Wanderings in downtown Los Angeles

 I've been feeling a little depressed as well as angry lately. Depressed because I keep on reflecting on my professional path, and I wish I had done more. I wish I had found an academic community with which I felt comfortable, and where I could make contributions. I haven't, and I am indeed very, very distrustful of academe in general.

Angry because of the Fox commentator Tucker Carlson and his Trumpeting of "white replacement" theories, but under the guise of political leaning and the divide between Republicans and Democrats. He (and so many Republicans and white supremacists of his ilk) can't stop trying to find ways of dividing us and constructing "straw man" theories. Now, it turns out, it isn't about race, it is about "immigrants" who will be allowed in and will supposedly be given free benefits so that they can vote for Democrats. Which is a bunch of crap, of course, malicious but also insidious because it works on a large sector of the Republican base that can't stand the idea of diversity. We, it turns out, are the enemy now, because we are bought and sold by the Democratic party. I will need to write an essay to show how crude and malevolent this affirmation is because, of course, it panders to white supremacists who can't wait to commit acts of violence against minorities.

But beyond all that, I went to downtown Los Angeles today because I needed to go out and continue to try out my Kraken 6x17. The camera has been a big help, relieving so much stress. I was originally considering going to another botanic garden but no, I am burnt out. I don't want to visit them anymore, I went on Friday to the South Coast Botanic garden and, as beautiful as it is, I've been there. I need a change. I was considering as well going to the Carlsbad flower fields, I have never been there and my tía Socorro used to work there over a decade ago, before she retired, but no, not today. We have been having unseasonably hot weather, and today we even reached the low 90s. There was not one cloud in the sky, and with such harsh, blaring sunlight, that is not the time to go and photograph flowers. The shadows and contrast is too great, everyone says, wait until we have diffuse light. 

What did I decide? Well, in downtown Los Angeles, I can photograph a commercial outlet in Chinatown. I can also go and photograph grandiose museum buildings, and of course, I can go to Olvera Street, but when it comes to it, there is only one composition I can take there because there is no way I am venturing into the crowded allies during the waning days of a pandemic (yes, the death toll is much lower, but still close to a hundred fatalaties per day in California). So, I went, planning in the back of my mind to go visit Little Tokyo as well, but as I was walking around, it was beyond me to venture there. Just walking around downtown Los Angeles in that gritty area (yes, it is gritty, there are many homeless tents on the sidewalks and much trash, and many people do not wear masks, and I am not just referring to the homeless population) is exhausting. 

I did the rounds, and first took a few exposures in Chinatown. I was hoping to take exposures of the storefronts on the main bulevard, but the light was not right, it was harsh and people naturally stayed in the shade. So I walked next to downtown Los Angeles, that is, the main music hall of warped aluminum. Then to Angel's Landing, and then surrounding streets. I looked for 6x17 exposures but could not find very many. I had to stretch to expose 8 compositions. I was hoping for an indoor shot with bulb mode of the Grand Central Marketplace (a place that sells many types of food and drinks), but no, the crowds were just unreasonably big, as in, pre-pandemic big. So I stayed the hell away and walked where I could, trying to maintain at least 10 feet of separation from others.

I finally made it back to Olvera Street and took that one composition. I wanted to find another one, but it was about 3:45 p.m. and I was tired. I had been tramping around since 1:09 p.m., so yes, I got my exercise today. It was time to go.

Here are the exposures from one roll. This was Foma 200 black and white film, and I used f16 and 1/125 shutter speed. I was using a red 25A filter taped on my lens. The camera is very, very easy to handle. I am liking it more and more, except for the damned fat rolls. I think I know the problem, I had to maintain as much tension as I can, and only turn one knob and not both when advancing the film. The thing is, if I only turn one knob, it gets difficult to advance, and I don't want to scratch the emulsion. So I was helping it along by turning both knobs, and the result? Fat rolls. It ruined a few shots for me.

Here are my exposures, developed and scanned today. These are low-resolution screen grabs because the original files are in the over 30 MB (megabyte) range, and this site will not allow me to upload files that big. Note to myself: maybe I need to get used to closing down the aperture at least to f22, because the corners have too much vignetting. I don't think the image circle for this lens really is big enough when I open up to f16. Plus, f22 will give me more depth of field. The only thing is that, if I am using filters, it will limit my possibilities for hand-holding, so I will have to always use at least 400 ISO. Which is fine with me, even though I do have a few bricks of the (old) Fuji Acros 100 that I want to use with this camera. I guess I will use it, just not with a red filter.