time enough

"The butterfly counts not months, but moments, and has time enough."

--Rabindranath Tagore

Tiny Sophisticates

Oh, the kids are growing up before our very eyes! Here, a group of soon-to-be-second-graders cut up for my camera on a year end field trip to the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. And to think, just a few years ago all those taxidermy animals would have elicited tears and nightmares from the little tykes.

"Don't be afraid," I foolishly told my group as we entered the hall of North American mammals. "These animals can't hurt you."

"They're just dead, Mrs. Allee," one of the boys reassured me. "It's not like they're zombies."

Well, there ya go.

Tucked Away in the Big City

South Pasadena's small town oasis makes it easy to lose track of the fact we're located smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles' urban jungle. (Well, okay, not in the middle exactly. More like up around the northeast end.) Just minutes from downtown LA, South Pasadena conceivably could have been where J.J. Gittes could have settled down to "forget Chinatown."

Caption This Photo (#90)

Anyone?

Avant Carred

You all know how much I love photographing old cars, but new cars can be pretty fun to snap at, too. Especially if you zoom in on some of the shiny details.

I'm such a lazy modern artist. I just cram pieces of someone else's beautiful, well-planned design into my own haphazard little square.

Hey, whatever works. Right?

Fairy Tale Building

There's just something about the old Baranger Studios building that captures my imagination. It's one thing to look at a building and envision a history right out of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. It's quite another thing to find out the building really does have a whimsical past.

For me, the magic lingers here, even though the building now plays host to accountants and eye doctors. Not that there is anything un-magical about accountants and eye doctors. Hey, a good CPA at tax time can work real wonders, and it's pretty incredible to finally get the right glasses prescription...

But that's not quite the magic I think of when I look at this dramatic, mysterious place. I think Baranger Studios is filled with ghosts that dance to the twangy pings of mechanical music boxes. (Just keep your ears open the next time you walk past it at night if you don't believe me.)

Or maybe it's just an old building in need of a power wash. Are you in that tragic camp of people? Our world seems determined to rationalize the whimsy right out of all of us. From elementary school teachers to newscasters to self-righteous commenters on Patch, there are buzzkillers everywhere, even in our enchanted little town.

Let that B up there on Baranger Studios remind all of us to believe. In magic. In make-believe. in finding the pixilated in an increasingly HD world.

For details on Baranger Studios and its wondrous past, see my posts here and here.

Best of Glimpses: #19

And with today's shot, I walk away from memory lane and head back to the present.

Originally published January 12, 2010.

This wraps up Best of Glimpses -- my journey back to some favorite photographs. Thanks for joining me.

Best of Glimpses: #18

I said it when I first posted this shot and I'll say it again: great idea!

Originally published June 15, 2011.

Just a few more of my favorite photographs from former posts. Thanks for viewing along with me.

Best of Glimpses #17

Make a wish, everybody.

Originally published March 17, 2010.

Only a few more reruns left! This week I wrap up Best of Glimpses. Thanks for taking a look at some of my favorite previously posted shots.

Best of Glimpses: #16

Does this sunset from Arroyo Drive make you feel romantic? You aren't alone. See what I wrote about it here.

Originally published August 10, 2009.

It's the last few days of my Best of Glimpses series. Thanks for walking with me along memory lane.

Best of Glimpses: #15

What does this simple, two-toned camphor leaf have to do with inner balance? Well, nothing really. But that didn't stop me from pondering the question when I originally posted it here.

Originally published October 18, 2009.

Best of Glimpses winds down this week. New posts are forthcoming...

Best of Glimpses: #14

If these colors don't make you feel like zoning out to a little psychedelic music then you are definitely not paying attention! I love happy, trippy accidents like this street shot of Mission Yoga. All together now ... ommmmmmmmm.

Originally published January 22, 2009.

It's been a long few weeks of reruns ... and it's not over yet. Thanks for the opportunity to present some of my favorite Glimpses shots from the past 4 years.

Best of Glimpses: #13

I don't know if anyone else will like this photograph, but it's always been a favorite of mine. Something about yin/yang, duality and that old favorite: one's shadow side. I love South Pasadena's sweet Norman Rockwell homes in every light, but I'm fascinated with how they assume entirely different personalities at night. By day they reflect such images of hope and promise -- and by night they make me think of the inevitable passing of time, of loss. We come and we go, but those homes still stand. It's lovely and awful all at once. (Maybe I should have titled this one Porch: Deconstructed.)

Originally published May 12, 2010.

I'm heading into the final week of my Best of Glimpses hiatus. Thanks for bearing with me while I republish some of my favorite past photos. I needed some down time.

Best of Glimpses #12

Well, it's obvious why this shot is a favorite. How can I go wrong with subjects as perfect as these?

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, especially to my favorite one in the photo above. (Little Bit really did get the world's greatest dad.)

Originally published on June 19, 2011.

It's a hop, skip and a jump down memory lane lately here at Glimpses as I present some of my favorite photographs from former posts. I promise I'll get back to our regularly scheduled program soon.

Best of Glimpses: #11

I haven't been able to capture a good photograph of this year's jacaranda explosion. Good thing I'm digging through my files this week! Here's a favorite from several years ago. I've always loved this dramatic diva of a tree. Read what I wrote about jacarandas here.

Originally published June 3, 2009.

Yes, I'm still on a mental hiatus, phoning it in for a few more days and republishing some of my favorite past photos.

Best of Glimpses: #10

Some of my favorite photos are the ones I grabbed without really thinking about it.

Originally published December 26, 2011.

I've been going through my files and forcing all of you to look at old pictures for the last several days. Thanks for indulging me.

Best of Glimpses: #9

Going back over all of my night shots makes me realize I haven't been out prowling in the dark nearly enough in the last few years.

Originally published January 21, 2009.

I'm repeating myself, folks. For the rest of this week I will present favorite shots from former posts.

Best of Glimpses: #8

I couldn't present a Best of Glimpses series without including one of my shots of the Rialto.

Originally published September 29, 2011.

For more about the Rialto, check out my former Patch columns here and here as well as my Rialto link on the right side of this blog.

Yes, I'm going over old territory and bringing back some favorite previously posted blog photographs.

Best of Glimpses: #7

This shot combines several things I love about shooting pictures in South Pasadena. First of all, it's Kaldi. The historical building originally served as early South Pasadena's bank building but now offers a prime, central spot for satisfying a coffee jones while taking in a great view of the South Pasadena Public Library and Morrow Bay Fig tree. Second, it's one of those night shots that allows me to pretend I'm really a film noir cinematographer. Third, there's an old car. Even in this shot. See it?

Originally published December 26, 2008.

I continue this week with some of my favorite Glimpses photos. Some things deserve a second look!

Best of Glimpses: #6

It's really hard to pick a favorite of all the old cars I've captured with my camera, but this one is definitely up in the top ten. Okay, in the top twenty. Oh, who am I kidding? I love them all.

Originally published on April 10, 2011

I continue to revisit some of my favorite Glimpses photos this week. Thanks for letting me take some time to clear my head.

Best of Glimpses: #5

Talk about being swept off your feet! I captured this aerodynamic sneaker shot at the 2009 South Pasadena Fun Fair. It still makes me feel happy and breathless.

Originally published: June 1, 2009

There Laurie goes again... telling the same stories over and over. (Bear with me while I repeat myself for a few days and revisit some of my favorite Glimpses of South Pasadena photographs.)

Best of Glimpses: #4

Summer is almost here, and for me that means a perfect excuse to indulge in ice cream any day I feel like it! Sure, having a bikini-worthy body may be fun to show off at the pool -- but it's not nearly as much fun as diving headfirst into a Raymond Sundae. (Caramel sauce and chocolate syrup. Oh, the humanity!)

This shot always sums up what I love about Fair Oaks Pharmacy: lots of happy people having old fashioned fun at a soda counter. True classics just never go out of style.

Originally published: September 17, 2008.

I'm repeating myself for a few days, everyone ... presenting some of my favorite photographs from earlier posts.

Best of Glimpses: #3

I have always loved the night photography of Brassai. For years, I've prowled around trying to approximate the ethereal quality of those early 20th Century shots. Here, my skill is no where near on par with the master, but the vibe is similar for me: dreamlike, moody, embraced by darkness but focused on light.

The fact that it's a photo of one of my favorite restaurants of all time doesn't hurt.

Originally published: August 6, 2008

I'm retracing old steps for a few days, folks. Join me as I present some of my favorite blog shots.

Best of Glimpses: #2

What does this picture have to do with quantum entanglement? Find out what I originally said about it here.

Photo originally published August 31, 2008.

For the next few days I'm bringing back some old favorites. Consider it my version of summer reruns.

Best of Glimpses: #1

I hope you'll forgive a few days of lazy blogging, but I need some time to clear my head. In this interim, I'll post some of my favorite shots. Here is a lucky one captured on Arroyo Drive, at sunset after a storm.

Originally published March 2, 2011

Field Trip: Pasadena City Hall

Nearby Pasadena has a City Hall worthy of inclusion in a list of great buildings of North America. Designers John Bakewell and Arthur Brown were greatly influenced by the early Renaissance style of 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio. It's obvious in the gorgeous Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial details. Construction was completed on December 27, 1927 at a total cost of $1.3 million which probably equates to 800 bazillion gillion upteenbobillion of today's dollars.

(South Pasadena really got the fuzzy end of the lollipop when it comes to City Hall buildings. Ours looks like this.)

Settings: Part 41

Okay, my noir friends ... this could be a setting for something spooky and nefarious. Put on your best Chandler fedora and tell me: if this shot were part of a scene in a movie, what would happen here?

be happy

" I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.” "

--Groucho Marx

Little Lady Luck

"Good luck needs no explanation."

--Shirley Temple

Glimpses of Tranquility

The other day I looked down at Southern California from 30,000 feet, flying back home to Los Angeles after my mother's death. I was closer, perhaps, to her beautiful wandering spirit.

Life is turbulent, but the flight was smooth.

(Today is Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. This month's theme is Tranquility.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants )