wwp@yahoogroups.com:
My story - Korean Friendship Bell and Colorado Street Bridge
Roger Howard 2004-Sep-27 18:39:00
Well, I had a very busy weekend with multiple sides of family in town -
lots of running back and forth across Southern California, and with
little spare time in sight.''
On Saturday I went to the Port of LA/Long Beach hoping to shoot either
the Vincent Thomas or (preferably) the Henry Ford Bridge, a beautiful
steel draw bridge connecting Long Beach to Terminal Island (build as
part of the war effort in WWII). Unfortunately the Henry Ford was shut
down for construction work, and the Vincent Thomas is somewhat
inaccessible (no sidewalk, and the streets around it are very
industrial and primarily private).
So we hit the Korean Friendship Bell site in San Pedro (the other side
of Vincent Thomas), to have a nice hike on a beautiful day... the
Korean Friendship Bell was given to the US as part of the bicentennial
celebrations in 1976, and serves as a metaphorical bridge between the
peoples of the two nations and their respective cultures. On the day we
visited there were about 50 Korean visitors in a group, mostly well
into their 70s and 80s and it was very interesting to watch, especially
as a large Mexican wedding crowd arrived to have their wedding photos
taken on the grounds and in front of the bell. However, I still wasn't
convinced I wanted to use this as my contribution, as I had really
hoped to shoot a real, literal bridge.
Finally, Sunday in between chores and work, I hopped in the car and
sped to Pasadena, suddenly inspired to shoot a bridge I had seen for
many years but had never visited. The Colorado Street Bridge is a
magnificent, long concrete bridge that swoops over the Arroyo Seco and
is very typical of early 20th century LA style. It's right near the
Rose Bowl, if you've ever been to the area, and can't be missed from
the 210 freeway. I knew the area roughly, but it took me about 45
minutes to find the best spot to unload my gear from and begin to work
my way down into the canyon - there were no good signs marking trails,
so I ended up doing a considerable amount of hiking and climbing to
finally get right up to the bridge. There were a few folks along the
way, met a homeless guy living down there in bliss (it would be quite
easy to stay out of sight), and managed to climb myself into a few
off-limits areas.
Please take a look at:
<http://www.pbase.com/rogerhoward/coloradostbridge>
I still haven't chosen which one I like most - I also haven't finished
the exposure blending, so these are each just one exposure just to get
a sense for the framing.
If you're interested, here's a rough (unblended) pano of the Korean
Friendship Bell, shot handheld and not finished:
<http://www.pbase.com/rogerhoward/image/34329838>
Any feedback would be very appreciated so I can finally pick which to
send off to WWPano!
- R