Dad's '57 Pontiac

Shot in Aledo, TX (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

This was the first car my father bought in the United States, brand new in 1957, in Austin, TX. It's a '57 Pontiac Chieftain 2-door sedan. This behemoth spent most of my life draped in blankets in our garage. Every once in a long while, my Dad would uncover it, re-inflate the tires and start up the V8 beast. We'd drive around the neighborhood a few times just to keep everything running. I used to love these drives. My Dad loved these drives. We'd chug along at a comfortable 35 mph while we'd wave to the neighbors. Unfortunately, as quickly as he brought it out of the garage, we'd be pulling back into it. I'd help my Dad cover it up again with the blankets and start dreaming about someday being the guy driving and waving myself.

My brother is now the steward of this great old automobile. When I was in Texas visiting him in '05, we re-lived the ritual. Only this time it was my brother's garage and I actually got to drive it. (And wave. Though this time to an audience of dairy cows.) Since my Dad has such a fondness for his former state of Texas, and it's where he bought the car, we decided to take it out to the wooded back roads and get a nice, proud large format photograph of the Chieftain for him.


Framing up with the 4x5 (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony


My Texas fan base (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Last week, while in an antique store, I found this old ad for Pontiac. Very cool.


Pontiac advertisement dated Feb. 16, 1957. (Click image for full size.)

By the way, my Dad loved the photo.

Bye bye Biscuit

#309 (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

After nearly two years, we've decided to not renew our lease at the Biscuit Company Lofts. It's been a great experience and we could not have picked a better first residence here in Los Angeles. We're going to miss this old building and the friends we've made here.

We've chosen to move on to greener pastures. (Literally, our new place has a yard.) WAP, Inc. is still going strong, just with a new footprint and mailing address.


NW stairwell. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

We feel fortunate to have experienced all the interesting people, places and things we did while here. The 90021 Project is a testament to that. The Arts District is a truly unique place even in a city as diverse and unique as L.A. 90021 is a body of work I am extremely proud of. It's now time to move on and start a new chapter.

From now on, every time I drive down the 5, 101 or 110 and see this majestic masonry fortress standing proud on the Eastern edge of downtown as it has for over 80 years, I'll smile.


Archive photo. Circa 1926. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Six Feet Under House

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Oh how I miss the Fishers.

I was perusing YouTube last week and came across some clips from the epic HBO series Six Feet Under. Ruth, Claire, David, Nate, Brenda, Federico, George—it all came back. I didn't have HBO when it was on the air. I rented DVDs. I figured I'd watch the pilot first because everyone WOULDN'T SHUT UP ABOUT THIS SHOW. I wanted to not like it because of the hype. I almost watched it out of spite. After the final scene of the pilot, when the bus pulls away from Nate, I was emotionally exhausted and totally committed to the Fishers. From then on the routine was simple, rent a DVD, return it and get the next one. I think I watched the entire series in a two weeks.

After moving to Los Angeles, I decided to investigate if the Fisher & Sons Funeral Home was an actual building or just a set. To my glee, I discovered it is a real house. And not five minutes from where I live.

So last night I took the 'ol 4x5 out to it and snapped this photo not far from where Claire took her last photo.

Now I need to buy the box set. Unless, of course, there's someone out there who wants to gift it to me...

Ma vie en rose

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Your life in pink
It goes deeper than you think
It goes deeper than I go
Deeper than you know

An F for freak
And D for dog
Lost in the fog ?
Your life in pink

You know it's never gonna stop
You know it's never gonna end
Your life in pink

Yeah, I'm like a disco ball
Crashing down your head
But somehow I don't fall

To your life you got to sink
To your heart you got to drink
Your life in pink

It's always high and not low
It's always bright and not dull
Your life in pink

Yeah, I'll never let you go
It goes deeper than you know

DTLA by 4x5

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

The clearest days in Los Angeles are immediately after rain showers.

It rained yesterday.

Cirque du Santa Monica

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Cirque du Soleil is currently in Santa Monica. The tent is adjacent to the pier, on the North side.

The first time I saw the chapiteau was in 1986, when it suddenly appeared in the parking lot of the old Navy Hospital in Balboa Park in San Diego. I was in high school and my only exposure to the circus was the kind that smelled like elephant poop.

I remember walking up to the tent, nearly 25 years ago, to inspect the odd behemoth. I circled it like it was a beached whale, or an asteroid that just landed in a corn field, trying to figure out what it was and why it was there. At the time, no one had heard of this French circus with an unpronounceable name. It was early in the day, so no one was there yet. Even the ticket trailer was closed. But the price list was in the window. I remember saying out loud, "Fifteen dollars?! For a circus ticket? Yeah... right. Good luck with that here in the U.S."

Last night, I approached a very similar tent again—with the same sense of awe. Music pounded inside the tent as I looked through the ground glass, sea air blowing under the focusing cloth. A show was in progress.

A lot has changed in the years since. Not least of which is the ticket price.

Icarus, Poseidon and Helios

Redondo Beach (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony


Detail. © William Anthony

Picture Train

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

This past weekend they were filming Leonardo DiCaprio's latest film Inception downtown. How did I learn this? Why, the full-size, drivable locomotive parked on Hill St. that's how.


That's going to be a bitch to tow. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Lily

Flowers at 5th & Alameda (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

I promised myself that the 90021 project would document all aspects of this neighborhood, good and bad. We had something terrible happen here last Friday to a girl named Lily Burk.


As found on Sunday. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

UPDATE: 7/29/09

A makeshift memorial has materialized. While there I spoke to Pepper. He said the area's homeless keep the candles lit all night. He was also adamant that the person who did this is not "from here."


(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony


(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Lisa Solberg live painting at Andaz Opening

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Our good friend and neighbor Lisa Solberg was featured at the Andaz Grand Opening and Vanity Fair Domino Benefit in West Hollywood on February 20. She performed a live painting in the lobby while guests mingled. Guests included Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore and Prince among many others.

I brought my 4x5 camera to get a nice big portrait of the Lisa and her work. Moments after setting up the camera, I was informed by the head of the hotel's security that someone on the mezzanine was nervous about my camera. I looked up to see Prince's security detail giving me stink eye. Unbeknownst to me, and by no effort on my part, I am the world's first and only large format paparazzi.

Twilight Zone

Malibu at twilight. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

This was my last photograph of 2008. I photographed it on December 28th in Malibu. The next day I awoke with a head cold that lingered until yesterday.

So, for me, 2009 started today.

Wish me luck.

Tom Garner - Painter/Graphic Designer

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

When one thinks of the Arts District, the type of artist that comes to mind first is the fine art painter. A painter with a loft studio filled with canvases, easels and bottles of wine all against a musical score of some sort playing in the background.

Artist Tom Garner pretty much fits that to a tee.

Tom responded to a community e-mail I sent out looking for portrait subjects in the neighborhood. Upon receiving his reply, I checked out his website and immediately realized that Tom lives in a different visual world than most of us. I was intrigued.


(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Classically trained, but with a very contemporary interpretation, his work seems familiar at first, but then quickly eludes. With a nod to the Venetian greats, his paintings look classic, but only at first. A good example is his Omaggio A Tiepolo series. This body of work pays homage to the works of classic painters, but with the added element of movement. A technique I, as a photographer, could appreciate. When questioned about how he derived the look, the answer proved simple, and humorous. He would tell me that, as with most museums, photography is prohibited. Therefore, many of his reference photos were taken on the sly. This translates to: quickly, and often—blurred. Lemonade from lemons they say


(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

The amazing thing about Tom is that painting isn't all he does. His day job is as Director of Graphic Design at Lucky Brand jeans. After our shoot, he pulled out some color digital printouts of tee shirt designs he's hand-lettered or hand-illustrated. All of it stunning. He also teaches painting in the classic style at UCLA. He's a busy guy. The day after our shoot, he was off to Italy to meet up with his wife and son for the Holidays. They split their time between Italy and California.

People like Tom are fast becoming a rarity. A commercial artist who can draw and paint. We discussed graphic design, something I have dabbled in on occasion. He says he's happy the latest trends in graphic design are going back to the fundamentals, when, he concludes, "graphic artists really were artists."

Hear, hear Tom.

Grey's Anatomy Filming at The Biscuit.

Patrick Dempsey during a take. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Last week, they filmed another scene for the ABC series Grey's Anatomy here at the Biscuit Company Lofts.

Apparently, Sandra Oh's character, Dr. Cristina Yang, lives in a loft building. So whenever they have an exterior scene in front of her building, they shoot here. The photo above is mid-take. Cristina and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) exit the building and she crosses the street to get in a Land Rover to meet someone. Derek stays behind and sits on a bench outside.

Ironically, I moved from Seattle to Los Angeles only to see a series set in Seattle shot in Los Angeles. It's slightly odd seeing a bunch of cars with the "Mt. Rainier" Washington State license plates driving down Industrial St. They also hosed down the street to make it look like it had just rained. Here in L.A., they actually have to TRUCK IN THE RAIN. Too funny.


Another take. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

The Limey on Willow St.

"You tell him I'm f*@&ing cominnnnggggg!" (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

A neighbor told me one of my favorite motion pictures, The Limey was filmed here at the Biscuit Building. After a few minutes searching on YouTube and one evening on my bike, I discovered that the infamous quadruple murder scene was actually shot at a warehouse on Willow St., not far from here.

I decided to take some newly acquired five-years-past-expiration 4x5 Polaroid film I recently uncovered down to the location to re-shoot it. The look of the Polaroid film just seemed to fit the tone of the scene.

And here's that scene. (NSFW: Language, Violence, Terence Stampitude.)



It's a great flick. I watched it for the first time as a second-run art film in an empty La Paloma theater in Encinitas, CA circa '99. In addition to excellent casting and a hallmark performance by Terence Stamp, Steven Soderbergh's use of washed out colors, disjointed timeline and beautiful lens blooming in the dream sequences make this one of my top 10.

CSI: NY (well CSI: LA really...)

NYPD 12th Precinct in downtown L.A. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

This last Monday they shot a scene from CBS's CSI: NY down the block on Mateo Street. The front door of a warehouse was converted into a NYPD Precinct complete with patrol cars and a NYC cab. I don't watch the show so I assume the Escalade was for some sort of dashing police detective to peel out in after a heated argument with the police chief or the Medical Examiner or a blonde bombshell.

After shooting was completed, I watched one lone (probably union) guy load all these cars onto a tractor trailer and drive off. And he did it all in less than an hour. Impressive.


Prop cars. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Palm beach.

Santa Monica. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Thank you random stranger guy.

Santa Monica Pier at Magic Hour. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Thank you random stranger guy. Thank you for unknowingly walking into frame and bringing life to a very still photograph.

I don't know who you are, but I hope you got your shot. I got mine.

Thank you.