PIX : Let's start off with the name of your book "East of West LA". So what's the story behind that title ? Personally I love that title and describes in a way my life as everything I do seems to be....well, east of West LA. ^^ I assume this is your stomping ground ?
Kevin : I'm attempting to show aspects of LA that are consistently overlooked elsewhere. Being east of West LA is not so much a geographic consideration as it is cultural. For example, Venice is very much "East of West LA.'"
Plus, I just like the way it sounds.
PIX : It does have a nice roll-of-your tongue quality to it :) How did the book come about ? I know you've been shooting for a few years - what led you to a decision to have a book of your images ?
Kevin : An LA poet, Michael Lally, suggested to Brooks Roddan that he look at both my writing and my photos. Brooks has published a few art books in the past under his If Publications project. We met and it seemed like a good fit right from the start. I also had to 'fess up and say that as much as I'd like to get any type of book out into the world, I really couldn't devote much time to any writing that I did in the past. And that I had inexpicably gotten really hooked on photographing every corner of Los Angeles.
PIX : lol ! And there are many corners in this fair city. ^^ Was it a simple process to select the images or did you have trouble editing the images down to the right amount.
Kevin : It was surprisingly difficult. Rightly or wrongly, I began looking at my photos differently when I knew they were to be part of a book. They weren't individual, stand alone photos as much as they were pieces to a puzzle and I couldn't figure out what the puzzle was supposed to be. But at this point I had already put together a website so I more or less admitted defeat and had Brooks and his crew start with those. We went back and forth on five or six of them but I was really happy with their rough draft. By the way, I didn't create the website myself, I paid someone to do it. I have very little technical aptitude regarding computers - or cameras.
PIX : Different contexts definitely bring different decisions it seems. So what prompted you into photography ? Was it something you had as a kid or did you fall into it later ?
Kevin : I'm very new to photography. I just wanted to show my sister-in-law, who lives in Taiwan, pictures of what I considered to be "real" LA and a blog was the easiest way to do it. And then I thought 5 or 6 other people would be interested in what I was seeing. I started with a used Kodak, moved onto to a Nikon Coolpix, then a Lumix Panasonic, then a bigger Lumix (both really great, affordable fixed lens cameras) and now I have a Canon 40D with a 24-70 lens. Five cameras in four years.
And I'm still taking pictures for those 5 or 6 people which kind of helps me keep prespective as I get more Interent visitors and more interest in the book.
The other thing that has helped me has been an ongoing interest in Walt Whitman and William Carlos Williams, both very visual, image-oriented poets. And both very American and very timeless in their themes.
PIX : How would you describe the book to someone ?
Kevin : I read a comment about one of my photos as being "Bleaker than [Edward] Hopper."
And that's certainly true for some but not all of what I shoot. But I think some of my photos ("Olvera Street," "R.I.P. Carlos" and "Midnight Skull" to name a few) have some traces of optimism or even humor. Overall, they might share the same outlook about LA as Raymond Chandler, Charles Bukowski and Warren Zevon had as well as some Hollywood cinematographers from the Fifties whose name I should know but don't.
PIX ; Okay, thanks Kevin. Kevin will be signing his book this Sunday (12/13) in Venice so if you're around the area, stroll by and check it out :)
December 13, 7:00 PM - Book release & exhibit
Beyond Baroque
681 North Venice Blvd
Venice, CA 90291-4805
(310) 822-3006
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