| I moved to Los Angeles in the Summer of 1989, lured like so many others by the promise of reinvention and renewal. Settling in the once elegant neighborhood of Westlake, near MacArthur Park, I ventured out to explore my new home, from the sea, up to the mountains, and out to the desert. I would choose a place from the Thomas Guide, some times famous locations, other times anonymous places but with interesting names, get in the car and drive, and photograph whatever it was I found there. This was the beginning of the body of work I call Southland; a series of small black and white landscapes shot with the Diana Camera; the infamous plastic lensed camera that was once sold in toy stores. I got my first one through the Bazooka Joe bubble gum comics when I was seven years old. Using the Diana camera enables one to be anonymous; not looking like a photographer, you can be open about your activities, and yet be discrete. The Diana also allows one to shoot in a loose, intuitive manner. Free from worrying about technical matters, I capture my images by feel, fully aware of the environment, subconsciously discovering the poetry of the mundane. | ||||
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