phillip d.h. lee / photoblog: Cali '11: 3. Of Prose and Punchbowls

As always, (or perhaps just these past two winters in Seoul) the build up to Christmas faded as quickly as it had arrived. After attending the midnight service with my parents and decided to wait until the morning to drive out to the Devil's Punchbowl fearing that would be sending the wrong message to Man upstairs. Well not quite, but you get the picture. So the next morning, I joined Louis and Chris at LT's sweet bachelor pad in Studio City, before taking off for the California highways towards the San Gabriel Mountains to meet our seven adventurous friends at the Devil's Punchbowl.

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I had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

As much as wandering the streets with my film photographers here in Seoul is enjoyable, I genuinely wanted to go on these photo missions with my friends from back home. Maybe, it's because I do the same circuit route in Seoul nearly every weekend. A change of scenery was much needed. Every time I saw a blog post about a trip made out in the American Great Outdoors, I can't help but be envious of their adventures. Usually I am out with one or two other photographers, and so in many ways, shooting with a larger group was refreshingly difficult. What I mean is that when there are only one or two other photographers with you, the wolf pack moves much faster and effortlessly, covering more ground with decisions processed quicker than with a substantially larger group, of say ten or more photographers. You are a bit limited to what you can do, especially when time is of the essence. Nonetheless, I had a fantastic time exploring the great California outdoors, hanging out with my friends, and snapping photos across the beautiful, scenic, and fascinating rock formations that make up part of the Punchbowl. Really though, check out Andrew's (inhousegoods) incredible video from our trip.

Wow, don't you wish you were there?

I am thankful to have come across many talented, artistic, and creative people in my life. I definitely wouldn't be where I am (artistically) without the influences of some of these good people. In essence, we are all artists. We paint our experiences, draw our stories, and share ideas through vast mediums that include photography, videography, and writing (to name a few). Before picking up photography, my strongest artistic medium was writing. However, after focusing most of my raw and creative energy into photography, I am not so sure. They say, "a photograph is worth a thousand words," and yes, to a certain degree that may be true. And thus, perhaps, by taking hundreds of photographs throughout the years I may have tricked myself into thinking that I have been saying hundreds of thousands of words all along. Or, perhaps my photographs have not been saying much, if anything at all.

(Side note: I couldn't help but laugh at myself for adding text to my photography. I didn't realize at the time that I would be writing about writing. Perhaps, I should have left it out.)

Writing is an important part of what sets us apart from the rest of the species that inhabit this planet. A single thought cannot become a reality without becoming a word that we speak, which in turn are structured into poetic sentences and justified paragraphs that have the potential to become speeches that move nations. It is necessary that we pass on these invaluable inheritances to future generations. Without it, everything will be forgotten.

Now for some photographs,
enjoi

Camera: Leica M6, Nikon FE2
Roll: Fujifilm Pro400H, Kodak Portra 400 pushed 1 stop, Kodak Trix 400

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If only Rocky was positioned to the left a little bit more...

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Richie, Jungle, and Chris.

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No really, that thing looks much bigger in real life.

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Moar rocks.

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Doesn't he blend in so effortlessly?

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Chris G. says V

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The light was harsh.

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Ridiculous, I know.

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What you see from the Viewpoint.

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Having been separated from the group, we sat here for a good fifteen to twenty minutes trying to figure out which direction they had gone. With the sunlight receding, we thought maybe the group had continued down the path. But, the path itself seemed to be taking us back to the parking lot and away from the jagged rock formations that we were trying to get to. We needed to make a move, and quick. So we decided to continue down the path until Jeff stopped us, and said, "Wait, is this the right decision?" Then we started laughing hysterically, because we had been sitting at the viewpoint for a good fifteen to twenty minutes only to be at the same predicament, just thirty meters away. Eventually, we went back to the viewpoint, crossed over the wooden railing that said "Do not enter" and made our way to the jagged rock formations through uncharted territory. Suffice to say, we made it. But, dang I wish you were there to experience that uncontrollable explosion of laughter with us.

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