Empty star on Hollywood Boulevard

We arrived in Los Angeles late Tuesday nite, after being held hostage
by American Customs and Immigration pricks for 7 hours at Calgary
Airport, where we were connecting to the flight to L.A.

This is the view from our hotel that nite, and the following (rainy) morning…..

Capitol Records bldg., Hollywood

Wednesday morn we went to Roscoes Chicken and Waffles for breakfast…..

And hit the streets looking for something, anything…..

Ended up shooting 17 frames that first day. Got the film processed at
A and I, which is an amazing, huge lab in Hollywood. Being able to see
what you’re doing (when you’re shooting film) is a luxury when you’re
on the road and making it all up as you go along.

Here are the 6 frames that I’m (as they say down here) feeling:

Thursday we drove down Western Avenue to South Central, where we
met some reluctance. Many of the folks we met were amazed and con-
fused that we’d be brave/stupid enough to go there.

Case in point was D Booga. D works in the community, running a kind
of makeshift program that gives the kids in the area something to do,
other than gang-banging. D runs a crew of other Boogas. He told us
there are crazy Boogas, lazy Boogas and hardworking Boogas. There
are also little Boogas.

D was, when I first approached him, cold, skeptical and guarded. He
told me: “People get shot down here”. But I pressed on and we began
to find common ground until, eventually, he smiled and I was invited.

Shooting Bernard and D Booga, South Central Los Angeles

We also met a few wild and crazy folks down in South Central who
had no issues with us being there, who welcomed us in their own
friendly way…..

Shooting a scenic in South Central

Friday, an overcast day threatening rain, we went to Venice Beach.
The light, for an hour or so, made everything glow. We shot some
frames at the skate park, a few landscapes and a portrait or two.

Then it started to rain so I took Ben shoe shopping. He was looking
for Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 (black on black) shoes, couldn’t find
them so settled for these Adidas…..

We spent the rest of the day in traffic. Got back to the hotel, went
for dinner, loaded film and called it a day at 10:00 p.m.

Ben loading film

Saturday we took the day off. Drove up the Pacific Coast Highway
to Pismo Beach to meet my long-lost assistant and one of the loves
of my life, Christina, who is now a California girl. Great reunion and
some BIGFUN.

More next week…..