Downtown Los Angeles, 1999

 In 1999 I began photographing a particular area in downtown Los Angeles; the Broadway District and Jewelry District, located on and around Broadway Street, between approximately 3rd and 11th St. I photographed this area many times over the course of a year, returning again and again, both to experience what I found there, and to try to capture it on film. I was drawn to the energy, mood and imagery, and I sensed that it would be changing, as all of America was changing.

The US economy was booming, and technology promised a new, wired cyber-future. I worked as a graphic designer in the advertising department of a fashion brand, and it was all about tech and stylized imagery in my full-time job. On the weekends I’d head to Broadway because it felt so different.  

There would be crowds of people; shopping, eating, loitering, and some just barely subsisting on the streets, or in the run-down hotels a few blocks from Skid Row. There were plenty of vendors selling cheap products, blaring music from boomboxes, standing outside and calling out to shoppers. Alongside decaying old movie palaces that now stood vacant and closed to the public, mini-malls had sprung up. In some cases, these mini-malls were literally inside beautiful old movie theatres that had been gutted.

Broadway was rich with visual detail, but what really captivated me was the people. I wondered about those regular people I saw on the street, doing their shopping or just going out, and it was primarily people that I chose to photograph. What were their stories? Shooting the photos was challenging for me, as I attracted unwanted attention with my camera. So I used an unobtrusive point and shoot, loaded with Tri-X, and tried my best to blend in to the crowd.

If I could go back in time now, there’s so much I would add to this series, different details I would photograph. But that is the nature of life, and of photography as an art; that we are ever evolving, learning, and expanding our perspectives. I’m glad I turned my attention to this small area of Los Angeles in 1999, and devoted some time to capturing what I saw. Street photography has not remained a primary interest of mine, but I share this small series anyway, with the hope that it may be of interest to others.

p.s. I love L.A.