Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Late Night at Mission Station


Yes, we have a delicate hatchling of light rail mass transit in Los Angeles. If you take the Metro Gold Line and get off at Mission, you’ll find yourself in the heart of South Pasadena. If you continue on one way you'll make it to East Pasadena. The other way will swing past Chinatown and eventually let you out at Union Station.

It's just one line in the Metro system but there are others. This is the quiet counterpoint to omnipresent freeway disharmony. (Maybe eventually it will become’s our region’s leitmotif.)

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lauire, that is not a typical So Pas pic. I think even most SPers might have difficulty recognizing it as being in the South.

Kinda looks like a bridge.

Your true colors are coming out: de inner you definitely see things clearly in black & white!

Anonymous said...

L, to answer your question: well, I'm bringing, of course, the food.
Since you gals have the cameras, I'll just have to rely on you all to bring the X !

Meead said...

Lights, poles, pavement and the far bench; all of them look nice in B&W. Nice train station!

Did you notice that surveillance camera on the light pole? is it a camera or something else like a fire alarm or flashing light when train enters?

Anonymous said...

It looks like something I would expect to see in your neck of the woods. Beautiful.

Curly said...

Hi from South Shields, nice picture you have here today, I always like black and white.

I need your support, see my latest post at South Shields Daily Photo

Photographers rights in the UK and worldwide are under increasing threat and we need to make a stand now!

Unless something changes dramatically, this will be the last ever post at South Shields Daily Photo.

Profile Not Available said...

This is a beautiful shot, Laurie! I agree that your black and white work is terrific!

Virginia said...

Laurie,
Stellar shot today.

I think the surveillance camera is looking for evil photograhers that want to take lovely pictures such as theses to showcase their cities. See Curly's comments above.

ben wideman said...

Awesome picture! Definitely one of my favorites.

Anonymous said...

Wait! There... in the distance... isn't that Bogart slanting his hat over one eye? Or James Dean stuffing his hands into the pockets of his trench coat? One word, baby... NOIR! South Pas has it, and your sharp eye sees it. Thanks for the nostalgia fix!

Victor said...

Beautiful image Laurie. It really works in B&W.

Judy Williams said...

J'adore votre photographie- sorry I was trying to be French!! %%%%%% The second this popped up, the cover of my Brassai book immediately came to mind. The le4ading line and all of the lines and shapes - JUST FABULOUS. I feel like I'm in Paris and not S. Pasadena. YOU RAWK. The contrast is outstanding.

Wayne said...

Reminds me of the evocative French photographers. Laurie, you're becoming the Doisneau or Brassai of South Pasadena. Always a treat.

Ken Mac said...

subtle and lonely. I love it!

USelaine said...

It's beautiful. So does this mean I could get to the Huntington without a car? Just add a bike or scooter rental right here, and I could take Amtrak to LA, light rail to here, then off I go!

Steve Buser said...

Laurie, looks lonely and stark, but beautiful in the B/W

By the way, thanks for your kind comments on New Orleans Daily Photo.

stromsjo said...

I like those Metro ads.

stress <--> relief
problem <--> solution

Now that's a pretty clear message. Still, I imagine most rely on their cars right?

angela said...

Very evocative...makes me shiver.

Laurie Allee said...

Hi folks!

Thanks for indulging my need for high contrast black and white. (Ah... my comfort zone...) Thank you so much Wayne for the comparison to two of my absolute favorite photographers. In a million years I couldn't make it to their league but I can sure have fun trying.

Elaine, heck, I'll take you to the Huntington myself if you get here! But you're right -- we need a bike rental place nearby. (Are you listening merchants on Mission, El Centro and Meridian?)

Per -- you are right. We still rely too much on our cars. But I have hope. 20 years ago when I moved to Los Angeles I never thought I'd see much of a subway, much less the over-land light rail lines. They've caused a lot of arguing and controversy among bus riders about funding, incidentally.

Meead, wow. I never noticed a surveillance camera. And I'm just paranoid to look for such things. I will have to investigate.

Curly, I'm on your team about these troubling attempts to censor photographers. Let's all get those emails written to the appropriate powers-that-be.

Thanks guys. As always, it's an absolute joy to share this blog with all of you.

Auntie S said...

Zoom and pop! I rembered this image from late last night. What did Brassau say...it's the image remembered that matters??

Looking forward to being surprised again and again.

stromsjo said...

That sounds real encouraging, Laurie. If the good citizens of L.A. can be persuaded to leave their cars for a while then there's hope for all of us... :)

Bergson said...

i like this black & white
not easy with the light
cheer

Jane Hards Photography said...

This is another classic retro but timeless shot.