She mostly photographs Southern California, where I’ve always lived, but creates meticulous compositions out of boring and inconsequential architecture rather than from beautiful people and gorgeous vistas.
I don’t think her photos ever include people so there’s a sense of distance or disconnection from the rest of the world. And even disconnection from what people think of when they hear California.
The weather is ideal here and Mother Nature did great work here, yes, but anything man made was built in the last 75 years. It’s all built as a home for cars, not humans. There’s a cognitive dissonance that comes with living here.
I’ve seen a few photographers produce similar work, but she’s inimitable. Follow her @ casualtimetravel
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She’s been my favorite since her work caught my eye on Tumblr, circa 2016. She photographs buildings, primarily in Southern California, where I live. You can find her on Instagram as casualtimetravel.
Southern California is naturally beautiful, but most of what’s been built here is based around cars - wide streets, strip malls, big parking lots - and there isn’t much beauty to be found in it.
Lots of photographers take photos of banal American architecture, but typically they seem to try to show it as ugly and soulless. Which, fair enough. SV looks at that architecture and shows us something else.
Her compositions are clever and precise, bringing elements together in brightly lit, complex compositions. The light is key for me. She embraces midday sun and its clear colors and sharp shadows. It’s what it feels like to live here where the beaming sun is an almost-daily presence.
But what really shines in her work, what I fall for every time, is the sense of humor that comes through her photos. I can imagine her smiling as she composes them, happy to see how she can bring the elements together for the viewer. Yes, the dull architecture is there, but it’s been cropped and composed into something almost whimsical.
It’s always there, in the supermarket parking lot, the back of a strip mall, the stucco facade of an office building, it just takes an artist to show it to us.
Feb 12, 2025
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She’sa photographer named Sinziana Velicescu. I first saw her about nine years ago on tumblr and have followed her since. she captures the feeling of Southern California in a unique and true-to-life way. And her work has a sense of humor to it that gives it warmth and life even though her compositions are precise.
Also for photography, check out The Heidies and Brooke Holm.
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The occupation persists, the oppression persists, the torture persists.
The occupiers are psychotic and their work is never finished.
People who’ve paid attention won’t be surprised by this photo from Gaza.
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Give people like jilly a break!
I actually practice what I preach on this one 😇
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