Wreckage In The Shadows

Color Splash Black & White Ghost Spinner

Thanks for checkin' out the Bsombin' blog! I recently posted a few steel wool posts. In one of them, I mentioned some of the things I learned on my first "spinning" adventure with @xrissvlad. One of the things I mentioned was to not use your autofocus when shooting steel wool, because it can lead to blurry captures. I got a lot of blurry wool shots. I decided to try and use them, somehow, though. So I got to editing shots and got some pretty cool results. Below is one of the edits. ...a ghostly color splash black and white image of wool being spun on top of a flipped over Honda... I'll be posting a few more horrible shots that got edited into useable images, like this image and the image on the "Night Train on 1st St." Both images came from the throw-away folder and were edited back to life. Check back soon to see more edits, captures, poems, paintings, drawings, & more! 

Night Train on 1st Street.

Android's day in Marina Del Rey

Steel Wool Pt.2

L.A. Locomotive

Steel Wool Pt.1

I got bit by the "Instabug", and the infection is getting worse and worse. Instagram has lead me to do a lot of things that I wouldn't have thought to do without it. This past weekend I met up with a fellow Instagramer that goes by @xrissvlad. We headed out to downtown to go check out some freeway spots. But, we ended up spinning steel wool around East L.A. & the L.A. river, instead. Neither one of us had played with steel wool before, so we had to learn some things the hard way.

Lesson 1 - Steel wool can break off in large pieces that will set you on fire if they get on you. ...lucky for me, I was wearing an old sweater that I didn't mind messing up. I just didn't think I was gonna have to stop, drop, and roll with it on. Lol. Xris also got a little heated when some wool landed on his neck. Fortunately, it wasn't a large piece and he was okay, though. 

Lesson 2 - Autofocus is a bad idea when shooting steel wool. The extreme lighting in a dark setting makes the autofocus trip and potentially good shots become blurry messes. Some of the best opportunities of the night yielded fuzzy funk instead of amazing captures, because of my autofocus issues.  

Lesson 3 - Make sure to plan out your shots carefully. You might only get one chance to get the capture, depending on when and where you decide to shot fireballs all over the place. ...And that is what you'll be doing if you spin steel wool. Fireballs of various sizes fly all over the place and they go far and bounce off of things too! A get-away plan isn't a bad idea either, depending on where you'll be starting your fire storm. 

Last, but not least...

Lesson 4 - If you spin the wool with a whisk, it's a good idea to bring a spare or the tools you'll need to fix the whisk if it breaks. Good thing is, this one wasn't one of the hard learned lessons, since Xris came prepared for such an event. Otherwise, we would have had to end the light painting session early. But he fixed the broken whisk and we were able to go back to shooting the shooting fireballs again.   

Despite the fires and burns, we had a lot of fun spinning wool and I will be doing it again! Here are some of the light captures that I got during my first steel wool adventure. You can see Xris' captures on Instagram @xrissvlad. Dude is talented and definitely worth checkin' out!

Down by the river, lurking in the shadows, under the bridge...

Android On The East Side

Hi and thanks for checkin' out the Bsombin' blog! I recently went out for a night of "urban exploring" (or, as I prefer to call it, a capture mission) with my brothers Jefroe & Steven. We had a fun night that was reminiscent of "the good ol' graff days". Lol. We started in East Los, made our way into downtown, and ended things at the "Marathon Crash Race". A lot of the more recent posts, here on the blog, have been from that night. It was a great night with 2 of my oldest friends.  

In this crazy city, people come and go at the speed of life. It's hard to get close to people because so many put up a wall to protect themselves and hide their insecurities. There are a lot of people in this city that live their lives scared of being hurt and worrying too much about what others think about them. ...Too scared and worried to let down their guard enough to let you really get to know them. ...Too afraid and insecure to let anyone get close. So they keep everyone distant... I know, because I used to be one. I got so full of insecurity and fear that I even withdrew from friends and family. It made me feel a strange sense of loneliness, even though I was surrounded by family, friends, and millions of our fellow Angelenos. Thankfully, with God's guidance & the love and help of my friends and family I have found my way back from the darkness I was dwelling in. It does have a gravity that I still struggle with. But, as I grow stronger, the struggle becomes less and less... 

If I hadn't of been out shooting with Jefroe & Steve, this night would have been a very sad and depressing one for me, since I didn't run the marathon this year. I was really down about my failure and, with the marathon being the next morning, I was starting to feel the downward spiral's gravity. But, I got over it with a little help from my friends. Instead of getting down and depressed they helped me turn the night into a great time. As with all my old friends, I got a lot of love for these dudes! I've know 'em both for a long time and shared a lot of good times with both. Something about runnin' around the city late at night fills me with a sense of freedom and joy. Being able to share the joy with old friends is a blessing that I am very thankful for. To not only have friendships that have endured the test of time, but to also be able to continue sharing interests and passions with my old friends is awesome! I look forward to many more capture missions with my brothers. I'm even making plans to add new "urban explorers" to the group! Lol. It's like they say... Good friends are like stars, you don't always see them, but you know they're always there. Check back soon for more capture mission action, along with more art, poetry, music, and more! 

Freeways and Bridges on the East Side - Pt.2

The night before the L.A. Marathon - Pt3

Black & White Amoeba

Hollyweird Nights Pt.2

The night before the L.A. Marathon - Pt2

Android At "The Crash Race"

Freeways and Bridges on the East Side - Pt.1

A hard lesson to learn.

They say hind-sight is 20/20. Sometimes it hurts to look back, though. But, a lesson can always be learned, when we look at the past honestly and without bias. I've learned a lot about love, in my time. This is a poem about one of the hardest lessons that I've ever been taught. Never take those who love you for granted!!  

"Tearful Hind-sight"

Love,

Though I know it will be 

In vain, 

Let me make this

Effort to put into words

All that I feel for you

...My beloved,

Queen of queens,

In you, I have found

Refuge from 

Life's storms!

You give, to me, 

The peace

Of being whole,

As you've filled 

Every void & 

Mended every wound that 

Afflicted me...

You lit

My Sun's flames & 

Became the 

Center of my 

Universe,

As you lifted my 

Lowest lows,

To heavenly heights,

On angel's wings...

Without you,

My world will be 

Lost in the cold

Darkness of an 

Imploded universe...

However, even if 

My body was broken;

My family was buried;

My friends had turned enemies; &

My pockets were empty,

With you

My world remains 

Complete & serene...

My heart beats;

My blood flows; & 

My lungs breath

So that I may 

See you & find the 

Paradise in your embrace; the

Euphoria in your caress; & 

The understanding of

What it is to 

Die, & be reborn, 10,000 times

As we kiss...

For you,

My moon sets,

My sun rises, & shines,

My seasons change, & 

My will finds

Inspiration to make

The world mine,

So that I could 

Give it to you

...Still

These words,

With all the depth of their meanings,

Are but a 

Feeble attempt to 

Express 

All that you

Grow inside of me!

Since what you

Seeded in 

My heart 

With your beauty, &

Nurtured in

My soul

With your

Kindness & care,

Is the 

Truest, most pure, & 

Deepest, of undying loves...

& that love for you 

Will only grow, as it

Transcends 

Time's boundaries & 

Lives beyond 

Eternity!

...If only

I knew then what I know now,

I wouldn't be sitting here 

Wishing I would've

Said this to you,

When I had the chance

...Could've, should've, would've...

-Bsomb4 

Hollyweird Nights Pt.1

The night before the L.A. Marathon

Thanks for checkin' out the Bsombin' blog. I wanted to run the L.A. Marathon again this year. At the end of the day, regardless of all the reasons (excuses) that I have for not doing it, what matters to me is that I didn't do something I said I would do. I tried to make it happen, but didn't get it done. I'm not happy about missing the race. I was disappointed in myself but I'm not going to beat myself up about it anymore than I already have. And, at least, I'm in good shape from the training I did, I guess. (...that's me trying to be optimistic about something that I am really mad at myself for) I am currently training for next years race. I'm gonna try and do it in less than 3 hours, to redeem myself, for this years fail, too.

Although I didn't run in it, I didn't miss all the marathon action. The night before the marathon, Wolfpack Hustle organized their annual Marathon Crash Race. A bicycle race that takes place a few hours before the marathon along the marathon course. The city tried to keep it from happening, but the cyclists prevailed and the crash race started just a little past 4a.m. I happened to be out n about, with my bros Jefroe and Steven, shooting downtown, around 3. Jefroe knew where the gathering point for the race was so we decided to head over and see if the cyclist were rioting and clashing with the police. Lol. We got there and there were a lot of anxious people waiting to start an event that wasn't supposed to be happening. Everyone kept it cool and respectful, and cooperated with the police, though. After walking around for about a half hour, one of the organizers finally got on a megaphone and got things underway. After a quick speech and some inspiring stories, the cyclists started riding down Sunset Blvd. towards the beach, with a police escort no less. The city not only allowed the angelenos to ride the course, they even road it with them. It was a happy ending to a fun night. We followed the riders into Beverly Hills, before calling it a night and heading back home.

Here are some of the images I captured at the gathering point. I'll share some more later in the week too.

   

A poetic night

Thanks for checkin' out the Bsombin' blog! I've been working on photography a lot, lately. But that isn't to say that I haven't been wearing my other "creative hats" too. I haven't taken the time to photograph my newest pieces, and I have a lot of drawings that need to be photographed too, to share. I'm also working on a new mix to post soon. But, for now, I wanted to share some more poetry, to break up the steady flow of captures a little bit. I hope you enjoy, and check back soon for more Bsombin'!

"Lead Through The Rough"

When we first met

I knew that, through you,

I would grow

...Little did I know that it would be:

Strength, through pain;

Serenity, by going insane; 

Purpose, while picking up the remains;

Peace, after a war between my heart & brain;

& the feeling of being complete, after being completely drained...

Now that I know me,

& have been set free,

I just wish you could see

What you've helped me to be

Bsomb4

A poem inspired by a capture

Two Little Girls In Line

Two little girls play,

As we wait in line,

I look at them both and

I see both their young faces shine

But, the differences seem to be

More than they share,

As they sit in their strollers,

With their curly dark hair...

One plays with paper and pen,

One plays with an android, Mickey, and friends;

One's world is analog,

One's world is digital;

One exist in the mental,

One lives in the physical;

One lives in the present,

Ones stuck in the past;

One soon gets upset,

Ones having a blast;

One seems lost in another dimension,

One screams loud for mother's attention;

One gets ignored, as a behavioral reward,

One gets loved, since distractions aren't something mom can afford.

...Two little girls,

Sitting and waiting in line;

The two I observed,

While passing the time.

-Bsomb4