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.