Balboa Park turns 100, part 2

This next set of photographs are from the fall of 2010. Each of these are straight out of the camera, unedited. The film I was shooting (I believe it was a roll of Lomography 100 B&W given to me by a fellow I'd purchased a different camera from) had been slightly exposed, resulting in some light leaks + the numbers and guide dots of the backer paper being burned onto the film. The resulting images are among my favorites not just from Balboa Park but from anywhere.

a handful of recent finds

 I picked up the following 5 photographs at a thrift store just before Christmas. I don't come across color photos very often, and was excited to find these couple included with the black & white prints.

"Harrington Elementary School" is written on the back.
I tried but unfortunately wasn't able to find any information about the school or its location.

An undated portrait printed as a postcard

"Nov. '67"

"Mar. '69". The back reads, in red ballpoint pen: Hazy - no shadow. 50 at 8. Anaheim 3/18/69"

Stamp on the back reads "A color print made by Kodak. December 1971"

Balboa Park turns 100

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Panama-California Exposition, which celebrated the completion and opening of the Panama Canal. San Diego's Balboa Park set the stage for the 2-year exposition, establishing the park as a destination for art, architecture, and entertainment. 

Growing up in San Diego, Balboa Park was the destination for field trips, family outings, and when I got older, adventures with friends. It was one of the first places I visited and photographed when I got a "real camera"as a teenager. It remains one of my favorite places, and I visit the park every time I am in San Diego. There are a lot of memories waiting for me there, and it is wonderful to get to revisit them.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Balboa Park as we know it, I'm looking forward to diving back into my prints and negatives to share photographs I've taken there over the years. This is the first of what will be a series of posts of my Balboa Park photographs, which I'll share as I come across them.

The following 5 photographs were taken in February of 2013. The camera I used, a 1950s Argoflex 75, had been high in my camera rotation for a couple of years prior, unfortunately this was the last roll I shot with it because of how severe the scratches were that it'd leave on my negatives, quite visible here. Despite the imperfections, I think these images are lovely.

And just for fun, to kick off this series of photographs, how about Mabel Normand + Roscoe Arbuckle in "Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition"? This short is also celebrating its centennial this year.

postcards, part 6

I just picked these gems up yesterday at my favorite thrift store.

front

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front (sadly used as a coaster at one point in its 114 year life)

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Interested in seeing my previous postcard collection posts? Follow the links below:

Postcards, part 5
Postcards, part 4
Postcards, part 3
Postcards, part 2
Postcards, part 1

for new visitors

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a few from downtown

Just before Christmas I had a morning meeting downtown + planned ahead to take a walk afterward to photograph the Belle & Sebastian "Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance" billboard next to the Ace Hotel/United Artists Theatre. That image is the first one below, along with a few others from that day. 

In just a couple weeks, Bringing Back Broadway will be hosting Night on Broadway, I'm looking forward to visiting and photographing my favorite spots along Broadway in the evening. It'll be a fantastic night, I highly recommend attending if you're in the area.

"Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance" comes out in the US January 20th.
2015 marks 20 years of Belle & Sebastian.

I was elated to see that yarn bombing is still alive and well. Los Angeles has its own group, Yarnbombing Los Angeles,  which may be the ones behind this streetlamp in front of the former Rialto Theatre.

I saw this advertisement in the morning -- from the car -- when the light was nice, by early afternoon I unfortunately had to shoot into the sun to get it.

1930 Eastern Columbia Building. 9th & Broadway.

Not my favorite formal shop to photograph, as Steven's Bridal is now a Gap Outlet...