Fashion For Dummies

In honor of 'Paris Fashion Week' - thought this would be a fitting (no pun intended) post. It is really part of an ongoing series of mine 'Fashion & Mannequins', but that title isn't quite as catchy.

All images copyright Peter Politanoff

Chandeliers, Mirrors & Auto Portraits

Scouting locations gets you into some interesting places, a whole host of places. Some mundane and pedestrian, others lavish. From municipal & civic structures, to clubs and bars. At times even to elegant Beverly Hills mansions. 

One thing I usually find is a mirror or two, and always take the opportunity to take an auto-portrait. In one sense, it personalizes the space for me and in another, it validates that I was there.

These shots were taken the other day.

All images copyright Peter Politanoff 

Street Signs - "Remind me again, where am I ?"

Street signs can be helpful. They can tell you where you are. They can tell you where you've been. They can even give you directions. They can even give you a sense of place and time.
Sometimes however even the best of intentions my go awry.
Below are 20 street signs that are hanging in a 10 block area of Downtown Los Angeles' Historic district. At times there are 3-4 signs on the same block. These are not all of the signs, just some of them.

all images copyright Peter Politanoff

Happy exploring !

Skid Row - Los Angeles 7th & Main

As the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg loom over the ash heaps in ‘The Great Gatsby',
so does the smile of Dr. Lee loom over the intersection of 7^th and Main in Los Angeles. The intersection, in Skid Row, that was affectionately labeled ‘Bukowsky Square’ by Larry Harnisch  3 to 4 years ago.

George Wilson in  ‘The Great Gatsby’ refers to it as God, “God Knows what you’ve been doing, ………… God sees everything”. Does the same metaphor apply to the smile?

The sign was originally an advertisement for Dr. White. Dr. Lee merely pasted his name over that of his predecessor. Although, I might add rather poorly because as you can see the sign now reads ‘Dr. ‘Dr. Lee’ ’.

This intersection was also once home to ‘Craby Joe’s’. A bar that was made famous by amongst others Charles Bukowski. Although the bar closed in 2007, you can still faintly see the outlines of the removed sign. 
Given the history of the bar and its significant role in the area, shouldn’t the sign be restored and the site declared a landmark ?

I’m not sure about God , but it would certainly make me and quite a few others smile!

Old Los Angeles Hotels

In the 'Core' District of Los Angeles, there are still a number of the old hotels standing. At their peak they were probably quite wonderful. They fell from grace when the area declined and was known as 'skid row'. Some only used as film locations.
Recently however, some have seen a rebirth. Whether renovation or conversion, condos or lofts, a new life has been given to them. Others still remain run down transient residences.
Here are a few of them.