Ansel Adams & A Look at Downtown

 This Saturday we didn't Run To The Hills to get outdoors, we actually hopped the metro with our skateboards & headed for downtown Los Angeles. The Red Line is a beautiful thing, endless forays into Hollywood, Silver Lake, & downtown at every stop. There is also lots of good tourist watching along this route.

 

Choosing a metro stop close to a scenic part of downtown & allowing for a proper skate to the exhibit, the three of us set off through the streets. Navigating all those enjoying the wonderful March weather in sunny so cal. Managing a few stops along the way to snap a few silver gelatin stills of our own.

Finding the next watering hole above. Eventually Carlos would order the most exotic mixed drink I've ever tried. Something with chili peppers in it...

The exhibit at Drkrm Gallery was quite interesting. A collection of 30 some odd photos from a FORTUNE Magazine commission in 1940. Ranging from Lockheed Martin Plant photos in Burbank, to locations along Venice beach. It was neat to see these photos together & to take in the gallery in such a way that Ansel would be experiencing these photos... somewhat on a weeks stay with another photographer friend. We see photos of that family, the Lockheed plant in their neighborhood. Then groups of day trips to other regions of LA, just planned out to get certain shots for a magazine spread. Just my take on viewing the photos as a larger collection. Almost a city vacation for the photographer from the Sierras and the desolate landscapes that were Adams legacy.

A little bruised with a fair amount of road rash, but still smiling above. I didn't get any shots inside the gallery, but the first photo in this post is a shot from the outside, looking in, with many reflections, if you click to enlarge the photo it may be interesting to see the levels.

Another Sunday on the Trails

What a beautiful day outdoors. A little brisk with a few light showers while out with some good friends. Can you see the rainbow below?



We took the offroad skateboard out for another ride. Atop a fine look out where Reseda Blvd deadends into an endless array of trails we strapped in.

TIME TRAVELING

This past week an amazing exhibit opened up that I hope everyone can get to see sometime in the next five months. The California Heritiage Museum has worked with several skateboard historians to gather a plethora of boards, skates, photos & wheels together under one roof.



The museum is located just off Ocean Park in Santa Monica, California. Almost set in the heart of the original Dogtown, where skateboarding crawled out of the ocean & onto the streets. The old two story house/museum has been ronvated to help bring each visitor back in time to what many of the homes in California looked like when the area was first developing.

As you wander through the bottom floor, gazing upon roller skate relics & a new style of soap box racer you can't help but wonder how the search ever began for such items, let alone who had them?! Some of my favorites were the older photos of kids riding the old plank & box scooter racers.

Up the stairway their is two great displays of skateboards as they evolved into a trendy childs toy, taking on the shape of small surf boards. Some of my favorites were on these walls.



As the exhibit snakes around the top floor of the house, visitors see the progression of board shapes, wheel materials, and the varrying bright & evolving graphics that accompany the boards from day one. I even saw the very first board I had in 1988!!

Lastly, you come to some of the newest boards on the wall (pictured above) made by Girl Skateboards. These are a tribute to the history of our sport & an homage to the past. These boards display a history that is important for future generations of riders to understand, to help them see where their sport came from. Thank you so much to the California Heritage Museum for putting together such an amazing exhibit for the public to see.

CALIFORNIA HERITAGE MUSEUM MAP

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Summer has hit LA

With Father's Day behind us, Summer has taken Los Angeles by storm... or more of a dry smoggy preheat. I found myself in shorts and t-shirt at 7am today... not to shabby. This past week I spent Father's Day at the Pasadena Chalk Festival with none other than my Father, Mom and Georgette. It was a magnificent sea of colorful chalk and people with over 200 entries strewn about the sidewalk in 8x8 squares. Below are a couple of my favorites (click on the pics to enlarge, amazing detail)

The truth was really upon me that Summer had arrived when Collin (@theEasyShip) and I found ourselves atop a Reseda bluff in Topanga State Park ready to push off with a dirt board under our feet and sweating our asses off in full gear. Alas, our christening runs went smooth as possible with no injuries & GREAT TIMES. Some footage coming soon...

Lastly, Friday nigth was spent grooving to Balance & the Traveling Sounds at the Knitting Factory! SOULHIPJAFUNK streaming from the amplifiers, bellowing out of the sax, tearing down the roof.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.