lostlosangeles' photostream  

Rolling, some thought dead
what remains bursts for now
yielding, reclaiming

I've been thinking a lot about the Mulholland car wrecks lately. All of these wrecks have been tagged by the county, making sure there are no bodies. We found one bumper that still had cable attached. A failed attempt to lift the wreck out of the canyon. Now they just leave them. Slowly being eaten by the chaparral, no one's complaining.

These cars can offer so much meaning: survival, rebirth, reclamation, warning. I think it's time to go back soon.

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Shopworn, despondent
sometimes seeking modest grace
not yet demise, birth

Although there is no trick photography here, I find myself still quite influenced by my brief time with Brooke. I found myself seeing new possibilities for this shot as I started work on it. Colors can transform, textures can offer new interpretations.

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I have several images swimming around in my head. This started as one of those and evolved into something so much more as we were shooting. I am so grateful that Brooke Shaden served double duty here as my tutor and model. It was a privilege especially to be able to talk to her about her thoughts on color. It opened up a whole new way of thinking for me.

My collaboration with Brooke was so inspiring, I can't wait to get out and actualize more visions. Like this one, many of them are likely to explore the dynamics of yearning, loss, and submission.

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This is the last of the three self portraits from the abandoned Nike Missile Base. This is an underground bunker where Kilroy tells me they kept the tactical missiles. They're no longer here, of course.

Luckily the hatch was open, allowing me to explore all the odd and crusty artifacts. If you view this shot large, you can see a typewriter just over my left shoulder. A few minutes earlier, I had moved it in an attempt to do a portrait focusing on that typewriter. I felt much less comfortable with that plan when moving the typewriter, a field mouse nonchalantly crawled out of the keys, stared at me, and sauntered off.

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Still preoccupied, he's unaware of the destruction around him. His stresses surround him and protect him.

This is the second of my two derelict vehicle self portraits from my tour of the abandoned Nike missile base. The windows appeared to all be kicked in and covered the seats in shards. Was this a hostage rescue scenario or were they practicing an attack on a busload of enemies?

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