I was reading one of the few good German photography magazine, which is mainly dedicated to fine art printing, when I discovered that I am interested in similar places as a great and adorable German photographer named Christopher Thomas. In his recent book "Lost in L.A." he takes the viewer on a tour through Los Angeles. He uses a field camera and expired Polaroid film to make a very strong and personal statement. A very powerful and in my opinion excellent tribute to the city. However the moment I discovered the similarity in subject matter with my recent additions to the "American Fast Food" series, I felt a bit like copying a great name. I researched for these locations extensively online and we obviously decided to chose the same sites. However with all the common elements we both share in our choice of places, there are distinct differences in our work.
Today I share a hand full of new night captures of interesting and thrilling architectural highlights of the city.
I have not yet decided on the the final name of the project and the working could be a bit misleading. This is an ongoing series that concentrates on the restaurant, shops and stores at night. Many of these places have a very unique architectural appearance and some - like Chips restaurant and Norms in West Hollywood - fall in a category called Googie architecture. As a side track from the mid century modernism, Googie emphasized the futuristic atmosphere of the 1940s to the 1960s with jagged lines and modern architectural elements.
Not all of the images that will finally be part of this series are Googie style or modernism buildings. The idea is to show the diversity of these places, how they try to attract customers and their very special appeal when being fully of partially lit during night.
