WORDS & PHOTOS | ED BRAXTON @EDDBRAXTON
INTERVIEW | JONATHAN LABEZ @JMLABEZ
Welcome back to this latest installment of ‘A Frame At A Time.’ Here’s the premise: Give a skater a disposable camera with questions to respond and snapping what’s in front of them. All they can do is point, shoot, and move on. There’s no editing or chance to fire away like you would on a phone. With a disposable camera, you have to be decisive about moments picked. Shooting slows you down to think carefully about what to pick. Through their images, we see who & what a skater cherishes, draws their eyes, surround themselves with, and what their world looks like.
Thru a roll of film, we roll a mile in their boots.
I was with at a session with Ed Braxton not too long ago and saw him pull out 2 disposable cameras. I watched him curiously, wondering what he what he was up to. Ed captured a few moments in between landing a few tricks for his section in Daniel Scarano’s upcoming video, Cosmic Cop Out. At some point I asked him about the cameras. Turns out Ed just loves shooting with disposable cameras.
Between work and skating, Ed spends much of his time traversing the greater LA metropolitan area on public transportation. Every time we catch up, I catch snippets of his adventures going every which direction across the basin. He’s naturally an exploratory person, on and off skates, which is why I asked Ed if he’d be up to do this feature.
— Jonathan Labez
Shooting the pictures for this project was a natural continuation of what I normally do when I’m traveling around the city. I always try to keep a color and black and white disposable camera on me for general documentation purposes. Hopefully, in some small way, I’ve been able to capture and convey what it feels like to move through Los Angeles without a car but also just what it feels like to be any other person living and moving through Los Angeles. I love Los Angeles because it bucks so many ideas about what a city is supposed to be and how people are supposed to function and live in cities. People in Los Angeles are always challenging those notions, whether they realize it or not. Capturing a piece of that is what inspires me. — Ed Braxton
A store/shop you go into regularly
Although by no means am I a coffee or baked goods connoisseur, I feel fairly confident in saying that I’ve been to my fair share of cafes and bakeries. And so I feel very confident about saying that Proof Bakery consistently makes some of the best croissants that I’ve ever had. The buckwheat chocolate chip cookie is great too. Highly recommend stopping by if you’re ever cruising through Atwater Village. Also, Proof is a worker owned cooperative, which essentially means that the business is collectively owned and controlled by the employees, as opposed to a single owner or investor(s). Pretty cool.
First place you cruised to today
La Colombe in Frogtown by the LA River is one of my favorite places to go first thing in the morning, usually around 7am. It opens earlier than any other coffee shop in the area (besides Starbucks) and it’s great for chilling out and finding some peace before the day’s activities begin. It also affords me the opportunity to get a skate/exercise in, about 7 miles total round trip. More recently they started selling espresso biscotti, which are just the perfect complement to your morning cup of coffee.
Where did you end your day?
Century City Mall. Sometimes I’ll ride the bus out to Century City Mall after a workday just to walk around and unwind. Being an east coaster, it’s still kind of a trip to see an open-air mall with no roof and so it just has a nice airy and chill vibe that’s conducive to just hanging around. I love going to places where you’re supposed to consume and buy things but instead of buying things you just watch other people walk around and consume and buy things. There’s something really democratic about the whole experience of shopping or window shopping and watching people just sort of meandering back and forth.. The person in this photo was so interesting because they looked all colorful with the balloons and everything but at the same time had this very dejected vibe hiding behind the flowers and balloons..
A view of the city
Driving east on the 134 through Eagle Rock, DTLA in the background. This is me Ubering to a work meeting at a church in Pasadena. This is also one of my favorite views of this part of the city. There’s just something that feels very majestic when you’re riding on this portion of the 134, overlooking Eagle Rock and downtown LA in the distance, day or night.
Something you cherish
Rollerblade Twister Edge 110s. I’ve been urban big wheeling for about 10 years. It truly has been a life-altering experience, in both harmful and helpful ways. But I wouldn’t give it up for anything because it’s changed the way that I experience cities and life more generally. I’ve skated thousands of miles in many pairs of the Twister Edge skates and god willing, I’ll continue skating thousands more.
What made you smile today?
Sunrise in Los Feliz. I love skating through Los Angeles really early in the morning right around when the sun’s rising. Everything feels warm and distant and soft and at ease. Seeing the sun rise almost anywhere in Los Angeles almost always makes me smile. And that’s a really special thing.
Something you can’t leave the house without
Beats Flex. I’ve had many pairs of the Beats Flex headphones. And while I’m not necessarily a devotee of the earbud style, I have to say that the Beats Flex have really stood the test of time when it comes to durability, longevity, and acceptable sound quality. I love them for traveling through the city because they get the job done without attracting attention, which is personally important for me when traveling through the city.
What do you do to unwind?
Ride an empty bus or just ride a bus that isn’t too packed with people. There’s definitely something to be said about letting someone else handle the stresses of traffic while just blissing out on the bus, particularly in a place like Los Angeles. In a weird way, it’s kind of a privilege to be able to do that. And I feel really grateful to be able to participate in that. I think I took this photo riding the 93 bus, somewhere in the Echo Park area maybe.
Show us something you came across
Palms train station concrete engravings. Oftentimes after I finish a skating session with Daniel Scarano, I’ll hop on the Palms train station to ride back towards downtown. The Palms station has all these little concrete engravings etched throughout the ground of the station’s platform that describe the history of the Santa Monica train line, the Pacific Electric (red car) system.
A bird’s eye view
Overlooking the 110 looking west from the Financial District. This is where I currently work. I actually really like the location because of the panoramic view we have of the downtown area. Even though downtown Los Angeles isn’t necessarily the most inspiring place compared to other parts of the city, it has its own charms in a way.
Who do you feel most at home with?
My dad. I’m always at home with my dad, even when we’re arguing or something. haha. He’s my best friend.
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