This wasn't the beginning of the year that any of us in Los Angeles was hoping for but here we are. The fires of the past week (that are still burning, though major progress has been made) are a tragic and devastating start to 2025. I know far too many people that have lost everything and are in a bad situation. Personally, my family is safe and for that I am thankful, but I have friends and colleagues that are not as fortunate.

Beyond the physical losses, we have lost so much art and community that it is difficult to wrap my mind around. Altadena specifically was such a vibrant part of Los Angeles county and home to numerous artists, photographers, and creatives of all stripes. It was also a multicultural center for middle class communities of color that has produced too many notable people to list. The whole situation is incredibly tragic and we will be rebuilding for quite some time.

Here is a list of links to support people I know who have personally been impacted:

Ibarionex Perello, Creator of The Candid Frame Podcast and one of the first people to give my work a platform:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/perello-familys-journey-to-re-establish-our-life

Everard Williams, Photography Chair at ArtCenter College of Design and a good friend and mentor:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/298k4-help-the-williams-family-rebuild

Michelle Constantine, Designer/Educator:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-for-the-hibbs-family

Kofie, artist and L.A. graffiti legend:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/friends-unite-for-ruti-augie-isaiah

Other ways to support:
General fund for the ArtCenter community that are affected by the fires:
https://artcenter.edu/firefund

Gear Drive for impacted photographers at Los Angeles Center of Photography:
https://lacphoto.org/events/gear-drive-at-lacp/

Archival Recordings 33

This year I plan on showing much more of my early documentary landscape work as a part of this newsletter. In fact, the first of the two zines (due this summer) that are planned for this year will be entirely from my archive. In preparation, I've been doing a lot of organizing on the backend of my file system and I came across this photograph. Located near what is now known as the Arts District, I remember this scene catching my eye like it was yesterday, although in reality it was captured almost 20 years ago. I've always been curious about this establishment so I did a quick google search and came across an Instagram post by the excellent Swapmeet Chronicles with some information about the location.

There was always something that I've loved about this image, a sort of visual poem featuring the local man walking past the film set. I think it says a lot about what was happening to neighborhoods throughout the city at the time, the results of which we are dealing with today.

Recent Photographs

Updates

The 4th Archival Recordings Zine was sent out last week to paid subscribers from 2024. I plan on adding some copies to the online store next week and sending out a post focused on the zine. It's a great one, can't wait to share it with y'all.

The new Publication Tier of Archival Recordings is live now! Please visit this page for info on the new, paid zine subscription.

https://www.archivalrecordings.com/publication-tier/

Lastly, BIG THANKS to the new paid members, I really appreciate the support! The success of the zines has really enabled me to keep this project going, there are a lot of cool things in store so stay tuned!