NY_Dan
Well-known
Went to LA from 9/19 - 9/26 with 80 rolls of Kodak Trix-X 120, 3 Rolleiflexes, 1 Fuji 690 Wide, and a few fist fulls of vintage flashbulbs. Shot 74 rolls. Just finished developing and here are the first two shots I scanned. I'll post more as I get them done. It was a fun trip, and one I've wanted to make for over 3-years.
Sunset Boulevard near Whiskey A Go Go on 9/19. Flashbulb
Sunset Boulevard next door to the Viper Room.
Sunset Boulevard near Whiskey A Go Go on 9/19. Flashbulb
Sunset Boulevard next door to the Viper Room.
Bschif
Established
Those are really good. I look at the car and dog and think "modern Weegee".
Dave Jenkins
Loose Canon
I look at the car and dog and think "Robert Frank lives!"
NY_Dan
Well-known
Thanks. Yeah, Weegee and his 10-foot shot and flashbulbs -- can't miss with that combo! Here are two more night shots. I have so much film to scan and go through. Shot in the daylight, too. Applied many of the same techniques and approach as in my book Never Seeing Nothing.
raid
Dad Photographer
Great images! Thanks.
NY_Dan
Well-known
Thanks for looking and sharing! 
LA is a very stimulating place to shoot. I wish I had more than a week there. More than that, I wish I could do this all the time. There simply isn't enough time to develop, scan -- well I'll try... Here are two more photos. To change things up I brought my Fuji 690 wide with the 65mm lens. California demands a horizontal format at times. Top is along the Pacific Coast Highway, and the bottom is a self-portrait at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA.
LA is a very stimulating place to shoot. I wish I had more than a week there. More than that, I wish I could do this all the time. There simply isn't enough time to develop, scan -- well I'll try... Here are two more photos. To change things up I brought my Fuji 690 wide with the 65mm lens. California demands a horizontal format at times. Top is along the Pacific Coast Highway, and the bottom is a self-portrait at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA.
NY_Dan
Well-known
Well I've got to go back to prison (work) tomorrow, so here are 3 of my latest scans from the trip. As you can see, there's a lot to see in LA. None of these photos go together, but that's why I like them.
Downtown LA -- Olive and Fifth Streets
Skateboarders at Venice Beach
Night shot with a vintage flashbulb on Sunset Boulevard
Downtown LA -- Olive and Fifth Streets
Skateboarders at Venice Beach
Night shot with a vintage flashbulb on Sunset Boulevard
Bingley
Veteran
I'm loving this thread. Pleas share more!
madNbad
Well-known
Thanks, Dan! Glad you had fun on the left coast. Nice of you to bring a little NYC to LA.
ian_watts
Ian Watts
Terrific photograph. Very good thread.
FrankS
Registered User
You've got STYLE, Dan!
2 thumbs up.
2 thumbs up.
adresaba
Well-known
Nice photos
NY_Dan
Well-known
9/22/2015 Black and white street photography shot with Kodak 120 film in downtown Los Angeles, California. Between homelessness, drugs, and other problems, the LAPD, local security and LAFD have their hands full. Just a few blocks from skid row, and in many other parts of LA, the situation is unreal. To their great credit, the LAPD and LAFD do the best they can. I spoke with them on many occasions, and without exception, they always stressed that the goal was to help. The man in these photos was unable to walk a straight line, or respond to simple instructions, and wandered into traffic numerous times. Without the intervention of the LAPD, local security personnel, and LAFD, the man would have gotten himself killed, and probably injured others as well.
NY_Dan
Well-known
9/21/2015 Black and white street photography shot with Kodak 120 film of a man wearing a United We Stand tee shirt, at the 9/11 flag memorial, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California. Fuji 690 Wide f/11.5 1/250 Yellow Filter
NY_Dan
Well-known
9/19/2015 Officers Cohen and Kemp, on patrol, Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California
Canyongazer
Canyongazer
Impressive work, Dan!
Admire not only your pictures but your willingness to engage with the subjects.
Admire not only your pictures but your willingness to engage with the subjects.
Rayt
Nonplayer Character
Made my day. Thanks!
xavoy
Established
Mate, these photos are fantastic! I nearly didn't click this thread, an LA trip sounds so done, but your skill and perspective, (and I guess inside knowledge, connections, and/or credibility with the local law enforcement due to your job) make these few you've already posted an incredibly fresh look on something that could have been very same same. Loving your work, can't wait to see more!
One thing I'm interested in is that you said "None of these photos go together, but that's why I like them."
I know you're still working through these images so it might be hard to know just yet, but do you have a plan/method for bringing them all together? Obviously they come from the same trip, and I am going to guess they're all black and white, but how do you intend to pull different styles, types of lighting, aspect ratios, formats, and perspectives together into a cohesive whole?
I ask not as a criticism, but out of genuine curiosity. You're clearly quite an accomplished photographer, and in this thread alone you mentioned at least one book. I find it hard enough to categorise my work on my web site, so pulling photos together into something as constrained and concise as a book just hasn't happened. Picking keepers is tough as it is, editing with the kind of intention required for a book project I find impossible.
One thing I'm interested in is that you said "None of these photos go together, but that's why I like them."
I know you're still working through these images so it might be hard to know just yet, but do you have a plan/method for bringing them all together? Obviously they come from the same trip, and I am going to guess they're all black and white, but how do you intend to pull different styles, types of lighting, aspect ratios, formats, and perspectives together into a cohesive whole?
I ask not as a criticism, but out of genuine curiosity. You're clearly quite an accomplished photographer, and in this thread alone you mentioned at least one book. I find it hard enough to categorise my work on my web site, so pulling photos together into something as constrained and concise as a book just hasn't happened. Picking keepers is tough as it is, editing with the kind of intention required for a book project I find impossible.
NY_Dan
Well-known
Thanks everyone. Xavoy, you bring up many good points. My inside knowledge with regards to LA is having visited my father when he was alive and living there between 1976 and 1987. I had one more brief visit for a few days in 1998. And although I always had a camera with me, all told in that time period I probably shot only 30 rolls of film, and never with much intention. Since my father died, and reaching the same age at him, and delving deeper into RFF and street photography, my mind has drifted back to my LA wanderings. That's why for the past 3 years I've wanted to go back and shoot. A week and 74 rolls was a good start. One more thing, I wanted to shoot in LA so bad, I wrote a novel between April and July set in all the places I remembered. Then when I got to LA on 9/19 I visited and photographed at many of the places in the novel. I'll post those photos soon. What would be great, was if I could get my novel published, and if it had a section with my LA photos, including photos of my father I shot during my visits. I'm going to shop the novel in a few weeks, so perhaps I'll get lucky.
As for local law enforcement, I don't have connections, but in places like Hollywood and Times Square, NYC, the police are used to tourists wanting to take their photo. This and being friendly made things easier.
It would be great if I could make more trips because it would allow me to digest and plan what I wanted to shoot next, in a rough way. I agree with regards to liking shots that don't go together in terms of subservience to a theme. That's why I'm not that fond of projects -- it almost seems like when one embarks on a project, one feels compelled to shoot say another red couch in a field, or whatever, because completing the project requires it. My plan to bring it all together is to make a folder with my favorites, and then edit them down and make a Blurb book just for myself, and more as a reference for when I want to reflect on the trip.
I hear you on trying to put together a body of work from which to cull a book. For me, I reviewed the photos I was shooting and decided which I like best, and why, and what my process and equipment was to produce them. Then I stuck with that for a long time, and made side ventures.
Anyway, look for more photos of the LA River, Downtown, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Griffith Park, Echo Park, and more. Scanning and adjusting -- I need about a month or more to get through it all.
As for local law enforcement, I don't have connections, but in places like Hollywood and Times Square, NYC, the police are used to tourists wanting to take their photo. This and being friendly made things easier.
It would be great if I could make more trips because it would allow me to digest and plan what I wanted to shoot next, in a rough way. I agree with regards to liking shots that don't go together in terms of subservience to a theme. That's why I'm not that fond of projects -- it almost seems like when one embarks on a project, one feels compelled to shoot say another red couch in a field, or whatever, because completing the project requires it. My plan to bring it all together is to make a folder with my favorites, and then edit them down and make a Blurb book just for myself, and more as a reference for when I want to reflect on the trip.
I hear you on trying to put together a body of work from which to cull a book. For me, I reviewed the photos I was shooting and decided which I like best, and why, and what my process and equipment was to produce them. Then I stuck with that for a long time, and made side ventures.
Anyway, look for more photos of the LA River, Downtown, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Griffith Park, Echo Park, and more. Scanning and adjusting -- I need about a month or more to get through it all.
NY_Dan
Well-known
9/23/2015 People lining up to enter the Broad Museum, Los Angeles, California. Fuji 690 Wide