Just noticed that I haven't been updating my blog.... so here goes.



Recently I went down to Los Angeles to assist a photographer friend. Turns out the job was a real pain, wish I just went down and paid my own way so I'd have more time to shoot and enjoy.




On the plus side, we had a nice hotel room in Los Angeles' Chinatown. We were getting up at 4:30 in the morning and working until the early afternoon. So frankly I was pretty beat by the time it came to do my own thing.





Never-the-less I got a few stock shots in.



Chinatown in Los Angeles was stuck in a time capsule. At least the parts I saw looked like they were frozen in time between the 70's and 80's. There were shops with signs up boasting that they sold postcards and Kodak Film!



But I really like the faux pagodas and lanterns. It's weird how with all the cries of cultural appropriation and political correctness haven't reached the Chinatowns of North America. Given the political climate, I'd expect calls to bulldoze these over-the-top stereotypes of Asian culture. But we all seem to love them (me included!)



Another topic I concentrated on while in LA was public transportation. To contradict the L.A. stereotypes "Nobody Walks in L.A." I did spend lots of time walking. I also bought a weekly transit pass called "TAP". I have a client that works for public transit and pedestrian advocacy so this is another area where I try to shoot stock. Plus I was driving vast distances for the gig I worked, and didn't want to bother with the car.



So I was really surprised how superior public transit was to the Bay Area. Researching after my trip I found that LA's subway system has almost exactly the same amount of track as our BART. But my all inclusive TAP card averaged less than $4/day. I could spend the whole $25 in one day on BART alone. Plus that card also gets me on buses too (I think.)





Soon I hope to start  adding more real Silicon Valley content. But I still have a trip to Portland I will likely post next.

Please stay tuned.....!