This series is a bit of a summary of the period I lived in Los Angeles. It was all a bit absurd, like I was on an alien planet, but I had fun.
Many friends, many memories, always looking for a good restaurant. In these images I tried to give shape to the feelings I was experiencing living an breathing the city and its people: loneliness, hope, exaltation, and sometimes, on the beach in the evening, a vague feeling of peace and acceptance.
I used an old analog camera, a Pentax MX, with 15+ years expired rolls and two zoom lenses: a 35-50 mm f/5.6 and a 70-300 mm f/5.6. For some pictures I used the double exposition technique.
I left a second life there and more and more often I wonder if I will ever return to get it back.
I don’t even remember why I took a photo of this van.
It was a nice one I guess, or maybe there was someone there smiling. But the photo didn’t make it. A good start for my first film roll.
People playing basketball on Venice beach on a Sunday morning. I lost one of my favourite bracelet taking photos that day.
At least photos were good.
A skater practices in the Venice beach skate park. You can't see it in photo, but there were about a hundred skaters there.
Never seen so many skaters in my life, and most of them were actually very good.
People strolling around and doing graffitti. Venice beach was a crossroad, a lot of interesting people passing by from all over the world.
This was one of my first time there, I was overwhelmed by the sheer pressure of the pulsating life around.
People surfing near Santa Monica.
My first time having a bath in the Pacific Ocean there, it was colder than I expected, that evening I kissed her for the first time.
A cool graffitto in the urban jungle.
I mean, it's just a cool wall I found wandering around.
A lonely sunflower inside the closed garden in my apartment complex. There were more than one, but unfortunately this was the only survivior.
I observed it growing throught the seasons, and it became kinda like a friend. Sometimes looked confused, but it never lost hope.
A random double exposure happened.
Some weird coincidence happened to melt these two pictures, a pool party with some philosophical advice given by a laundry place. I think they strangely fit together.
A self portrait took in Griffith Park.
First time someone took me a photo with my analog camera. It was a nice sunny day and we did a pic nic together.
Another random double exposure showing a dinner with a good friend, the only roommate I didn't want to punch, and my neighbors front door.
Apparently the gayest place in town.
There were many kind of people on the street: tall, short, black, white, city people, tourist... But they all apparently had a common trait.
As if they wanted to fly away, but gravity was holding them back.
Seems like these people silhouette can enclose their entire life as if they were part of the landscape.
Natural as the sky, the palms and the mountains in the background.
Malibu beach in the evening. I was on the beach with friends waiting for the sunset, it was a nice sunny day, then suddenly clouds arrived.
People remained there anyway to sleep, so did I. The waves undertow conciliated my dreams.
The beach again.
I thought there was something there, but there was nothing.
