Santa Monica or Venice? Southern Californica shore scene, above, wherever I shot it, lol—Digital manipulations of the last time I was in California, 1983. I was visiting my late best friend, Andy, in West Hollywood. We rented a Corolla and drove up to San Francisco to visit our friend, Linda. I lived in WeHo after college and it was great to go back and see that part of the country again. I ran into so many old friends, it was almost as if I never left. I don't have any notes from these photos, so they will be identified in a general way. All photos clickable to enlarge, as always.
Santa Monica—One of my favorite Ferraris of all time, the 308GT4 by Bertone. Seen alone in a photograph, the car's size isn't apparent. When viewed looking at a very small car like the VW Karmann-Ghia, above, the Ferrari's true size is obvious—it's lower and shorter than the K-G, petit really. Its angular Bertone lines are shown perfectly here. You've got to love any scene with not one, but two Karmann-Ghia convertibles and a Ferrari!
West Hollywood—"Tallahassee," named for one of the towns where my best bud Andy's college was located. His best friend was a girl named Toby. Toby and I went to Vassar together, and I drove out to LA with her after we graduated, where I became lifelong friends with her Los Angeles roommate, Andy, until the day he died. Well, still. Toby, not so much for these past thirty years.
Hollywood—Water lilies. Always photographing flowers, from the time I could hold a camera. All of these photos were originally black-and-white, and I colorized them in Photoshop CS3.
West Hollywood—Andy, John and Tony, brunch with cocktails of course.
Santa Barbera—A decorative chimney tower and flowering tree.
THANKS FOR SHARING.
ReplyDeleteJUST ME
California is one of the more beautiful states I've seen, never been to Hawaii or Alaska, but don't mind visiting Cali once again.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if the 308GT4, a magnificent looking car lead to the Ferrari Mondiail, the only Ferrari I was ever driven in, hopefully the bad luck changes, lol.
http://img812.imageshack.us/i/144791990ferrarimondial.jpg/
Love the photos and a little trip back home. I'm thinking that may be Venice, I seem to remember lots of palm trees there along the boardwalk. A unique little place.
ReplyDeleteI love old Santa Barbara, my younger/older brother, Francis, went to school at UCSB when in was located in Santa Barbara before their move to Goleta. I still remember going there with my parents to visit him at college.
Thanks for the memories.
I think the photo of Andy, John and Tony is reminiscent of the James Dean era. I like it - a bit edgy.
ReplyDeleteI THOUGHT THE SAME THING ANNIE.CASEY, I ALSO LOVE THE COLORS IN THE CAT PICTURE. A LITTLE OF THIS AND A LITTLE OF THAT. REAL PRETTY.
ReplyDeleteJUST ME
thanks. I'll never have the money to print the negatives to make real photographs, so scanning the proofs is the next best thing. It's fun going through all of these old film proofs. I have a couple thousand negatives that I shot in the 1980s. They're starting to look so "period" now.
ReplyDeleteROSS IS ON TONIGHT SHOW TONIGHT. IT SHOULD BE VERY FUNNY.
ReplyDeleteJUST ME
Honestly these are great, can't image a negative print would be any better.
ReplyDeleteWhen the blog first opened up to this entry I thought it said "LA Mustangs" and I was very excited! However, the actual pictures are even better. Any picture of two Karmann Ghias is wonderful, whether or not there's also a Ferrari and I'm amazed at how small it looks next to the KGs. And of course, being a pushover for cute kitties, the picture of Tallahassie is adorable. And I like the picture of your friends very much -- I've not been part of a group like that in a long time. Sometimes I miss it, sometimes I don't. But I'm glad to see that it goes on!
ReplyDeletePaul, NYC
well, that group went on in 1983 anyway. Andy and I were like brothers until he died in 2000. I think John moved to Tennessee in the '90s and I have no idea whatever became of Tony. I still speak and write with my friend Linda in San Francisco though.
ReplyDeleteAnnie: the colorization works well on these, but I'd love to see the detail on the film itself. I always used a Nikon and the film has been stored well, so I think the details would be great. Someday! These proof sheets are made by placing the negative strip in a holder and them shooting through it, so there isn't much detail at all.
Interesting that your group pic was 1983. That's the last year that my social group was intact -- the folks that I went to Fire Island with and to the Saint with started to either pair up or die. The 80s were not a lot of fun on several levels.
ReplyDeletePaul, NYC