having time

So with time on my hands right now, I think it was definitely needed for me to just step out and utilize my camera again. Thanks to Pudge for asking me to go out on a shoot with him because I think it was definitely needed. But I need to go out more and I need to go out and take more pictures. I haven't been able to just shoot around, you know to feel the heat against my skin as I force myself to just press my camera against my face and click a simple button. But to be honest, I'm really rusty and I only came out with my 50mm so you can understand how insecure I was. 

But I think that something else that I really appreciated it was the architecture of the 6th bridge. You know, they are actually planning on destroying the 6th bridge because it is basically at it's point of damaging itself. It's sad because I think my main focus on shooting under the 6h bridge was just the bridges itself. From 5th, 6th and 7th it kind of just felt nice to sit there. I felt like no one was watching me and I could just watch the world around me. Just look at the stillness of the structures and it just felt in to sit there.

But I think the thing that struck me most was that there was actually a man living under the bridge. Then it brought me back to remembering the people I observed and interviewed for my senior project on homelessness. I hated that I didn't have all the money in the world to help these people. Then of course, we went to Echo park afterwards ...

Going to Echo Park was different, however. I've always known Echo Park to be a dangerous area, a place where I shouldn't be. But i've seen how much it has changed and how many families took their children and how many events and socials were taking place. It was nicer than I remember it being, but let's be honest ... I've only seen it from the back seat of my parent's car. It's scary to think that the only way to make the world a better place is to displace what people think is "bad". It's scary and to be honest I think it's the truth. It's sad that even though areas are "bad" people living there aren't bad people and don't mean to have bad intentions -- it's the way people were raised, it's what they learned was normal and okay. The world works in really fucked up and mysterious ways. We bleed out the poor to make room for "better" ... but that's something I guess I'll never understand. 

Anyways, I have no idea how to continue because I could go on and on about this issue but it's something that I can never explain to the fullest of my ability. But here's some random amateur photos I took...