20 February 2015

postcards, part 7

This set is an interesting bunch, from a few famous houses to a couple that were very short on details.



























Interested in the postcards from previous posts?

Postcards, part 6
Postcards, part 5
Postcards, part 4
Postcards, part 3
Postcards, part 2
Postcards, part 1


17 February 2015

after dark

1926 Orpheum Theatre


1927 Tower Theatre


1930 Eastern Columbia Building


Downtown Los Angeles 


1927 United Artists Building, now the Ace Hotel + Theatre at the Ace Hotel





All photographs © Monika Seitz Vega, 2015.
All photographs taken the evening of the 7th Annual Night on Broadway.


24 January 2015

Balboa Park turns 100, part 2

This next set of photographs are from the fall of 2010. Each of these are straight out of the camera, unedited. The film I was shooting (I believe it was a roll of Lomography 100 B&W given to me by a fellow I'd purchased a different camera from) had been slightly exposed, resulting in some light leaks + the numbers and guide dots of the backer paper being burned onto the film. The resulting images are among my favorites not just from Balboa Park but from anywhere.
















20 January 2015

a handful of recent finds

 I picked up the following 5 photographs at a thrift store just before Christmas. I don't come across color photos very often, and was excited to find these couple included with the black & white prints.


"Harrington Elementary School" is written on the back.
I tried but unfortunately wasn't able to find any information about the school or its location.

An undated portrait printed as a postcard

"Nov. '67"

"Mar. '69". The back reads, in red ballpoint pen: Hazy - no shadow. 50 at 8. Anaheim 3/18/69"

Stamp on the back reads "A color print made by Kodak. December 1971"



15 January 2015

Balboa Park turns 100

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Panama-California Exposition, which celebrated the completion and opening of the Panama Canal. San Diego's Balboa Park set the stage for the 2-year exposition, establishing the park as a destination for art, architecture, and entertainment. 

Growing up in San Diego, Balboa Park was the destination for field trips, family outings, and when I got older, adventures with friends. It was one of the first places I visited and photographed when I got a "real camera"as a teenager. It remains one of my favorite places, and I visit the park every time I am in San Diego. There are a lot of memories waiting for me there, and it is wonderful to get to revisit them.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Balboa Park as we know it, I'm looking forward to diving back into my prints and negatives to share photographs I've taken there over the years. This is the first of what will be a series of posts of my Balboa Park photographs, which I'll share as I come across them.

The following 5 photographs were taken in February of 2013. The camera I used, a 1950s Argoflex 75, had been high in my camera rotation for a couple of years prior, unfortunately this was the last roll I shot with it because of how severe the scratches were that it'd leave on my negatives, quite visible here. Despite the imperfections, I think these images are lovely.














And just for fun, to kick off this series of photographs, how about Mabel Normand + Roscoe Arbuckle in "Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition"? This short is also celebrating its centennial this year.



13 January 2015

postcards, part 6

I just picked these gems up yesterday at my favorite thrift store.


front

back


front (sadly used as a coaster at one point in its 114 year life)

back


front

back


front

back


front

back


front

back



Interested in seeing my previous postcard collection posts? Follow the links below:

Postcards, part 5
Postcards, part 4
Postcards, part 3
Postcards, part 2
Postcards, part 1



08 January 2015

for new visitors

Welcome.


I hope you find something here that you find unique, relatable, or inspiring. 


A couple of points to help understand the way this website is designed:

*Every photograph has been taken by me, on film. Any exception to this is clear -- I try to keep my own photographs separate from those that are found, vintage, historical, however you want to put it. I try to provide as much information about the images that are not my own as I can. 

*I very often embed a link into my text, but I prefer not to have them stand out in a garish color, so they may be hard to find at times. A good rule of thumb is to hover over a point of reference (typically the name of a person or location) and there's a very good chance I've included a link so you can find out more about that subject.

*Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, every image contained on this website is viewable large and on a black background if you click on it. Please take the opportunity to view the images you like in this way, singled out and without distraction. You'll be glad you did.


Thanks for stopping by!