On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
More photos for the black and white photography buffs! And before you ask, as I did, no, the third photo is not upside down! ~WaterGirl
Steve from Mendocino
Construction and industrial sites provide another rich source of graphic interest for photography. I used to drive around in my 66 VW bug looking for promising structures to photograph. All of these locations are vaguely in the Los Angeles area and were all taken during the period 1969-1971.
This picture always gets my attention for its place in my personal history with Los Angeles. Interstate 10 (the “Santa Monica freeway) was only built in the latter part of the 60’s. Before that one needed to take city streets to get to the beaches. This is the construction site for the interchange between the 405 and the 10.
Turning the frame at an angle is an obvious gimmick, and I don’t do it often. Nevertheless, with the addition of the odd coloring I feel it disassociates the graphic elements from the subject matter and emphasizes them.
Puddles and valves. I don’t remember where this was located, but I’m guessing at a refinery in El Segundo.
This one I do remember was a refinery in El Segundo.
I came across this building while driving around in out of the way places looking for subject matter. No idea where it was located or what its function was – I would guess it’s some kind of warehouse.
More “I have no idea where or what the function of this building is.” If someone can figure it out, I’ve always wondered. Some mineral processing perhaps?
Don’t know where this cylinder storage facility was either, but that’s not really important. Just more fun geometry.
A construction site on either 6th street or Wilshire Blvd. in the mid-Wilshire area on a rainy day. This photo was another in my art school application portfolio.
raven
My mom’s husband worked in the El Segundo Refinery for years.
raven
There is no way to really know but the second picture looks like it may have been the steel fabrication plant on Aviation in Hawthorne. My sis lives about three blocks from there and it is now Northrop-Grumman.
OzarkHillbilly
It is reminiscent of the processing plant of the former St. Joe Lead Company, the center piece of the Missouri Mines State Historic Site*. That leads me to think it’s a mill of some type. For whatever that’s worth.
* which by the way, is a really cool place to visit
gkoutnik
Those of us from the snowier bits of the country immediately thought – “sand shed!” But of course, no need for that (and such a big one at that) in LA.
I really love your work – it does for me what great art is supposed to do.
Suzanne
You are right that construction sites are fascinating and stimulating places. Your images are lovely. Thanks for sharing them with us.
mrmoshpotato
Hippie/disco rebar is the best rebar.
Sourmash
“some kind of warehouse” only needs a few pointless and ugly architectural “flourishes” and it would be a dead ringer for a “Sports Hall” in a medium sized city somewhere in Eastern Europe. Truly those people had a knack for screwing up both form and function.
montanareddog
@gkoutnik: exact same thought came to my mind, and that they are not going to be salting the roads in LA very often. It is certainly a bulk storage facility of some kind
raven
Drive west on Sunset
To the sea
Turn that jungle music down
Just until we’re out of town
waynel140
As someone who is getting back into photography as a retirement hobby, these photos are inspirational. And a little intimidating. Beautiful work, and no way I could even say which is my favorite, so I pick all of them. Thanks for the beautiful art work.
debbie
Nice compositions. My photography class at art school had assignments where these would have worked very well. I especially remember the reflection assignment (third photo) and always looking down to find something interesting in a reflective surface.
SiubhanDuinne
Magnificent photos. You have a real eye for capturing the patterns that surround us.
And I just want to give a heartfelt shout-out to WaterGirl for picking up and expanding Alain’s “On the Road” as well as for all the other innovations, both technical and substantive, that she’s brought to this resilient old blog. WG, we don’t say it often enough, but you are greatly appreciated!
montanareddog
@SiubhanDuinne:
+1
debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
Seconded!
mrmoshpotato
@SiubhanDuinne: Fourthed.
ljt
I love these! I am fascinated by the patterns and designs inherent in the world around us. These photos are all beautiful, but I’m especially drawn to the cylinders. Thank you for sharing!
And add another heartfelt thank you to WaterGirl.
p.a.
Very nice work, thanks! I too thought sand/salt shed, but not around there.
arrieve
@SiubhanDuinne: Yes! On the Road is one of the things that has kept me sane during these trying times, when my world is mostly limited to the view from my apartment.
I love these pictures — love black and white, and interesting geometry. The last one is probably my favorite.
mad citizen
I too really love everything about these photographs. My only way into L.A. (having only visited once a couple years ago) is Bukowski, like Post Office and listening to his readings where he jokes about El Sugundo and Redondo Beach.
DCA
Slightly relevant bit of trivia: El Segundo is named for the refinery, which was the second refinery Standard Oil built in California.
Great (and somewhat mysterious) photos.
dnfree
@gkoutnik: exactly what I thought, only here it’s usually called salt storage. So I wonder what something that big in a warm climate would be used for.
raven
@mad citizen: South Bay Surfers Rule!
TaMara (HFG)
I love black and white photos and I love shooting in B&W. These are wonderful.
Barbara
I love that third photograph but I think it would drive me crazy after a while, to look at an upside down reflected image.
LeftCoastYankee
That could be a sand shed for a major road construction project. There will often be a need to replace “unsuitable soil” with “borrow”. Basically sand without biomass which should compact more predictably.
Also the aggregate (rocks) material for that layer could be stored in there.
Cool in black and white.
Mart
@LeftCoastYankee: Believe you got it. The roof slope is based on the material being stored “angle of repose”. In the Midwest see salt domes and grain sheds, each having their own specific roof slope. Have a dump pit for trucks and/or trains, with a bucket elevator (buckets bolted on a rubber belt) that lifts material to a center of the roof peak conveyer. When the material drops it forms a ^ shape that matches the roof slope. Maximizes storage capacity. Could also be fertilizer!