Penetrabile by Jesus Rafael Soto - LACMA

Penetrabile by Jesus Rafael Soto - LACMA

Anne and I recently returned from Los Angeles.  While Anne was taking part in covering the TCM Classic Film Festival, check out her coverage at Lulu's Vintage, I spent my time wandering around Los Angeles checking out museums and other destinations.  I brought along my Diana camera and just got these developed photos back from Blue Moon Camera in St. Johns - Portland.  Over the coming days and weeks I'll be posting some photos from the trip.

One of our primary destinations while in Los Angeles was to visit LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).  I can easily say that this was one of the better museums I have ever been to.  We were lucky enough to visit during a couple of excellent exhibits: Metropolis II by Chris Burden, In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States, California Design 1930 - 1965 "Living in a Modern Way", Fracture: Daido Moriyama, not to mention taking in the strong permanent collection on display.

Just outside the Ahmanson Building on the LACMA campus, is this sculpture entitled Penetrabile by Jesus Rafael Soto.  In doing some research about this piece I stumbled across LACMA's blog which has a nice explanation about the sculpture. 

To provide a couple of brief stats on the Penetrabile sculpture:  20,000 linear feet of specially manufactured plastic tubing is employed in the creation of this piece of 2,000 - 2,500 suspended tubes.

The interactive quality of this piece is great - you can't help but being drawn in to experience the space and sensation of all of these suspended plastic tubes.  While we were visiting there were several people exploring the piece including some children who were having a lot of fun running through the piece. 

Penetrabile by Jesus Rafael Soto - LACMA

Anne at Penetrabile by Jesus Rafael Soto - LACMA

Lomography Photos - Rainbow Rock Shop

Rainbow Rock Shop - Holbrook, Arizona

I'm wrapping up this series of Lomography Photos using my Diana camera and shot along Route 66 at The Rainbow Rock Shop in Holbrook, Arizona.  The hand-painted signs are classic, not to mention the amazing concrete dinosaurs.  We thoroughly browsed the exterior and interior of the store and met Adam Luna Alexander, the very kind and humble owner and creator of the concrete dinosaurs.  Anne and I really valued our interaction with Adam and we came away not only with some beautiful tangible artifacts from our visit, but also a special heightened experience with this place.  If you pass through Holbrook, be sure to stop by the Wigwam Motel and Rainbow Rock Shop! 

Concrete Dinosaurs at Rainbow Rock Shop - Holbrook, Arizona

Anne with Concrete Dinosaurs at Rainbow Rock Shop - Holbrook, Arizona

 Want to see even more photos from our trip along Route 66?  Head over to Lulu's Vintage for many, many more great spots to stop, stretch your legs, and take some photos!

Lomography Photos - Wigwam Motel

Anne at The Wigwam Motel - Holbrook, Arizona

The next stop where I snapped a few photos with my Diana camera was in Holbrook, Arizona at The Wigwam Motel.  The Wigwam Motel, along with the Blue Swallow Motel is, in my opinion, another quintessential Route 66 stop.  Anne and I arrived later in the evening and lucked out in securing a room / teepee without having called ahead of time for a reservation.  We got to talking with the nice woman managing the motel who turned out to be one of the daughters of the original owner / creator of The Wigwam Motel.  After checking in for the evening we decided to buy a ceramic ornament of a teepee that is painted similarly to the motel teepees as a little reminder of our time there.

The Wigwam Motel - Holbrook, Arizona

Lomography Photos - Tucumcari & The Tinkertown Museum

Building Facade - Tucumcari, New Mexico

Before leaving Tucumcari, New Mexico we had a nice breakfast down the street from The Blue Swallow Motel and then we cruised around the north part of town near the train station.  There were several deserted buildings including this one pictured above.  The bright orange paneled facade contrasting with the brilliant clear blue sky was too much to pass up.

We continued heading west towards Albuquerque, New Mexico and stopped off to check out The Tinkertown Museum located in Sandia Park, New Mexico.  Unusual roadside attractions, outsider art and the like is something that we always gravitate towards on our road trips.  There were a lot of interesting things here made by creator Ross Ward including handmade dioramas with moving parts.  I especially like the phrase associated with the museum, "We did all this while you were watching TV."

Tinkertown Museum

Tinkertown Museum

Tinkertown Museum

Lomography Photos - Blue Swallow Motel

Blue Swallow Motel Neon Sign - Tucumcari, New Mexico

The next place I broke out my Diana camera along Route 66 was at the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico.  This is one of the quintessential stops along Route 66.  We arrived in the evening and I got some nice shots of the Blue Swallow Motel neon sign out front.  Anne and I met the owners, Kevin and Nancy, who were very welcoming and have put a lot of work into restoring the motel.

Blue Swallow Motel Neon Sign - Tucumcari, New Mexico

Blue Swallow Motel Neon Sign - Tucumcari, New Mexico

Blue Swallow Motel Neon Sign - Tucumcari, New Mexico

Blue Swallow Motel Lobby - Tucumcari, New Mexico

Blue Swallow Motel - Tucumcari, New Mexico

Lomography Photos - Catoosa, Oklahoma

World's Largest Blue Whale - Catoosa, Oklahoma

Along Route 66, we stopped off to visit the World's Largest Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma.  The concrete whale, which reportedly was constructed using 126 sacks of Portland Cement, was in good shape with a recent coat of paint and was obviously well cared for.  Additional information about the Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma can be found at the Oklahoma Route 66 Association.  Next stop: Blue Swallow Motel in Tucamcari, New Mexico.

Anne with World's Largest Blue Whale - Catoosa, Oklahoma

Lomography Photos - St. Louis

Abandoned church on N. Spring Ave. near the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, MO

I recently had some photos developed at Blue Moon Camera and Machine in the St. Johns neighborhood in North Portland.  Last September / October, Anne and I went on our somewhat traditional road trip out to St. Louis to visit my family.  This time we took Amtrak from Portland to Chicago and then from Chicago down to St. Louis.  The Portland to Chicago leg is lengthy but we had a roomette to lounge in and it was fun making our way down to the dining car three times a day for our meals.  We had taken this trip by train before, but last time it was later in the year plus we were headed westbound and when we passed through Glacier National Park (one of the highlights of the journey) it was just turning to dusk and we weren’t able to see much.  This time, since we were headed east we were able to enjoy our time through the park in the morning.  Once in St. Louis, our plan was to pick up our old car that was stored there and then drive it back along Route 66 as far as Flagstaff, Arizona and then head northwest back to Portland.

Before we left Portland, we decided to purchase the Lomography 570 Diana Deluxe Kit as well as about 10 rolls of film from Blue Moon Camera.  One of the advantages of a digital camera is that you can take as many photos as you like without running through film that can be costly.  However, we had been wanting to get back into film cameras and what attracted us to the Diana camera was that bit of unpredictability and the unknown of the outcome that seems difficult to achieve with a digital camera.  We were also really excited about the rich, saturated colors that we could achieve with the Diana.  Take a look at the Lomography photo section for some examples by other photographers. 

I finally got around to dropping off my film to have it developed and it was so exciting to first see the negatives and imagine what the prints would look like and then actually get the prints back!  I have to add that the staff at Blue Moon were excellent from explaining the perks and drawbacks of the Diana camera to helping us select film to explaining the different development methods that were possible.  They are very knowledgeable and passionate about their work.  Any camera enthusiast in the Portland area needs to drop by their shop.  

So, without further ado, over the next few days and weeks, I'll be posting the photos I had developed from out road trip this past fall.

Abandoned church on N. Spring Ave. near the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, MO

Abandoned church on N. Spring Ave. near the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, MO

Photo of sculpture entitled "Flooded Chambers Maid" by Jessica Stockholder Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis County, MO