The Yearning Place
Most people (anyway, most consumers of media in the west) have seen this place before. A lot. During the week you can practically assume you'll see some kind of filming or photography happening here.
And why not? It's a weird, beautiful, fantastic place. It's easy for film crews and average people to access. As a Los Angeles County Park, it's free to visit (you'll need to buy a permit for major filming though). People come here to hike, picnic, and climb the rocks (as the pair in this picture have done, even though lightning is crashing bumptiously from the sky not far to the east.) The park itself is much more than just this particular set of rocks, but these are the most iconic ones. The park comprises almost 1,000 acres of this freakish, alien, haphazard terrain created by sandstone strata tossed about willy-nilly by the ever fascinating San Andreas Fault.
And so, given that photographing and filming this place is almost a cliche, why do I keep coming back here to shoot? Maybe because the landscape of Vasquez Rocks is ingrained in my being. I came of age yearning to be roaming in landscapes like this when instead I was trapped in classrooms not that far away. When I was able, weekends and after school, I did roam in a landscape much like this, either hiking or riding horseback, dreaming of different ways I could conspire to be someone else. Someone not me. Vasquez Rocks is like that place I came of age in, only moreso. More of everything. Bolder, vaster, bigger, stranger: In a word, it's even more landscapey.
Occasionally, when I close my eyes, I see this place without meaning to--without even desiring to. I drive by here every evening and when I think the light is just right, I stop and shoot. It doesn't matter to me how many times this place has "been done." I'll keep coming back with a camera as long as there is sweet light and as long as I remain happy to be me.
Here's a partial list of where you may have seen Vasquez Rocks before:
Movies:
Star Trek (2009), Alpha Dog (2007), Bone Eater (2007; TV), A.I. Assault / Shockwave (2006), Cars (2006), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Holes (2003), Joe Dirt (2001), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Planet of the Apes (2001), Bubble Boy (2001), Epoch (2000), Very Bad Things (1998), Free Enterprise (1998), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Guns of El Chupacabra (1997), Jingle All the Way (1996), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995,) The Flintstones (1994), In the Army Now (1994), Army of Darkness (1993), Mom and Dad Save the World (1992), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), The Rapture (1991), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988) Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987), Short Circuit (1986), Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983), Parasite (1982), Hearts of the West (1975), Blazing Saddles (1974), Apache (1954), A Thousand and One Nights (film) (1945), Werewolf of London (1935), Dracula (1931)
Television:
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Saving Grace, From The Earth To The Moon—episode 10: "Galileo Was Right", The Twilight Zone (the original series), Medium, Have Gun—Will Travel, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Rifleman, Maverick, Broken Arrow, Mission: Impossible, 24, Airwolf, Bonanza, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Roswell, Star Trek: The Original Series (notably the episodes "Arena", "The Alternative Factor", "Shore Leave", and "Friday's Child"), Star Trek: The Next Generation ("Who Watches the Watchers"), Star Trek: Voyager ("Initiations"), Star Trek: Enterprise, NCIS ("South By Southwest"), The Outer Limits, Korg: 70,000 BC, Alias, Mr. Show with Bob and David, The Fugitive (TV series), Alien Hunter, Alias Smith and Jones Hunter, Helltown, The Invaders, MacGyver, The Rat Patrol, Space: Above and Beyond, Charmed, Sliders, Friends, Fear Factor, Lassie, Las Vegas, Logan's Run, Zorro, Voyagers!, Daniel Boone, Alien Nation, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin The Big Valley, Buffalo Bill Jr., Cimarron Strip, The Cisco Kid, Stories of the Century, The High Chaparral, Johnny Ringo The Range Rider, The Bionic Woman, Numb3rs, The Middleman, Prey, Street Hawk, Dinosaurs (TV series)
Commercials, Music Videos, Fashion Shoots, Magazine Spreads and other Advertising:
Way too many to list. Seriously. (list of productions snagged from wikipedia)
The Yearning Place
Most people (anyway, most consumers of media in the west) have seen this place before. A lot. During the week you can practically assume you'll see some kind of filming or photography happening here.
And why not? It's a weird, beautiful, fantastic place. It's easy for film crews and average people to access. As a Los Angeles County Park, it's free to visit (you'll need to buy a permit for major filming though). People come here to hike, picnic, and climb the rocks (as the pair in this picture have done, even though lightning is crashing bumptiously from the sky not far to the east.) The park itself is much more than just this particular set of rocks, but these are the most iconic ones. The park comprises almost 1,000 acres of this freakish, alien, haphazard terrain created by sandstone strata tossed about willy-nilly by the ever fascinating San Andreas Fault.
And so, given that photographing and filming this place is almost a cliche, why do I keep coming back here to shoot? Maybe because the landscape of Vasquez Rocks is ingrained in my being. I came of age yearning to be roaming in landscapes like this when instead I was trapped in classrooms not that far away. When I was able, weekends and after school, I did roam in a landscape much like this, either hiking or riding horseback, dreaming of different ways I could conspire to be someone else. Someone not me. Vasquez Rocks is like that place I came of age in, only moreso. More of everything. Bolder, vaster, bigger, stranger: In a word, it's even more landscapey.
Occasionally, when I close my eyes, I see this place without meaning to--without even desiring to. I drive by here every evening and when I think the light is just right, I stop and shoot. It doesn't matter to me how many times this place has "been done." I'll keep coming back with a camera as long as there is sweet light and as long as I remain happy to be me.
Here's a partial list of where you may have seen Vasquez Rocks before:
Movies:
Star Trek (2009), Alpha Dog (2007), Bone Eater (2007; TV), A.I. Assault / Shockwave (2006), Cars (2006), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Holes (2003), Joe Dirt (2001), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Planet of the Apes (2001), Bubble Boy (2001), Epoch (2000), Very Bad Things (1998), Free Enterprise (1998), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Guns of El Chupacabra (1997), Jingle All the Way (1996), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995,) The Flintstones (1994), In the Army Now (1994), Army of Darkness (1993), Mom and Dad Save the World (1992), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), The Rapture (1991), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988) Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987), Short Circuit (1986), Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983), Parasite (1982), Hearts of the West (1975), Blazing Saddles (1974), Apache (1954), A Thousand and One Nights (film) (1945), Werewolf of London (1935), Dracula (1931)
Television:
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Saving Grace, From The Earth To The Moon—episode 10: "Galileo Was Right", The Twilight Zone (the original series), Medium, Have Gun—Will Travel, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Rifleman, Maverick, Broken Arrow, Mission: Impossible, 24, Airwolf, Bonanza, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Roswell, Star Trek: The Original Series (notably the episodes "Arena", "The Alternative Factor", "Shore Leave", and "Friday's Child"), Star Trek: The Next Generation ("Who Watches the Watchers"), Star Trek: Voyager ("Initiations"), Star Trek: Enterprise, NCIS ("South By Southwest"), The Outer Limits, Korg: 70,000 BC, Alias, Mr. Show with Bob and David, The Fugitive (TV series), Alien Hunter, Alias Smith and Jones Hunter, Helltown, The Invaders, MacGyver, The Rat Patrol, Space: Above and Beyond, Charmed, Sliders, Friends, Fear Factor, Lassie, Las Vegas, Logan's Run, Zorro, Voyagers!, Daniel Boone, Alien Nation, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin The Big Valley, Buffalo Bill Jr., Cimarron Strip, The Cisco Kid, Stories of the Century, The High Chaparral, Johnny Ringo The Range Rider, The Bionic Woman, Numb3rs, The Middleman, Prey, Street Hawk, Dinosaurs (TV series)
Commercials, Music Videos, Fashion Shoots, Magazine Spreads and other Advertising:
Way too many to list. Seriously. (list of productions snagged from wikipedia)