if i had to pick a favorite place in LA, it would be this spot
above the city where i stand, catching my breath after a steep climb.
i can’t count how many times i’ve stood here,
and yet only now and then do i sit on this bench
and swing my legs, fully realizing how far i’ve come.
[photographs taken with my diana camera, June 2009, at Runyon Canyon in Los Angeles]
(last image was shot with my diana: a plastic toy camera that takes 120 medium format film.)
it’s never a good time to say goodbye to a place you love, to a family, to an era. after 35 years of business, santa monica gymnastics center will close its doors. i have spent two thirds of my life dedicated to gymnastics (whether as a gymnast or an instructor) and i wouldn’t have it any other way. even though i have only been a part of the SMGC family for a year and a half, this place is responsible for making los angeles a home to me and i will be forever grateful.
perhaps i should have spent hours and hours in the gym photographing everything that i love, but i didn’t. there is something about leaving my camera at home and fully experiencing life in the gym. however, i did shoot a little with my digital as well as my diana film camera over the last week, just so i had some keepsakes..
SMGC’s 35th anniversary/reunion/farewell party (open house) is saturday february 23rd 3-8pm for anyone who has ever been a part of SMGC and would like to celebrate with us. there will be dozens of cupcakes and lots of hugs, i’m sure.
also blogging:
Gymnast Crossing
Sparklehaus
a special thanks to al and linda luber for providing such a warm, positive place for children to learn gymnastics and have fun for all these years!
it was such a nice break to be home in michigan over the holidays… in the freezing cold, tromping through the snow like old times, and shooting… film.. at 7am.
