Today I found a trailer park, with an on site motel, compleatly abandoned. All the trailers were removed. Street signs, roads, and the landscape were still intact. However every single lot was just a plot of dirt with a utility hook up. It looked like a natural distaster had occuered within the bounderies of this park. Its was amazing.
The Motel had a full sized swimming pool in the front compleatly filled with dirt to keep out the skateboarders. All the rooms were fully accessable. The place was destoryed. I will be back photographing there for quite some time I think.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Set your alarm
Light is a precious comodity for me right now. Getting up early to photograph in the early morning light, and rushing out of work to catch the last bit of the sun drives my routine. There are stories in this place.
In my class tonight, a classmate mentioned Robert Frank's series, "The Americans", in reference to me feeling as though I am an outsider documenting unfamilar territory.
I can't help but notice the desperation in this place. The day laborer's waiting to be picked up in the morning in hopes of having a full days work juxtaposed against the patriotism of the soldiers that are stationed at the army base on the edge of San Clemente. This town is alive with desperation. It gives the city a certian rythm that is uncomfortable, but at the same time irresistible. I am insprired.
I have the desire to photograph now more than I have in a number of years; since before I came to ECIAD. As strange as it sounds ECIAD has slowly killed my desire to be creative. The uncontrolable urge to make images right now is the same feeling I had before I came to art school. It is raw, and uncomprimised. I'm shooting based on instinct, not based on what I feel is required. Distance is a key component for me, here, now. I feel like an outsider. I can ask myself how my story relates to thiers, and what that colabertion will create in my images. I feel as though the American dream is colapsing in on itself here.
This image was taken with my first camera a pentax K 1000. I made a polariod of it a few years later. It still resonates with me, its raw, I wanted to look at it, so I took a picture.
In my class tonight, a classmate mentioned Robert Frank's series, "The Americans", in reference to me feeling as though I am an outsider documenting unfamilar territory.
I can't help but notice the desperation in this place. The day laborer's waiting to be picked up in the morning in hopes of having a full days work juxtaposed against the patriotism of the soldiers that are stationed at the army base on the edge of San Clemente. This town is alive with desperation. It gives the city a certian rythm that is uncomfortable, but at the same time irresistible. I am insprired.
I have the desire to photograph now more than I have in a number of years; since before I came to ECIAD. As strange as it sounds ECIAD has slowly killed my desire to be creative. The uncontrolable urge to make images right now is the same feeling I had before I came to art school. It is raw, and uncomprimised. I'm shooting based on instinct, not based on what I feel is required. Distance is a key component for me, here, now. I feel like an outsider. I can ask myself how my story relates to thiers, and what that colabertion will create in my images. I feel as though the American dream is colapsing in on itself here.
This image was taken with my first camera a pentax K 1000. I made a polariod of it a few years later. It still resonates with me, its raw, I wanted to look at it, so I took a picture.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Rain
I was told when I moved here that it hasn't rained in Orange County in months. Today it was like Vancouver rain. It was a good excuss to work in the garage on our bikes. I love those lazy days.
It cleared up late in the day, and the evening light was amazing. I took lots of photos at a spot I photographed earlier in the week. It was the abandoned motel I mentioned in a previous post. The trash had been removed from the parking lot in front of the building but a few of the rooms had the boards on the windows taken off and the doors kicked in. I managed to get some photographs of one of the rooms compleatly trashed. The pink insulation had been pulled fromt the walls and the ceilings. Broken furniture was laying in a mixture of shattered glass and garbage. It was great. I think I have some really great images. I can't wait to see them.
I was looking at Jon Hucks website today. Check it out at http://www.jonhuck.com/
It cleared up late in the day, and the evening light was amazing. I took lots of photos at a spot I photographed earlier in the week. It was the abandoned motel I mentioned in a previous post. The trash had been removed from the parking lot in front of the building but a few of the rooms had the boards on the windows taken off and the doors kicked in. I managed to get some photographs of one of the rooms compleatly trashed. The pink insulation had been pulled fromt the walls and the ceilings. Broken furniture was laying in a mixture of shattered glass and garbage. It was great. I think I have some really great images. I can't wait to see them.
I was looking at Jon Hucks website today. Check it out at http://www.jonhuck.com/
Friday, September 21, 2007
L.A.
Last night I went into LA to see a show with a friend who is working out here in San Cleente. I met him in Calgary during my time attending ACAD. We had a place to crash in downtown LA and were planning on having a late night and then driving back into Orange County for work in the morining.
We started off by dropping our stuff downtown and heading to a grab somthing to eat. He knew of a vietnamese place on Sunset Blvd that he had been to before that was really amazing. The show was at a club on Hollywood Blvd right in the middle of all the tourist spots. It was pretty surreal. I am not into, nor do I really care about trying to be a tourist in a new place. I find it much more exciting to try and expirience a city like a local would.
The show was amazing, it was a Hardcore band called Planes Mistaken For Stars. They put on a great show. We winded up finding our way to a local bar in Echo Park. It was a really cool comunity, far different from what I expected before we headed down there. There are so many different pockets of the city in LA, it seems like you can just wander in to the best or worst part of the city without even knowing it. The bar was probly one of the dirtiest places I have ever been too. Half the tiles on the floor were missing, and there were broken mirrors on the walls. It was packed. There was a great vibe and really good music. The night definatly gave me a different impresion of LA.
I have shot more film in the first week here than I have in the last 6 months. The one frustrating thing here is that it is so far to get anywhere. It seems like living in Orange County would be the center of everthing. Where I live is the middle of nowhere on a bike. According to the photo editor at the mag its best for me to bank up my film and either ship it to a lab in LA or try and squeeze it in with the magazines stuff. it may be a while before there is an image post.
We started off by dropping our stuff downtown and heading to a grab somthing to eat. He knew of a vietnamese place on Sunset Blvd that he had been to before that was really amazing. The show was at a club on Hollywood Blvd right in the middle of all the tourist spots. It was pretty surreal. I am not into, nor do I really care about trying to be a tourist in a new place. I find it much more exciting to try and expirience a city like a local would.
The show was amazing, it was a Hardcore band called Planes Mistaken For Stars. They put on a great show. We winded up finding our way to a local bar in Echo Park. It was a really cool comunity, far different from what I expected before we headed down there. There are so many different pockets of the city in LA, it seems like you can just wander in to the best or worst part of the city without even knowing it. The bar was probly one of the dirtiest places I have ever been too. Half the tiles on the floor were missing, and there were broken mirrors on the walls. It was packed. There was a great vibe and really good music. The night definatly gave me a different impresion of LA.
I have shot more film in the first week here than I have in the last 6 months. The one frustrating thing here is that it is so far to get anywhere. It seems like living in Orange County would be the center of everthing. Where I live is the middle of nowhere on a bike. According to the photo editor at the mag its best for me to bank up my film and either ship it to a lab in LA or try and squeeze it in with the magazines stuff. it may be a while before there is an image post.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
O.C. Life
When I was about 16 I was introduced to a band called the Adolecents. A raw punk rock band from Orange County with members from Agent Orange and Social Distortion. At the time I thought this was "it" as far as music went, a song called O.C. life was an anthem for any young teenage boy. As I grew older I though how rediculous this song was. I couldn't believe that anyone in thier right mind would complain about living in the O.C. At the time I had never lived there.... this place is mars. It is compleatly fucked. People here just don't get it.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Abandoned Motels
Today was my first full day in San Clemente. I was up early for a ride with my 2 room mates, who also work at the magazine, and a friend from Laguna Beach. We rode along a trail that parralled the army base. We could hear machine guns firing from the gun range on the base. The heat was killing me even though I was assured that this was a nice cool morning for the area.
In the one day I have been here I have noticed that there are a strangly high number of motels in the city. They are liitered through out the city in very odd locations. There are the obvious ones off the main roads but they are also spread out through residential streets. Its strange to see the tightly packed houses with a motel sqeezed in, trying to blend into the comunity. They are all unique; no two seem to be alike. It is obvious that time has not been kind to many of them, and signs of neglect dominate their appearance.
Tonight I started documenting some of these locations. During my time in San Clemente I am going to try and photograph as many of these motels as I can. I'm not sure what kind images this project will produce but I feel an obligation to photogaph these locatons. The most interesting location I photographed tonight was just off one of the main streets. The suits were in a semicirle shape surrounding a C shaped parking lot with an entrance on each side of building. The building was abandoned, the windows and doors had been borded up, and all the contents from the suits was pilled in the center of the parking lot. Matresses, furniture, and garbage from the nieghborhood made up the pile. It was amazing, I shot there about ten minutes before the sun went down. I can't wait to see the images, the light was perfect. If I wasn't racing against the light I would have taken a few polariod tests to post, but I plan on going back to keep exploring.
I am without a digital body right now as I sold mine before I left. I plan on picking one up next week so I should be posting more images. Once I find a lab, and get access to a scanner I will post some of the film I have been shooting. I have to admit that shooting on film is really satisfying. There is such and extensive set up when I am working with my 6 x 6 camera, it seems more rewarding when I get the film back.
If the next 3 months are as good as the day I'm gonna have a hard time coming home.
In the one day I have been here I have noticed that there are a strangly high number of motels in the city. They are liitered through out the city in very odd locations. There are the obvious ones off the main roads but they are also spread out through residential streets. Its strange to see the tightly packed houses with a motel sqeezed in, trying to blend into the comunity. They are all unique; no two seem to be alike. It is obvious that time has not been kind to many of them, and signs of neglect dominate their appearance.
Tonight I started documenting some of these locations. During my time in San Clemente I am going to try and photograph as many of these motels as I can. I'm not sure what kind images this project will produce but I feel an obligation to photogaph these locatons. The most interesting location I photographed tonight was just off one of the main streets. The suits were in a semicirle shape surrounding a C shaped parking lot with an entrance on each side of building. The building was abandoned, the windows and doors had been borded up, and all the contents from the suits was pilled in the center of the parking lot. Matresses, furniture, and garbage from the nieghborhood made up the pile. It was amazing, I shot there about ten minutes before the sun went down. I can't wait to see the images, the light was perfect. If I wasn't racing against the light I would have taken a few polariod tests to post, but I plan on going back to keep exploring.
I am without a digital body right now as I sold mine before I left. I plan on picking one up next week so I should be posting more images. Once I find a lab, and get access to a scanner I will post some of the film I have been shooting. I have to admit that shooting on film is really satisfying. There is such and extensive set up when I am working with my 6 x 6 camera, it seems more rewarding when I get the film back.
If the next 3 months are as good as the day I'm gonna have a hard time coming home.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
San Clemente
I arrived in San Clemente early this afternoon. I have to admit that the scale of southern California is pretty overwhelming. That being said, San Clemente is a really nice place, and our neighborhood seems really cool. The view from the window where I'm typing overlooks the local surf spot.
I'm not sure yet how being emersed in what seems like a totaly different culture in orange county will influence how I make images, but I do know I feel more inspired than I have in a number of years.
Last week I was looking over some of the artists that I have found influencial in my recent work. I came accross Brian Ulrich's website,
http://notifbutwhen.com/.
I really love the recent copia project he has been working on. there is a great interview about the project on
http://www.thestylepress.net/
I highly recomend checking it out.
I'm not sure yet how being emersed in what seems like a totaly different culture in orange county will influence how I make images, but I do know I feel more inspired than I have in a number of years.
Last week I was looking over some of the artists that I have found influencial in my recent work. I came accross Brian Ulrich's website,
http://notifbutwhen.com/.
I really love the recent copia project he has been working on. there is a great interview about the project on
http://www.thestylepress.net/
I highly recomend checking it out.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
New Blog
For those of you who don't know I am moving to San Clemente for about three months on the 15th of sept. I am going to try and keep everyone posted on the work I'm producing and what I am up too through my blog and on my website www.anthonysmith.carbonmade.com
In the meantime here is a holga photo from our epic canada day ride up Elk mountain
In the meantime here is a holga photo from our epic canada day ride up Elk mountain
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