Normally, a desiccated man stands here with a sign that reads "Homeless Vet", or "Will Work for Food". It is typical for the city I have called home for these last 10 years or so, Buena Park – The Center of the Southland. On any given day the local homeless shelter pushes about a hundred lost souls out on the community to… well to do just about everything one can imagine. I’m not complaining really, in fact I was worried when I saw the Knott Ave beggar was missing. No worries – he was back when I drove by an hour later.
This post kicks off a new project for me – I’m going to shoot Buena Park. It should be a challenge. Buena Park is a big ugly bedroom. It's mile after mile of track homes, apartments, and trailer parks, sprinkled with a bad mall, big roads (I have a SIX-lane highway near my home!) and Knott’s Berry Farm. It’s not all ugly, so this series will be a mixture of the good, the bad, and the mediocre, which I call home.
Buena Park #1: Buena Park with Bottle
Camera: Nikon D70
Exposure: 0.002s (1/500)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
When you say ugly I know you mean that in a good way. I mean honestly when I first looked at the picture I was like WTF. But then I saw the picture. My mind went blank and pulled out memories of so many things. It's weird, the picture spoke to me of home, It reminded me of all the long walks I've taken, it reminded me of my homeless days, and it reminded me of being a child. Thats a damn good photograph. I guess its not the subject, it's the people it inspires that makes good photography. Good work.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw this, before I made the picture, it made me sad. I remembered being poor and riding my bike to work when I was in the Air Force out in Riverside. What I'm trying to say is that it evoked memories - so I took it.
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