A beach town with no real beach. A seaside marina without throngs of tourists. A community of artists without the pretension. A port city with a really Green attitude. A huge, international, urban sprawl that feels like a small town. This is part of the mystery of Long Beach; it defies definition.
Before I moved here from LA, I wasn't really even sure where it was... Someplace South. Someplace with a lot of crime (or so the LA local news liked to tell me). I had come to The Queen Mary and (the now gone) Spruce Goose on a "what do I do with my grandmother while she visits?" sort of outing. It's a bit of a blur. But, love has a way of making us go blindly into adventure and so a year ago I admitted defeat in trying to get a long time LBCer to move up to me. And here we sit: in a beautiful loft in a slowly revitalizing Downtown Long Beach.
I've spent the year finding my way around and more often than not I've done it through the lens of my camera. I've found out it's really not soooo South. And there really isn't that much crime. No more than LA, at least. I look forward to posting many of the images that I've made in and around LBC.
And, so, a year later I've settled in with an organic community garden plot, started biking more (not a beach cruiser, but soon!), made new friends, and have the continued desire to explore the city and the people who live here. I hope you'll join me.
