North Hollywood Shootout

These pictures are mainly for me. They aren’t particularily interesting without the back story, and the back story might be a little weird. When I was younger I often stumbled upon subjects that I would end up learning a lot about. For example, for some reason, I learned a ton about D.B. Cooper when I was younger. I probably saw a half dozen documentaries or other TV shows about him and his heist. I couldn’t be called an actual expert, but maybe a “casual expert.”

Another topic that I happened to learn a lot about was the North Hollywood shootout. In 1997 two people armed with assault rifles and full body armor robbed a bank in North Hollywood. When they exited the bank, dozens of LAPD officers were waiting and a shootout ensued. The police were severely outgunned and even resorted to going to a local gun shop to commandeer heavier artillery. Eventually the robbers were stopped, but not before a huge gunfight in the streets. It was really quite an exciting story, and much was caught on camera from helicopters.

I had seen a number of documentaries about this in the late 90’s so one morning when I decided to go to visit Hollywood, I realized that I really needed to stop by that bank. It took just a little googling on my phone, but I found it and stopped by to snap a few pictures.

Anymore anyone can be a casual expert on anything, thanks to the internet and websites like Wikipedia. I feel like it was more of an accomplishment in the old days.

Hollywood

I’ll be honest with you (when am I not?), I wasn’t impressed with Hollywood. I went there a couple times, once at night and once during the day. The day was much more manageable, but still nothing too exciting. At night it was a zoo, an absolute zoo; weirdos and partiers everywhere. During the day it was homeless people and tourists; better than at night, but still pretty crowded.

I went down there because I felt like I had to see it and give it a chance. I also used it as an opportunity to see a movie at the ArcLight Theater, which boasts having a very loud sound system (which it definitely does) in each of their theaters; specs that beat THX standards. That was kind of cool, but since I’m already being honest, I’ll tell you that it just sounded like it was turned up a little too loud. It didn’t help that I saw Iron Man 2, which had some big explosions.

I found it interesting and frustrating that it was so hard to get a good view of the Hollywood sign. For such an iconic sign, there sure weren't a lot of good views. Most of the views are just off of residential streets, and you’re pretty far away. Earlier in the year my Mom and Brother were out visiting and we couldn’t get a good view of it. My brother wanted pictures but we never really found a good spot, so I came back and got a few for him.

Honestly, I didn’t mean to make this a negative blog post. Everyone should make their own decisions about Hollywood. And if you want a good view of the Hollywood sign, bring a zoom lens. You could also trespass, but I wouldn’t recommend that.

California Love

I've had a lot of mixed feelings the last few weeks.  So take a look at these California love based pictures.  On film.  As they should be.  Courtesy of my Olympus OM-2n.

Pizza at the Beach

I noticed today that I’ve only posted here once this whole month.  That’s a problem, especially if you never visit my flickr page.  I need to do a better job of spreading the wealth between flickr and here.  

This is one more from Venice Beach.  There are so many shops along the boardwalk.  If you want some sunglasses, Venice Beach is the place to go.



This isn't the pizza served there, but is the pizza served at a place at Huntington Beach.  It was good.



Both film.  Both Olympus OM-2n.

Zzyzx Road

Zzyzx Road is an interestingly named road in southern California, in between LA and Las Vegas.  I probably wouldn’t have ever gone down this road if it also hadn’t been the title of a great Stone Sour song.  I also probably wouldn’t have ever watched the low budget horror movie just called Zzyzx if I hadn’t gone down Zzyzx Road.

Apparently the word Zzyzx was coined by some guy who owned a “mineral springs and health spa” at the end of Zzyzx Road.  He claimed it was the last word in the English language.  No word whether he thought it was physically the last word possible if it were listed in a dictionary or the last word possible to coin as he believed all other combinations of letters had been used.  He was later arrested by Federal Marshals (probably Waco style) for misusing the land (which was federal land) and for violating food and drug laws.  The buildings he built are still there, but now the land is used as a Desert Studies Center.

Let me take a minute to tell you about the movie Zzyzx.  I want to make it perfectly clear that I am a fan of bad horror movies.  Unfortunately Zzyzx Road was worse than bad; it was terribly awful.  If I may quote Futurama, this movie was “a crummy world of plot holes and spelling errors.”  Now I can’t be sure about the spelling errors, but I can only assume based on the quality of the movie that there were a good few.  I won’t give away much about the real plot of the movie by asking, but what in the hell is this Mexican family doing digging up human bones in the desert?  Not even deep in the desert, but off the side of Zzyzx Road after they stopped for some reason.  They find human bones and their instinct is not to call the police like a normal person, but to dig them up with the care of Alan Grant digging up a Velociraptor?  What?  Why?  This is just one of many confusing and nonsensical aspects of this movie.  Don’t watch it; unless you are in the mood for a truly awful movie with negligible amounts of entertainment.

Oh, maybe I should talk a little about photos?  Just a little though.  This will be part one of Zzyzx Road.  These are all film shots taken with my Holga on AGFACHROME RSXII 200 slide film and cross processed for some sweet looking and appropriately weridening effects.  Part two will be digital pictures.  I stopped off at this road twice; once on the way to the Mojave with a friend, and once on the way to the Hoover Dam.  These are all from the Hoover Dam trip.  Henjoy.

Venice Beach

What a great Memorial Day weekend.  Here are some highlights from Venice Beach.  That place is so cool.  I could easily spend all day there wandering around and people watching.


This Asian kid was tearing up the skate park.  He was one of the better skaters there while we were watching.




This kid in the black was probably the best overall while we were there.  He caught some huge air.




What in the world are these things?  This guy was flying around the pool thing on these.  He was damn good on these things.




Mini skater guy...


There was a power lifting competition going on over at Muscle Beach.  This guy squatted a little over 980 lbs!  Holy cow!


This kid was dancing for some girls.  Every time his parents tried to move him along he’d freak out and eventually run back and dance for them some more.


And of course..  Chihuahua in a bag with a hat!

holga.8

Are you guys enjoying my film? Aside from my 365 project it’s the majority of what I’ve been shooting lately. I still have a backlog of digital to share, but I just haven’t gotten around to those yet.

This is another Holga picture, as the name would indicate. I feel like my blog posts, aside from the photos, has been boring lately. Not much funny. I’ll work on that. It stems from me not preparing posts in advance. I need to step it up. But for now, there’s just this Holga.

The Ocean

Geez I love the ocean. This is one of my favorite Holga pictures I’ve taken. Something about it works well for me. I don’t think the ocean will ever get old to me. I’d live on a yacht in the ocean if I had the means. I’d spend my days puttering up and down the coast; docking at other cities and spending some time sightseeing. West coast, east coast, Mediterranean Sea. Any would be right for me.

Symmetry

I love symmetry.  When the left side of something looks like the right side of something, I’m happy.  I don’t go to the extent of being obsessive about it and seek things that are symmetrical, but when I happen upon something that fits this, I enjoy it.  Like this scene.  This was so cool I had to get it on film.  Fuji Pro 160S film to be exact.

Asymmetry has its benefits too, don’t get me wrong.  But this is a post all about symmetry.  The most attractive people have symmetrical faces.  Classic architecture produced symmetrical buildings.  Symmetry is beauty.

Free Parking

I didn’t eat here, but this sign has two things I enjoy.  Indian cuisine and free parking.  Free parking isn’t all that easy to find in Pasadena sometimes.  For the sake of ease though, I’ll pay a few bucks to park in a garage.  It isn’t all that expensive.  Not compared to other places in the LA area.  They’re talking about installing new street meters that are electronic and take credit cards.  This is the good news.  The bad news is that these newfangled electronic dealies will also inflate their prices based on peak parking times throughout the day.  Jherks.

Ivy Wall

Yet another Holga picture I enjoyed.  I took this one as insurance because I knew I had double exposed the other wall of ivy.  I’m glad I did because I think this turned out pretty nicely.  It also looks good in black and white; too bad I shot it in color.  Maybe someday I’ll share the converted version.  For now, here it is in color, as nature intended.



Also, don't forget to check out my 365 project on Flickr. I think YESTERDAY'S picture is pretty sweet!

365!

As I was sitting on my balcony eating dinner tonight, I looked up and saw a beautiful evening sky and decided now was the time to go ahead and start my 365 project.  I’m posting the first one here, but the subsequent pictures will only be on my flickr page (unless I feel the picture is of quality to share here).  This page will continue as normal, with general interest pictures I’ve taken at various times.  There are a few reasons for doing this project.  First of all, it will make me shoot digital.  I’ve begun shooting more film and I’m having such a good time, I need some incentive to use my digital camera.  Second it will help me grow as a photographer.  I have to take a picture every day, and share it that same day.  Sure, some days I’ll probably phone it in, but it will be something new and at least mildly interesting (but maybe just to me).  It will definitely be a good challenge for me.  Third, I think it will be fun!

So enjoy this one, and follow me daily on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremyjewell/) (I’ll throw a link up on this site’s main page, over there on the right, under the ‘navigation’) but don’t stop following this site too!  I imagine the types of pictures will be pretty different.  Check out the ‘tags’ section on each picture on Flickr for the thoughts of the day.  If you’ve got a Flickr/Yahoo account, drop me a line in the comments over there, if a picture so inclines you.



Oh, and check out that clear blue sky.  No dust there!  That's because I got my sensor cleaned a few weeks ago at the Canon repair center in Irvine.  Their wonderful customer service will keep me buying Canon gear for a long time.

Catching Some Sunset

This is from about a month ago when I went to the beach after work one night with a friend.  It’s just a nice Wednesday night sunset at the beach.  And people doing some minor rock climbing to get a good view.  I did a little climbing earlier too, but went back just in time for this silhouette sunset.

Exif information
Model	Canon EOS 20D
Original date	2010:04:07 6:18 PM
Exposure time	1/50 sec
Focal length	50mm
F-Stop	f/8
ISO speed	ISO-100
Exposure Bias	+1

Accidental Art

One interesting feature of film cameras is their ability to make cool double exposures with absolutely no effort on the part of the photographer.  Just take a picture, and then take another picture.  In fact, it takes more effort to not make a double exposure than to take one.  With that being said, let’s just pretend that I did this on purpose, and didn’t forget to advance the film in my camera.  I created art!

Sure, you could do this in photoshop, but who wants to do that?  Lame.  I don't edit film pictures; it's policy.

I took this/these (and the first Holga picture I shared) at the Gamble House in Pasadena.  It’s a kind of house that is famous for its architecture, kind of like a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright.  I later learned that it was Doc Brown’s house in Back to the Future.  Pretty cool.

Waiting

Airports generally aren’t very much fun.  John Wayne Airport in Orange County is no exception.  I got to spend a little time there yesterday, on my way home for a visit, so I snapped a few pictures as my plane was taxing to the gate.  I went for something a little different for me.  I enjoy the result.  I also enjoy that it's at f/1.8.

Now, a couple questions for you, my faithful readers.  First of all, how is the size of my pictures working out for you?  Too big?

Second, I’m thinking of starting a 365 project.  Where I share a picture every day, that I took that day.  It’s an ambitious endeavor, but I think I might be able to pull it off.  I can’t promise every one will be great, but it’ll be a learning experience.  And in addition to the 365, I’ll keep posting general interest photos I have.  What do you think?  One of my friends is doing one right now, so I plan to ask her too(so watch out), but wanted some good, general input.

Exif information
Model	Canon EOS 20D
Original date	2010:04:29 2:15 PM
Exposure time	1/8000 sec
Focal length	50mm
F-Stop	f/1.8
ISO speed	ISO-100
Exposure Bias	0