Every day I am out and about walking in this city, my eye catches beauty left and right. Beauty is seen on my runs, beach outings, walking to and from work - you name it. Everything is so crisp and clean and literally smells like a mixture of fresh linen and perfume, which I believe is all of the jasmine. The azure skies are saturated as they are a backdrop behind the white washed art deco buildings from the 1920's and I am constantly smiling while walking around. I know I sound like a broken record but I am always in awe when I step foot outside. I love the silhouettes the palms create which takes me home and reminds me of the palmettos in the south & Caribbean.
This place is so well manicured - it's truly a treasure by the sea, I will give Santa Monica that. Los Angeles even. I'm kind of a sucker for Los Angeles. Though I couldn't and don't plan to live here my whole life, the time that I will be here I truly enjoy and find it magical. Every street I see is out of a movie. So many films from the past, the classics or current day films where the plot takes place in the past in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, or the heart of Los Angeles, has all come to life and I feel like I'm sort of living this haunting hollywood dream from decades ago and it's truly thrilling. Actually living in Los Angeles has met my expectations of how I envisioned it while growing up in the south. Los Angeles seemed foreign to me and there was never a reason for my family or I to fly across America to see it. So I viewed it through film and imagination and it's finally come to life.
Today while running, I was listening to the Elvis Presley station on my pandora and I was running on the street pictured above with the homes that were most likely built in the 20's or 30's no doubt, and the song 'Mr. Sandman' by The Cordettes came on and I had to stop in my tracks because I seriously felt like I was transported back into time. The music was too perfect to be true - it was so fitting with my scenery, with the small homes whose charm still existed with manicured lawns and a breeze blowing through the palm trees. It was a moment that I'll remember. There is so much history here in Los Angeles and it intrigues me more than anyone could ever imagine.
For kicks, here is my favorite photo taken in Venice at Muscle Beach which I think this wraps Los Angeles up for the time being.
On a side note, for photography's sake, I kind of wish men still wore black speedos. Yep, I said it. From an artists eye, it just photographs so well when fitting it into a composition - it's half the reason why I love this photo so much. Splotches of black speedos. Weird, I know. Also, I wish clowning around like this and beach activities such as this still occurred. We are all too good for that now, and caught up in our devices and such. Oh fiddle-dee-dee.
