“Jim Morrison” himself once told me:
“…there is no way in hell you can go CLOSE to the flame and not get burned…
go close, closer, get BURNED feel the pain, feel the devil breathing on your neck…
pay your dues… “
That was the thought that kept me sane while i was sweating at the back seat of that police car… those words kept my brain in order when i was struggling with those handcuffs… The “either my wrist is too big or the cuffs too tight” thought wasn’t really helping me at all…
Go CLOSE, “if you hands are free, you ain’t close enough”, i thought and then i passed out….
It took me a while, quite a few visits to Venice Beach to realize that there is more than the eye can see…
There is the MORNING, welcoming Venice Beach, rollerblades, beautiful one speed beach bicycles, hot girls with bikinis, studs with their ipods strapped on their bare arm… tourists, kids, little dogs, big dogs, INNOCENCE….
As the sun dives into the pacific, as the noon passes quickly, there is another
“cast” waking up, slowly… the “unfortunate”, the drunks, the homeless, THE UNSTABLE…. you can hear the beer pouring & smell the “mary-jane” burning…
SUNSET comes, the vampires now are really up…
the FREAK SHOW begins…
The TRANSITION from light to darkness comes through the Venice Sunset.. the golden lights,
the MAGIC begins…
The “innocent families” are heading home… Another beautiful day in the Beach is over…
Over ??????… Hmmm , i dont think so…
When the darkness comes, a whole another Venice wakes up…
Sirens, handcuffs, pain, suffering, BLOOD…. lot’s of blood…
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Welcome to Venice Beach… to my venice world….
relax, enjoy and remember : ” …if you don’t feel the pain, you ain’t CLOSE enough….”
ok, next Corona on me !!!
peace
panos skoulidas
Great photo, Patricia.
Sometimes I think I just need to whack myself over the head with a beer bottle to get away from myself before I can see photos.
and once more… for whoever missed them…
the slideshows below:
1) DAH IN VENICE
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/DAHInVenice?authkey=BTr41sAvJI0#slideshow
2) OBAMA INAUGURATION
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/OBAMA?authkey=xtUwonrfD5U#slideshow
3) DRIVING TO SEATTLE
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/DRIVINGTOSEATTLE?authkey=bDFrP28oVc0#slideshow
4) IPHONING ( driving to seattle )/ STRAIGHT JOURNALISM
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/IphonePics?authkey=BGUe4H-Il-8#slideshow
peace & hugs y’all…………..
IPHONING ( driving to seattle )/ STRAIGHT JOURNALISM
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/IphonePics?authkey=BGUe4H-Il-8#slideshow
not so “STRAIGHT”…
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/DRIVINGTOSEATTLE?authkey=bDFrP28oVc0#slideshow
If you (Panos) come to Toronto this summer we all 3 have to get together with my friend Yeung Seu Yoon ( http://photo.net/photos/Yeung-Seu%20Yoon ).
Bob and I tried and failed last year, but I think it will happen this year.
AND CA in 2010 sounds sweet! My wife will be outta school and itching to travel- she’s never been to Cali, and neither have my kids.
running to sit and work… urgh.
Asher
I LOVE that photo Patricia…
again,
so universal in feeling…
your use of color is
delicious….
XX
Toronto???????????????????
3 uncles, 3 aunts, 7 cousins… i have a whole family in Toronto…
All of my mothers 3 sisters live there……its like little greece for me..
yes i need to visit…
& chill with you Asher, Bob, Marina, Mike Berube… and the rest of Toronto-ians…
i might drive up there… i was tempted to drive to Vancouver when i was in seattle…
god damn it,,, i came so close…
soonest…
some interesting stuff at mr. Yoon’s site…
thanks for the link!!!!!!
looking at your work Panos..
is inspiring…
the freedom you show in your photography,
is wonderful…
so raw,
straight up~
no bullshit…
love watching your slideshows..
**
Shit- we may be related!! I have many many relatives there, grew up there, met my wife there, many amazing meals on the Danforth… and Chinatown, stuff from Kensington, played in a reggae band in the 1980s at the Bamboo, the Diamond, the Masonic Temple/Concert Hall, Sneaky Dee’s… photographic on Queen St., Yonge St, the Islands…. Long history!
YES! and of course Marina and Dima if they are interested! The more the merrier.
The more the merrier , indeed… how did i forget about Dima…????
ok.. ALL…
IMPOSSIBLE to go back to sleep…
working on some couple venice photos from last night…
coming up soonest………………………………………………………..
dont go away…!
Asher.. how funny..
imagine U & me distant cousins…
but wait… what am i saying..???
we are already related!!!!!!!!!!!
we are “BURNoulians”…
:)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Wendy… give me one more minute…
new work from last night…
VENICE BEACH before the storm…
( its cooking right now, or should i say BURNing??? )
ok… ready …
new , fresh slideshow from last night…
its raining like hell today… here is venice right before the BIG STORM…
ALL,
PLEASE ENJOY … click the link below….
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/Tif?authkey=UjABpBzx92g#slideshow
again, please increase the slideshow duration from 3 to 5 seconds…
max pleasure… ;-)))))))))))))))))))))))))
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/Tif?authkey=UjABpBzx92g#slideshow
peace & hugs from Venice……..
The photo #1 is an absolute WINNER!!! Love the whole slideshow but it made me want to be in Venice Beach…even in the rain. All I see here is the white stuff.
Patricia
Thank U Pat…
i hope i can make it back to venice again today..
I’m skipping another day at work…
Work???? Scratch that…! i aint skipping “work”
Venice is my WORK…
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/Tif?authkey=UjABpBzx92g#slideshow
Big thanks to David, Panos, Wendy and Asher for giving me the support/encouragement/kick in the pants I needed to keep on keepin’ on. Last night’s shoot opened the door and today I flew through it. God, it felt good to be playing with my camera again. Overthinking is death to creativity. Just ask me.
Here’s a link to my “unblocked” self portraits from last night and today:
http://www.pbase.com/windchimewalker/for_review18
PASSWORD: patricia
Thanks, dear Panos, for letting me post my links here in your space. This will be the end my “trespassing” though ;=)
peace
Patricia
Love this one Patricia!!!
Go… Go… Go… Patricia..
I’m just renting this room..
Smiling..
I have lots of news..
I just met Ludmilla..
More later.. Soon..
Soonest…
Gotta drive .. Driving..
Going home!!
Home???
Hotel I mean.. Gimme an hour…!
Peace…
Again..
Patricia keep the fire burning..
Keep my “room” warm..
Please post more… Right here..
I love BURN…
( Joe thank u for introducing me to Ludmilla..)
5:12am..,
Downtown LA…
Heavy Rain, just woke me up….
All the roads to Big Bear are closed…
Heavy Snow… i wanted to visit my Dark Kids today…
play with the snow…
but instead lets see what happened to Venice Beach yesterday…
it was raining in venice… it was windy in venice…
it was a horrible day for my homeless beach bum friends…
let me cook for breakfast… gimme couple minutes please……….
morning y’al…
hey P ;)))
love the new slideshow too…(ok, i’ve now seen 4, have i missed any??)…6 (looking good) is great and i love the guy going into a trance…and i like this perspective of shooting Venice from Jim’s van !!!…especially the pic with the word ‘venice’ in the top window….keep em coming. loving this venice trip :))))
hugs
bob
bob , you probably missed… this link…( only from the cellphone )photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/IphonePics?authkey=BGUe4H-Il-8#slideshow
panos! :)))))))))))))))))))))))))……
love love love it! :))))))))….i was, i dont know why, but i WAS MESMERIZED by all these bridge/driving shit :))))..one after another…i guess im really big time missing a road trip…and funny, last night i dreamed about Seattle and Portland: real!…go figure…love these phone-diaries…keep em coming :)))
long live grunge indeed! :))
hugs
bob
ALL..
I just paid a beach bum a dollar
to tell me a joke…
He said:”where do one legged people work???”
Of course I had no clue..
So he continued:”….at the local iHop….”
I don’t if that was funny enough.. but I payed the dollar anyways…
I have a little crazy slideshow over here… for a break…. after hours…
couldnt hold it inside… sorry…( please increase the duration from 3 to 5 sec…)
peace
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/PIGEONSINVENICE?authkey=MQ2FhRd6Tk8#slideshow
your pigeons made my day – sweet.
You know whats really funny Haik ???
The president of all Californian Pigeons…’is the same
guy that owns…all the Unicorns and Fishes at my part of town…
isnt that weird ????????????
decided to peek into burn before going to bed.
will fall asleep, smiling, seeing your pigeons.
really good stuff, baby bro.
g’night..*
Thank you
:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Found the president – Frank “the unipigeonish” Soto.
http://lapigeonclub.com/
What a shame that he also runs underground unicorn club that are eventually fed to sick fish. The guy pretends to live in orange county. What a conspiracy. Forced poor Akaky to switch to mortadella diet.
That’s two(2) offenses in my book – http://haiko.net/fun/2offenses.jpg
love the pigeon dance, indeed!…and all that pigeon stuff followed by 14, 15, just gorgeous…and i rarely remember light in La like this…usually in winter after a storm…if only LA had light like this all the time :))))))….
p; check this book out: the extraordinary book and work of Masahisa fukase….his extraordinary book Ravens….
go to the gallery here and click on english and click on PHotographres to see his work…
one of my heros…
http://www.ratholegallery.com/en.html
running
b
Akaky???? hooked on mortadella ??????
that s**t is worst than crack… damn !!!
Masahisa fukase….
thanks bob… love Ravens….
( quoth the raven, Nevermore….. )
again, the venice Pigeons slideshow…
and the Orphan… click below…. Pigeons can kill … kids can be traumatized…
parents can disappear…
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/PIGEONSINVENICE?authkey=MQ2FhRd6Tk8#slideshow
Hey Panos,
Here I am, I missed commenting here before but as promised Im here.
One thing off the bat, I think that your mix of b.w and color actually comes off fine. I like to stick to one or the other and never mix but here its OK.
I think I see 2 essays here actually, one a street photography essay which I like less and one a very personal, strange essay which I like more and which fits the music better.
Ill give you an example. I like the title slide, pic 2,3 but then pic 4 and 5 not so much. I love pic 6 of Jim in the empty pool, very good… I like pic 7 but then pic 8 is a bit of a let down….pic 7 has something strange to it, pic 8 doesnt grab me. Going thoriugh the sequence I like pic 13 a lot, it looks cool and has a great mood. I like pic 14 but not really 15. And so on. I think you can see what I mean. I think some of the shots have this weird, mysterious feeling and some lack it. For me, I had a hell of a hard time editing down, DAH helped a lot though ofcourse I didnt agree with all of his choices and some email ping pong I think bridged the gap. My goal was to be below 30 images and DAH made that happen by being ruthless. I think 50 so images is a lot, and I think the two essays as I said could have been separated.
Now, here are the shots I love from your essay.
2,3,7,9, 13, 14, 18, 20 (MUCH better than 10 but basically the same sort of idea), 22, 25, 35, 36, 37, 40 (great), 41 (great), 42, 44, 49, 50, 55, 59, 60, 62
I think that a 25 image slideshow would have been a more powerful punch.
However, I must say I think you did a good job showing us life in Venice, full of energy and mystery. Keep shooting, would love to see the book.
Rafal,
you do keep your word as a real man,
i wish you would live closer… but i feel you lately as “close” as it can get..
thank you for revealing the schizo gemini in me…
i need to “study” your comment.. not just re read it…
:))))))))))
lol
Panos, you are David’s favorite:) I am jealous of the editing session you got to do with David. As I said, a good editor is really nice to have. I have a hell of a time editing my own stuff, especially cutting things out.
I read you and David are working on a new edit of Venice….new work to be included?
Cool work, Panos, as David would say, “I see a book”, with, if I may, just a few links/shots I find not on par with the whole (just one example, the “cleavage” shot, rather blank/trivial within the context of your work and the place itself) especially towards the end of the slideshow. But you nailed the place for us altogether, just wonderful to finally see all the work you’ve done in an almost complete stage (ie. nothing ever being complete or finished).
Rafal,
let me admit something here ( publicly ) , coz your comments “touched” my heart…
YOUR personal WORK and also the book SABINE… inspired me tremendously
on my “DARK KIDS” series…
I wanna say thanks to you in public….
:))))))))))))))))
( cant wait to see your essay here… cant wait …)
… Im up in the mountains right now,
working with the DARK KIDS as we speak…
i will post a new small link in a while…
again Rafal, i got lots of inspiration from u…
:))))))))))
Herve……………
no work is ever finished…
like real life..
:)))))))))))))))))))))))
NEW LINK
NEW LINK
NEW LINK
And speaking of INSPIRATION…. i havent stopped my DARK KIDS…
below a little tease….
http://picasaweb.google.com/innerspacecowpanos/EveningAtGRANDMAS?authkey=Gv1sRgCMX7hayQvffIqAE#slideshow
Panos..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE09_oZaF3Q
my son sk8ting in Santa Monica..he did not know anyone was filming and had no idea this video existed until 5 years later he happened to be trolling Youtube back home in Costa Rica..saw the title of the video, thought to himself, “I skated that spot. lemme check this out” and realized it was him..68,500 views from strangers and he gets to see it for the first time. Anyway, thought you might enjoy it..it’s very short..
best:
kat~
KATHLEEN….
IS THAT YOUR SON?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
HE GOT SOME SKILLS…
( some??? skills )… he got THE skills………..
totally enjoyed it …
so, thank you for sharing…
i feel part of the family…………
He has strong skills… because he has a STRONG MOM…
IM SOOOOOOOOOOOO PROUD OF YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!! ( and him )..
thank you again !!!!!!!!!!!
huge hug!
PANOS:
This is such a bittersweet video for me. At the time, he had undiagnosed Aspberger’s Syndrome and became severely depressed, cutting himself and everything. Came back to CR after just one year at Loyola. Took several years for him to recover from this terribly low place during which time he was even diagnosed with Schizophrenia. But he is doing much, much better now, ohmygod, is he ever! He’s in engineering school again (that’s what he was studying in L.A.) and skates much better than you see here. He’s also a downhill mountain biker and an enduro motorcycle rider. And fucking reads Kafka. I mean, he’s got it all. But ya know what? That year skating in L.A. was as much a high for him as a low. He loved being there and experiencing that. And i love that he did it. Even if we almost lost him. Sk8ting all around, in Venice and Santa Monica and all over, well, they were unforgettable experiences for him.
Thanks for taking the time to look at the video and thanks for your big welcome to me here and the hugs and all of it..thanks, Panos..i will be looking out for your work with much excitement..you shoot with tremendous passion, it’ just a joy to see your slideshows.
your friend
kat~
oh…… Kat..
( sorry i missed this comment… just saw it…)
I would like to meet him..
i had to quit downhill mountainbiking
myself ( that was the biggest obsession in my
life from 2000 to 2005… broken legs…
fractured elbow twice and no health insurance..Anyways..
One of my best friends has a whole metal plate in his skull..
it beeps everytime he has to go to the airport..
Anyway, your son sounds like my kind of guy…
im glad he is doing better…though…
and yes…. santa monica, venice , the mountains ,
riding all the way up to the nike tower, the HUB,
TOPANGA…. all that holy indian land …San Andreas Fault………..
unforgettable… No way to ever forget those places…
http://www.brontequartet.com/natalie-merchant/san-andreas-fault-2.html
BUY THAT MOTHER….god damn it…
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/610452#
Reading James Frey’s ‘Bright Shiny Morning’, some of your frames fit in there very well!
(A search button would be a helpful thing, it’s quite a pain to look for something if you don’t remember when it has been published here on Burn)