WEEK 12 Damon Casarez

Red Cups

Grafiti

More Tagged Rocks

This is the 2nd day I shot for my Azusa Canyon Project. I went for about 5 hours this time and walked a few miles and still saw a bunch of garbage around. It usually dies down after the 1st mile, but not here. These photos are a little more subtle than the first post from the series. It was refreshing to just get out and shoot with no schedule, lighting set up or people to deal with. There is 20 photos that will be in the book all shot in Azusa Canyon, mostly around the areas surrounding the San Gabriel River, which has a North, West and East fork in the river

Week 11 Damon Casarez

Painted Rock

Trash Bag

Party Tray

This is a new series of landscape photographs I started last week for my 2nd book for design 2. This project is documenting the landscape of Azusa Canyon in the Angeles National Forest. I've been going here for a few years now for the fishing and because its a nice get-away spot thats only about 40 min away from me. When I first came to the canyon about 4 years ago, I was shocked at how beautiful it was for being so close to L.A. and the fact that there is a natural flowing river in L.A. County with fish. When I really started to explore the canyon, I immediately noticed the garbage and graffiti from people who hang out at the river with family or friends or camp there. I was so sad and shocked to see all of this trash polluting the river and the graffiti on the rocks, that will be there forever.

I photographed the Canyon according to how I first experienced it 4 years ago, being taken away by its beauty but always seeing the trace of human beings upon take a closer look. The human trace is supposed to be a second read in the photographs. I intentionally photographed the landscapes in a very traditional manner to not only focus on the trash/graffiti, but definitely showing my awareness of it in the photographs. Some photographs are more subtle than others. This was the first day I went to shoot for the project.