Trapped

A baboon trapped on the outskirts of an orange grove in Mpumalanga (formerly Eastern Transvaal). They steal the fruit, and the farmer put up this trap, though I have no idea what good one trap would do against a troop of monkeys. Poor guy was scared to death, and while we didn't stick around too long I have no doubt he came to an unpleasant end. Click on image to enlarge.

Initiation

The capping ceremony for a coming of age celebration in rural South Africa.

Obit

An obituary posted on an electrical box in Braamfontein, near the University of the Witswaterstrand.

Pondering

Watching the July protest in Thokoza.

Local Color

A little change of pace. Many more South African images to post, but wanted to bring it back to LA to break things up a little.

Where Were You?

The City of Johannesburg is trying to develop the Newtown area as an arts district. Some sections have come further than others. While wandering around, a little lost, looking for a print gallery this summer I came across this open door. Click on the image to see it larger, and read the graffito inside.

Shacks

Another from Thokoza.

Thokoza Protest

Recycle

In Orange Farm, one of the largest 'informal' settlements in Johannesburg, one couple has started a recycling center to both clean up the community and provide jobs and training to the people there. To call the Itsoseng Women's Center a shoestring operation is an understatement.

Morning, Orange Farm

Orange Farm is one of the largest "informal" settlements outside Johannesburg, with the bulk of the housing like this shack. There is electric, and water infrastructure was just installed in the last few months - though the roads have not been paved since.

I've been using Fuji Pro color film in the Holga and love how it generally renders the deep blues of the sky.

Roof Walker

I saw this guy scamper up the ladder (visible angled away from the right rear corner of the building) onto the roof and watched as he walked along the perimeter of the top of the building. I had one frame left, no more film with me and he disappeared from sight. I stood there, waiting and watching, until he finally reappeared. He was moving so quickly I had no idea whether I caught him or how well I framed the photo. Pleasantly surprised when the film came back.

Mai Mai

Mia Mai is a collections of Zulu shops in Johannesburg - lots of animal parts and herbs for medicinal uses - with the occasional clothing thrown in.

Service Delivery

Taken in July in Thokoza on the first day of service delivery protests across South Africa.

Bloody Hands, Thokoza

Residents of Thokoza, the second largest black township in Johannesburg, started protesting poor service delivery by the government on July 21. Police tried to break up the crowd using rubber bullets, and this man claimed they bloodied his hands as they tried to clear things out.

Gold

The gold rush that helped found the city of Johannesburg continues, thanks to new technologies. Mining companies now use new processes to extract gold from landfills like this one created when what was thought to be spent ore was discarded.

The White Roofs of Philly

Not snow, reflective materials to keep energy costs down. Cities ought to require this for new construction and incentivize conversion for older properties - especially if the roof can't bear the weight of a grass surface!

Blanks 7, A Hot One

I've got to be better about tracking these things, can't remember where this one was...

Off La Tijera

Another from the day at the airport. I liked how the Poplars came together at this house. Chose not to fiddle with the exposure in PhotoShop.

LAX

Had a tour the other day of LAX, from the runway side of the terminals. No chance to get off the bus, but some interesting sights anyway.

Blanks 6

Another from West Hollywood.

Blanks 5, in the Distance

A pair in the distance, on Vine Street, looking north toward the hills and construction.

Blanks 4, Hot

With all the billboards in West Hollywood it's pretty easy to fnd a few blanks. This one was on the east end of the Strip.

Blanks 3, Back and Front

The Sunset Strip in West Hollywood has a lot going on in terms of billboards, so much so that it that there is one property devoted to nothing but. This one, on the east side of the Strip, has an eye-level sign, blank, backing on a west-facing one.  

Blanks 2

This one is at the corner of Sunset and Bronson, across the street from KTLA and usually has a billboard advertising the station up. The east facing side has been blank for a while and I like its rough finish. Not sure if that's a ray of light glinting off it or something to do with the Holga's lens...

Blanks, Part 1

I've been noticing a lot of blank billboards around town over the last few months, and thought I'd try and capture some of them. This is the first in an ongoing series of those images, a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood that once housed an ad for Yahoo that won an award a few years back.

Shaky Technicolor

Have had black and white in the camera for the last few rolls. The blurs and jiggles appeal to me less in color, though I like how this one of the new Technicolor building on Hollywood Boulevard turned out. Am three images away from dropping more rolls off for processing, so a new batch ought to be coming shortly.

Chilly Trees

Big Sky, December.

Another roll working its way - a bit too slowly - through the Holga. Have been working on a theme and it takes a while to track down (or stumble upon) appropriate subjects. 

Bouncing Letters

On a construction site in Orange County. It's been a while, but I'm guessing the stencil on the cab of the vehicle is double painted, because noting else in the image jumped. Unless it's another Holga phenomenon I hadn't come across yet.

Warm Philly Summer

Hazy day.

Blue and Grey

Tempermental, this. Maybe the cold air was making it cooperate.

Color Got the Shakes

Usually like the effect better in black and white, but think it worked OK here.

Paris at Night

OK, it's Paris Hilton and it's a billboard, but I was still pleased with how the Holga was able to pull in enough light to get some detail. Using Fuji Pro 160.

Back in Barc

Fiddled a bit with this shot from a street in Barcelona in PhotoShop. The neg, as scanned, was a bit light and the computer has left it a bit flat. Some day I'll get back to a darkroom, or drop it at one, and have a real print made. Ought to even things out a bit.

Back to the Ethereal

Here's another one where I can't remember the exact spot it was taken. A combination of time and lack of clarity in the image (which is what makes it appealing to me). I have a feeling it was at the top of Mulholland somewhere, probably east of Laurel Canyon. 

Up High

Looking up, from a chairlift.

Monument

Costume

My boy, a ninja at the Halloween parade at school.

Green and White and Blue

It's a funky thing, that Holga. Part of the fun is never knowing how it will render what you're shooting. Black and white works better when the shutter shudders, at least to my eye. So I was pleased to see the color images from the trip to Montana come back sharp. Using Fuji Pro 160.

Cold Dogs

Back from Montana, where we took a dog sled ride. The guys were skinny and cold, but seemed up for the workout.