Magic Hour in South Pas: A Photo Gallery

A Patch reader emailed me recently, urging me to take a walk in the Arroyo, as the wildflowers are popping up all over. 

Sounded like a great idea. I just wasn't totally, exactly 100 percent sure precisely where the reader meant.

I've been covering South Pas for six months now, and prefer to take the Metro from where I live, Downtown, and walk all around the city, rather than driving, parking and hanging out in one place. When you walk a town, you learn things that drive-bys just don't afford. Seated behind the steering wheel, I probably wouldn't have driven down the alley behind Brenton Lee Salon. But by walking, sans earbuds, I heard applause rippling through the streets, as well as a low thumping base. The closer I got, the more I saw that it was a fashion show. Closer still, I saw the fashion show celebrated the salon's first year in business in South Pasadena. 

Plus, the parking enforcement folks at the police department are, well, attentive. Two tickets in two months and I decided public transit was the cheaper option. 

The Arroyo.

I knew it was expansive and I thought there was a path that went to the Rose Bowl. What I didn't know was where, exactly. My omniscient iPhone was not helpful. I walked down Mission Street to Stoney Drive, turned right and trekked through a tunnel, eventually ending up across from Frank Burke Field.

Under the San Ramon Drive bridge I saw what appeared to be a homeless encampment and thought, huh? Maybe I'm in the wrong place?

If so, it was a beautiful mistake.

I abandoned plans for finding the "right'' path and instead, snapped a little bit of everything everywhere. I hoofed back up the hill and walked through South Pas neighborhoods with no agenda. By this point, the golden light of the magic hour bathed the city in that warm glow that makes anything look a little more inviting.

Attached are the images that stopped me mid gait, and prompted me to shoot. Among them: Models posing for a photographer shooting in medium format on Mission, windmills carved from cans, and a verdant lawn featuring a swing that screams to be swung in. (But I resisted). 

Do you take pictures on long walks? Do you ever see images that just halt you in your tracks? Tell us! And feel free to add your South Pas photos to this gallery. 

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