Shots And Thoughts From Venice Beach
Just another day in paradise.
I recently made my way down to SoCal for a couple days. The good fortune came upon me to be able to share some great company in a house literally less than a block from Venice Beach.
Venice has always been a place that interested me both from a space of cultural observation and also visual inspiration. The is an interesting mixing of walks of life that happens and a collapsing of so much into one geographical space. Every time I have gone there or to the neighboring area of Santa Monica I have walked away with some type of experience or imagery that stuck with me. Maybe it’s the beach and it’s flora and fauna, maybe it’s incredible architecture and color palettes, or maybe it that mixture I mentioned of people from all over in the container of one beach.
I think that I am attracted to the complexity of the city’s history as well going from its origins indigenous Tongva wetlands to a resort for intellectuals (which created the canals) to a place of entertainments and tourism. Early residents of the neighborhoods in were Mexican “Traqueros” track workers and Black labor workers recruited to help build the canals and resort, they were later pushed out in the Oakwood area which would eventually become a focusing of redlining and more displacement. In the 1920’s Venice as was annexed and many of the canals were filled in for roads. The 1930’s followed with the discovery of oil which brought jobs but also industrial damage and pollution. When the great depression hit America, Venice became known as the “Slum by the Sea” this social stigma created more class divide and divestment. Following this into 50’s & 60’s the city became a home for artists, poets, and counter culturalists. Playing a big part in the emergence of the beat movement, interracial social mixing, and activism. The 70’s Venice and Santa Monica would become DogTown, home of the legendary Z-Boys and the home of modern skateboarding. Establishing itself as the first of the big 3 of skateboarding (LA,SF, and NYC) meccas in the US. Finally in the 2000’s and on Venice and Santa Monica have undergone large amounts of gentrification pushing out longtime Black and Latino residents. I’ve had a saying for a while now that “Commerce chases Culture” and I think this stands true for cities like Venice and Santa Monica. Places that become enclaves of culture eventually attract the attention of the economic elites pushing up prices and pricing folks out. This is an oversimplification of the history and complexity that have shaped this place but if you look for it the history it’s written everywhere around you.
I spent most of time close to the boardwalk area and surrounding neighborhood. The weeks leading up to the trip had been packed to the edges, so it was nice to get some down time and chill out with the folks I was with. Every time I go to that are I always excited to get some shots of the skate park, I love the shapes of the bowls and the verticality it creates for placing in the frame. I’m a fan of the how many different people you can get in a frame through that whole surrounding area. I only brought my x100v with me cause I wanted to keep things lowkey. I did make it over to the canals for the first time and kind of wish that I had brought something with a longer lens. The architecture of the houses are stunning especially with the compliment of the water ways. One place I always try to eat at when I am in the area is Gjelina on Abbot & Kinney. The restaurant is all repurposed wood and old brick, they have and beautiful courtyard in the back which was perfect for the morning air and quiet.The food is always amazing, we went for breakfast and got the lemon buckwheat ricotta pancakes, the smoke cod & mixed mushroom scramble, and the duck hash; if heaven on earth had a taste for brunch this would be it. We ended up chopping it up with a server and he gave us some great recs on other places to eat, we ended going to RVR later that night a Japanese izakaya, with a beautiful dark ambience, it’s definitely the hip go to spot for the well to do’s. The food was equally incredible as Gjelina, turns out the owner was a former parter of the restaurant. We got the Ramen, some handrolls (bruh, the kanpachi, gawdamn! ), smoked cod, a rice with duck confit, and they gave a plate greens on the house. The service and offerings in both places were well worth the ticket if you are down there stop by.
Back to photography. I spent most of my time shooting in between a Portra 400 recipe and a custom monochrome recipe I created called 2Blk. The whole time I was down there I was focusing on getting the vibe of the place, the colors and textures, the people, the architecture, and whatever I could shoot that helped paint a portrait of the city. I’ve been thinking a lot about how do you show and tell the vibe and story of what makes a location. So I was searching for those things tangible and un tangible in Venice. How do you sample people, places, and things to make people feel they were there? How can I show you how it felt for me from the boardwalk and skatepark, to the canals, to the unexpected running into a friend and Brazilian band performance on the street, and the warmth and comfort in the downtime I got spend with those close to me. I’m not sure but I’m working on it where ever I land and hope to share it here with you.
Hella appreciate y’all
-Scott
Another one down! If you’re interested in my work you can find more in the links below.
If you are curious about other pieces I’ve written on improving your photography, I recommend you check out these posts.
The Three Perspectives Of An Image
3 Reasons Why Your Photos Are Trash
The 2 Reasons Why Your Lighting Is Trash
Nice to learn about a place I've heard of.
Loving the low angle shots!