Bsombin' Los Angeles
Bsombin' Los Angeles
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
03/25/2020 - Pandemic In The City Of Angels (Pt.5 - MacAurthur Park, Mid-Wilshire, Koreatown, Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills, & Westwood)
Thanks for checkin' out the Bsombin' blog! I've been sharing pictures from a tour of the City of Angels that I took 2 weeks ago. I wanted to document how Los Angeles is reacting to the "Stay at home" order that was put into place to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. So I drove around the city and took my camera with me. I went by myself, mostly stayed in my truck, and didn't get near anyone, to be safe and follow the social distancing guide lines. And, I took extra precautions and cleaned and disinfected everything that I took with me, when I got home. I started off in the Valley then headed through Laurel Canyon into Hollywood, before making my way to D.T.L.A. Then I started making my way back towards the beach along Wilshire Blvd.
As I began to head down Wilshire, I decided to make MacArthur Park my first stop. But, with so much unusual activity on the streets, I found myself making many stops and taking picture all the way down the Boulevard. When I got to MacArthur Park, I found more people than I thought I would. But, still, what's usually a hive of activity had little more than a faint buzz running through the streets. One stop in the center of the park was all I made, before heading to the next destination. K-town was the next stop in mind, after seeing an empty MacArthur Park. So I kept heading down Wilshire Blvd. As I was crossing Vermont, a man with a cross was dancing around singing on the corner. I'd seen this guy 3 or 4 time in the past, throughout the city, always doing the same thing... Dancing and waving around a cross as he shouted scriptures and praised Jesus at the top of his lungs. And that was exactly what he was doing on the corner of Wilshire & Vermont. He moved me and made me feel a breath of hope in the middle of a wilted Wilshire, though. So I circled around to take his picture. In the process, I saw a group of construction workers getting off work and walking back to their cars together. Again, a site that made me feel hopeful. It felt like a sign that we will be able to rise up out of this and rebuild a better future (no matter what), when I saw the construction workers walking together down an empty side street. So, I pulled over and snapped a pic, as quick as I could. They all noticed me and didn't seem too thrilled about being photographed. So I just waved and said, "Thanks for all you're doing!", as I drove away. And when I got back around to Wilshire, the man with the cross was walking back to the corner I had seen him on. Every time I've seen him, he walks back and forth from one corner to the next dancing, singing, and waving his cross. So there was no guarantee that he would be in a spot where I could get a picture of him when I got back to Wilshire. But going around the block was a gamble that paid off. And I managed to take his picture before continuing down an empty Wilshire Blvd. After Vermont, I stopped at Western to get a shot of the Wiltern theater. I've seen more traffic on that corner at 1a.m. (on a Sunday night) than what I saw when I arrived. Funny enough, that was probably one of the most "crowded" intersections in the city, that day. As I started driving down Wilshire again, I thought of making La Brea my next stop. By the time I got there, though, the sun had just gone down. So I knew I only had about 20-30 minutes left before it would be dark. And, since I was shooting out of my truck window, I didn't want to shoot at night. But, I Also wanted to get some shots in front of the LACMA Lights, the Peterson Automotive Museum, Beverly Hills, and Westwood, before heading home. So, I decide to forget a few of the other spots that I had on my list, in order to get as far down Wilshire as possible. I tried to spend as little time as possible, at each spot on the abbreviated list. But, even with the shortened list, the sky was black by the time I got to Westwood Village. That was my last stop before getting on the 405 and heading back home. The drive home was no different from the rest of the day. I think it was the most open I've ever seen the busiest freeway in the world. There was no traffic and the cars the were on the road were all in a hurry to go somewhere. By the time I got back to the valley, it was around 9. When I got off the 405, Sherman Way was almost empty. I made it home from Santa Monica in record time.
Every stop was the same, though out the trip... A fraction of the traffic that would normally be there on a typical Wednesday. From empty sidewalks to freeways with just a handful of vehicles on them, the City of Angels was a ghost town. But, as spooky of a sight as it was, it was a reassuring thing to know that the city has come together to "flatten the curve" and minimize the number of COVID-19 infections/deaths in Los Angeles.
Two weeks after having gone on that drive, we are doing better than what was expected and the city's spirit is still strong. Though there are a lot of reported cases in California, things are better than what was projected for things to be at this point in time. And most everyone seems to be making an effort to do their part to help. Hopefully, everyone's efforts help us get through this sooner than later and with as few loses as possible. And hopefully we will be able to look back on this as a difficult time that helped us to learn to be more thoughtful, precautions, empathetic, and interdependent. I bad time that ushered in a better era... Hopefully we can look back on this as being a valley that lead us to a mountain top. But, for the time being, we can look around and see that the majority of people are doing what they can to help better the situation. And, for the most part, people are putting aside their differences to work together towards a common cause. The crime rate has even gone down in the city, since the "Stay at home" order was issued. To me, that is definitely a "silver lining" in this situation. My mom has always said, "There's no bad that good doesn't come from." And, as hard as it may be to believe sometimes, that's always proven to be true at the end of the day. I doubt this will be an exception to that saying. So I am optimistic about the situation we are in. Though it might be hard to see it while we are in the middle of all the hardship, we have to believe that it will lead to better day.
Wilshire Blvd
Wilshire Blvd (MacAurthur Park)
New Hampshire Ave
Wilshire Blvd & Vermont Ave
Wilshire Blvd
Wilshire Blvd & Western Ave
Wilshire Blvd & Western Ave
Wilshire Blvd & La Brea Ave
Wilshire Blvd (L.A.C.M.A Lights)
Wilshire Blvd
Wilshire Blvd & Fairfax Ave
Wilshire Blvd & Swall Dr
Rodeo Dr
Rodeo Dr & South Santa Monica Blvd
Westwood Blvd & Weyburn Ave
Westwood Blvd & Lindbrook Dr.
Be safe everyone. Take precautions, look out for one another, work together, and stay optimistic. We will get through this and be better on the other end of it.
As I began to head down Wilshire, I decided to make MacArthur Park my first stop. But, with so much unusual activity on the streets, I found myself making many stops and taking picture all the way down the Boulevard. When I got to MacArthur Park, I found more people than I thought I would. But, still, what's usually a hive of activity had little more than a faint buzz running through the streets. One stop in the center of the park was all I made, before heading to the next destination. K-town was the next stop in mind, after seeing an empty MacArthur Park. So I kept heading down Wilshire Blvd. As I was crossing Vermont, a man with a cross was dancing around singing on the corner. I'd seen this guy 3 or 4 time in the past, throughout the city, always doing the same thing... Dancing and waving around a cross as he shouted scriptures and praised Jesus at the top of his lungs. And that was exactly what he was doing on the corner of Wilshire & Vermont. He moved me and made me feel a breath of hope in the middle of a wilted Wilshire, though. So I circled around to take his picture. In the process, I saw a group of construction workers getting off work and walking back to their cars together. Again, a site that made me feel hopeful. It felt like a sign that we will be able to rise up out of this and rebuild a better future (no matter what), when I saw the construction workers walking together down an empty side street. So, I pulled over and snapped a pic, as quick as I could. They all noticed me and didn't seem too thrilled about being photographed. So I just waved and said, "Thanks for all you're doing!", as I drove away. And when I got back around to Wilshire, the man with the cross was walking back to the corner I had seen him on. Every time I've seen him, he walks back and forth from one corner to the next dancing, singing, and waving his cross. So there was no guarantee that he would be in a spot where I could get a picture of him when I got back to Wilshire. But going around the block was a gamble that paid off. And I managed to take his picture before continuing down an empty Wilshire Blvd. After Vermont, I stopped at Western to get a shot of the Wiltern theater. I've seen more traffic on that corner at 1a.m. (on a Sunday night) than what I saw when I arrived. Funny enough, that was probably one of the most "crowded" intersections in the city, that day. As I started driving down Wilshire again, I thought of making La Brea my next stop. By the time I got there, though, the sun had just gone down. So I knew I only had about 20-30 minutes left before it would be dark. And, since I was shooting out of my truck window, I didn't want to shoot at night. But, I Also wanted to get some shots in front of the LACMA Lights, the Peterson Automotive Museum, Beverly Hills, and Westwood, before heading home. So, I decide to forget a few of the other spots that I had on my list, in order to get as far down Wilshire as possible. I tried to spend as little time as possible, at each spot on the abbreviated list. But, even with the shortened list, the sky was black by the time I got to Westwood Village. That was my last stop before getting on the 405 and heading back home. The drive home was no different from the rest of the day. I think it was the most open I've ever seen the busiest freeway in the world. There was no traffic and the cars the were on the road were all in a hurry to go somewhere. By the time I got back to the valley, it was around 9. When I got off the 405, Sherman Way was almost empty. I made it home from Santa Monica in record time.
Every stop was the same, though out the trip... A fraction of the traffic that would normally be there on a typical Wednesday. From empty sidewalks to freeways with just a handful of vehicles on them, the City of Angels was a ghost town. But, as spooky of a sight as it was, it was a reassuring thing to know that the city has come together to "flatten the curve" and minimize the number of COVID-19 infections/deaths in Los Angeles.
Two weeks after having gone on that drive, we are doing better than what was expected and the city's spirit is still strong. Though there are a lot of reported cases in California, things are better than what was projected for things to be at this point in time. And most everyone seems to be making an effort to do their part to help. Hopefully, everyone's efforts help us get through this sooner than later and with as few loses as possible. And hopefully we will be able to look back on this as a difficult time that helped us to learn to be more thoughtful, precautions, empathetic, and interdependent. I bad time that ushered in a better era... Hopefully we can look back on this as being a valley that lead us to a mountain top. But, for the time being, we can look around and see that the majority of people are doing what they can to help better the situation. And, for the most part, people are putting aside their differences to work together towards a common cause. The crime rate has even gone down in the city, since the "Stay at home" order was issued. To me, that is definitely a "silver lining" in this situation. My mom has always said, "There's no bad that good doesn't come from." And, as hard as it may be to believe sometimes, that's always proven to be true at the end of the day. I doubt this will be an exception to that saying. So I am optimistic about the situation we are in. Though it might be hard to see it while we are in the middle of all the hardship, we have to believe that it will lead to better day.
Be safe everyone. Take precautions, look out for one another, work together, and stay optimistic. We will get through this and be better on the other end of it.
03/25/2020 - Pandemic In The City Of Angels (Pt.4 - Downtown L.A.)
Thank you for checkin' out the Bsombin' blog! In my last few posts, I started sharing pictures from a tour of the City of Angels that I took 2 weeks ago. I wanted to document how Los Angeles is reacting to the "Stay at home" order that was put into place to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. So I drove around the city and took my camera with me. I went by myself, mostly stayed in my truck, and didn't get near anyone, to be safe and follow the social distancing guide lines. And, I took extra precautions and cleaned and disinfected everything that I took with me, when I got home. I started off in the Valley then headed through Laurel Canyon into Hollywood, before making my way to D.T.L.A.
The first spot that came to mind, when I got to downtown, was Upper Grand. I drove up and down Grand, between Temple & 4th St., too check out the area around the Disney Concert Hall and The Broad. After Grand, I took Temple to Broadway and drove down Broadway into the heart of downtown. Although there were people in downtown, it was a fraction of what the usual traffic (on the street and sidewalks) would be like at that time of day. There was a strange vibe in the air too. Considering how strange of a place as D.T.L.A. can be, it was still surreal, even by that standard. Even the people who were walking down the street screaming at nobody had masks on. From Broadway, I headed to the Staple Center. I took Fig back up to Wilshire and started to make my way back towards the 405. My intention was to get as far down Wilshire as I could before it got dark. But with the sun already hanging low in the sky, I knew I wasn't going to make it all the way to the beach.
Grand Ave & 1st St
Grand Ave ( Over 4th St )
Grand Ave ( Over 4th St )
Grand Ave & 2nd St
1st St & Grand Ave
Broadway & 4th St
Broadway
Broadway & 6th St
Broadway
Broadway
Hope St & 9th St
Pico Blvd & Figueroa St
Figueroa St
11th St & Figueroa St
Figueroa St & 8th St
Beaudry Ave & 6th St
The first spot that came to mind, when I got to downtown, was Upper Grand. I drove up and down Grand, between Temple & 4th St., too check out the area around the Disney Concert Hall and The Broad. After Grand, I took Temple to Broadway and drove down Broadway into the heart of downtown. Although there were people in downtown, it was a fraction of what the usual traffic (on the street and sidewalks) would be like at that time of day. There was a strange vibe in the air too. Considering how strange of a place as D.T.L.A. can be, it was still surreal, even by that standard. Even the people who were walking down the street screaming at nobody had masks on. From Broadway, I headed to the Staple Center. I took Fig back up to Wilshire and started to make my way back towards the 405. My intention was to get as far down Wilshire as I could before it got dark. But with the sun already hanging low in the sky, I knew I wasn't going to make it all the way to the beach.
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