puppy/sucker/world premiere.

I was young in 1975, but I remember those days. I attended protest marches not only with my friends but with my parents and teachers as well. Nobody I knew was happy about our occupation of Viet Nam. Now, with a more mature perspective, my emotions are more complex. Those were not good days, not proud days.

The author plays herself in the play. The night we attended, her father was in the audience. As emotional an experience as it was for me, I can only imagine what it was like for the two of them.

Commute, 2

We didn't get to do our Commute post yesterday so, just like my work sometimes gets rescheduled, I rescheduled the post. I'm the boss and I can do that. At least, here on the blog I can do that.

But this is what's weird: I can see the number 2773 above the door on the blue building. I cannot find this address anywhere on my commute. I can't remember where I took this picture. I thought it was on Beverly Boulevard but not this week it wasn't, and I can't find it on Google Maps. I must have taken a detour, not only of car, but of brain.

Where did I go? Do you have any ideas? How did I get to work?

It hardly matters. I got the picture, and I'm going to do our front yard flamingos in these colors.

Zen Monday: #179

Even holiday Mondays are Zen Mondays. That's the day you tell me what the photo's about instead of the other way around.

The man whose life we celebrate today wasn't famous for his sense of humor, but he's said to have had one.

Chasing the Shot

Last weekend I saw a wonderful exhibit of Vivian Maier's street photography. You can see it, too, at the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles, through November 12th. The fascinating story of Maier's life and the discovery of her photos has intrigued me since it came to light. I love how you can see her, or sense her presence, in her photos.

Street photography had been around for a long time before Maier shot in Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s. It'll be around for a long time to come. She was one of the greats.

Altadena's Ibarionex Perello is also a great street photographer, and photographer in general. Besides being my friend he's the producer and writer of The Candid Frame: A Photography Podcast and an adjunct professor at Art Center College of Design. (Plus there's a photo of Boz in Ibarionex's book, Chasing the Light.) Ibarionex will soon be teaching a Digital Camera Bootcamp for beginning and intermediate photographers. Small groups, instruction on how to use your DSLR, and personal attention from an expert. You can't beat it.

No two photographers are alike, nor should they be. I'm not comparing Ibarionex Perello and Vivian Maier. Their work is their own. What I'm saying is I would have liked to have met Vivian Maier and to have learned from her. That's never going to happen and I'm sorry about that. But Ibarionex is right here right now. Lucky us.

Update: readers of Pasadena Daily Photo will find a coupon for a generous discount on Ibarionex's workshop by reading the comments on this post. Thank you, Ibarionex and CP!

LA, Gloaming

John and I are not the party animals we once were, but we've been going out in the evenings quite a bit lately. It's kind of a big deal because we don't ordinarily step out much out after dark.

(This is not dark, I know that, it hasn't been that long. It's not even dusk. It's the gloaming.)

See the orange glow on the horizon? That's anticipation.

How was your weekend? What's on the horizon for you this week?

Nobody's Walkin' in LA

You've heard of "getting away from it all." If you enlarge this photo, in the distance you can see what-all people around here like to get away from.