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| The Sands Apartments, Gardena, CA. ©Mike Vega 2012 |
The Sands apartments in Gardena, CA. features a wonderful mid-century entrance of blue tiles and amazing metal stars. I chose to shoot it with black and white (100 asa) film in order minimize the poor light and blight of the scene...
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| Water truck Riverside, CA. ©Mike Vega 2012 |
While on a school expansion site, I came across this hideously beautiful water truck. Equipped with over sized tires to tackle any terrain, "safari" windshields (they are hinged and "flip" upward and out of the way to allow for air circulation (I'm SURE this beast doesn't have any air-conditioning!) and a killer faded yellow and green paint scheme...
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| "FE5KA" Fontana, CA. ©Mike Vega 2012 |
While I am not an advocate of most graffiti, I do make exception for pieces on train cars. I'm not exactly sure why, but they do not offend me the way painting on walls, signs, dumpsters etc. I am especially drawn to the colorful or whimsical pieces...
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| "DIAR FOREVER!!" Fontana, CA. ©Mike Vega 2012 |
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| WWII Air Raid Siren, Gardena, CA. ©Mike Vega 2012 |
With Los Angeles being the largest Southern California city (population) and nearby Long Beach and San Pedro being ports for U.S. Navy warships during World War II the area was thought to be a natural target for the Japanese Naval fleet.
As such, the greater metropolitan area is littered with now defunct "air-raid" sirens. The one pictured here sits among the low-rent apartments of South East Los Angeles and is nondescript enough that I'd wager that people who've lived in it's shadow for years have never given it any thought.
Whenever I am in older (non-gentrified) neighborhoods, I keep an eye out for them. When renovating neighborhoods, the city usually removes the sirens...
I chose to shoot it with black and white (400 asa) film in order to define it from the grey building and grey sky...
-Mike
