Napa Through New Eyes
Vinyl Banner featuring 84 photos of Napa in the 1990’s, 6’ x 234’
Historic Napa Post Office (permanently closed due to earthquake damage), 1351 Second Street, Napa
City of Napa Public Art Program Temporary Fence Artwork, installed 2024
Napa is my home and I have photographed its many phases of development after my family immigrated from Mexico in 1990. We lived on Riverside Drive, just south of downtown and even then, I noticed that Napa was changing. As a young photographer, I was still learning my craft and took many images like these of the buildings and streets that surrounded my home. I love to share these images with my neighbors, locals, and visitors and offer a glimpse of a not so long ago past of this special place in the world.
Below is a map and descriptions of where I took each of the photographs. Walk to the locations and take your own picture of our ever-changing hometown!
Photo Location Map
1.
First Street River Peninsula
infrared photograph, 1996
As I was leaving class at Napa Valley College, I spotted these vapor trails and raced downtown to capture the reflection on the Napa River from a dirt peninsula that is now Oxbow Commons. The Third Street Bridge and Hatt Building (now the home of Napa River Inn) are in the background.
2.
Riverside Drive at Oak Street
black and white photograph, circa 1993
One morning, the driver of a restored C1 Corvette was out on a joyride and crashed into my neighbor’s parked Buick. This is my neighbor on the right (a vineyard worker) removing his work tools from the trunk.
3. Fifth Street at Napa Mill
black and white photograph, 1993
The Hatt, Napa Mill building. If you look carefully on the right side of the brick wall, you can spot the outline of the area now serving as the entryway to Celadon sestaurant and the back patio of the Napa River Inn.
4. Riverside Drive near Brown Street
black and white photograph, circa 1993
A couple on a stroll decked out in “grunge'‘ era style of clothing.
5. Noyes Lumber Company
black and white photograph, circa 1993
This image was taken from across the river off of Main Street, I captured this reflection of the Noyes Lumber Company main building, which burned in the late 90’s.
6. Veteran’s Park
black and white photograph, 1994
After school I used to stop at the park to hang out with friends and play hacky sack before heading home. On this spring afternoon, they noticed I was taking pictures and decided to get silly!
7. Alley Bridge
black and white photograph, 1994
One evening, while looking for a spot downtown to take photos, I ran in to the acquaintance in this image. He saw my camera and asked me to be ready to take a photo. Then he walked into the alley and started “urban climbing” while still carrying his baby on his back! This alley is now the entrance to the Archer Hotel Napa on First Street.
8. Riverside Drive
black and white photograph, circa 1993
I took this photo from our apartment balcony, where I spent multiple summers reading books, doing homework, and listening to music on my boombox. The pick up truck is parked next to what was a very popular fishing spot.
9. Mysterious Structure - Image #1
black and white photograph, circa 1995
This structure stood next to the Napa River in the empty lot across from the Napa Mill on Fifth street. I never knew what it was for but, it was the coolest medieval looking thing I had ever seen!
The south corner of the Napa Riverfront building occupies the spot where this “gothic box” once stood.
10. West Street and The Opera House Bridge
black and white photograph, circa 1994
I took this photo from the bridge between the parking lot on West Street and the patio behind the Opera House (now Blue Note/ Jam Cellars). Across the way is the Main Street bridge where I captured image #32.
11. Jim Big Bear King Speaks
black and white photograph, 1993
The second annual Suscol Intertribal Council Powwow took place on April 24, 1993 at the Napa Valley College football field. This was the first powwow I attended. Jim Big Bear King and Ronald W. Lincoln Sr. along with other native people, awoken my interest and support of Indigenous peoples’ rights.
Jim Big Bear King was a well respected Maidu-Pomo Elder. He worked at Mare Island Naval Shipyard as an engineer in the fields of nuclear power and aerospace. Later he became an activist in the American Indian Movement, fighting for Indian rights and freedoms. Big Bear passed away at his home in Napa on Nov. 13, 2007.
“In the summer of 1975, Big Bear set out on a journey to the State Capitol, walking from Napa with an Indian protest symbol: a cross to symbolize his people’s burden. He walked 58 miles carrying his cross with a copy of “Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties” bound to it. Big Bear reached the Capitol, where he met then Governor Jerry Brown Jr. on July 5.”
- Richard Bammer
12. Coomsbville Chimney
black and white photograph, circa 1995
I took this photograph off Coombsville Road at First Avenue. At the time, this property was privately owned and I asked the owner, whose newer house stood at the foot of the hill, for permission to access the property to take a few photos. This property now seems to be part of Rocca Vineyards.
13. Cloud Wall on Fifth
black and white photograph, circa 1994
Often on my way home from school, I would spend a little time walking around the Napa Mill property. The rainy season had begun and earlier in the day it had stopped raining long enough for the skies to clear. I turned to look west on 5th street and saw this amazing cloud wall, meaning more rain was on the way. I remember staring at this cloud wall for a long time.
14. Sit Down Golden Son
black and white photograph, circa 1998
This room is on the second floor of the Native Sons of the Golden West building in downtown Napa at 937 Coombs Street.
15. Cloud Watch
black and white photograph, circa 1999
I captured this photograph from the old Third Street bridge during a time in my life when I seemed to always be looking for clouds and reflections.
16. Calling Elvis
black and white photograph, circa 1993
After a long day at Vintage High School, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to capture this image. It made my day.
17. Lampost
black and white photograph, circa 1993
This image was the first “happy accidents” I captured, and one of the very first photographs I took that I really liked. This was the last lamppost on the southeast side of the old Third Street bridge. It was close to the river bank and in the springtime, the tree branches would leaf out and hide it from view.
18. Powwow #1
black and white photograph, 1993
The second annual Suscol Intertribal Council Powwow took place on April 24, 1993 at the Napa Valley College football field. This was the first powwow I attended.
Suscol Intertribal Council Elder Norma Knight (seen in the back left) of the Round Valley Indian Tribes (Maidu/ Pomo), stands proudly with two of her grandsons. There are grass dancers behind with Aztec & Pomo dancers in a Intertribal round at the Powwow.
Norma Knight and Jim Big Bear King (see image #11) established the Suscol Intertribal Council in 1972 to address native archaeological concerns in the Napa Valley.
19. Noyes Lumber Company
black and white photograph, circa 1993
Image #5 is the reflection of this building. I captured this image from across the river off of Main Street, about two blocks from where I lived during my early teenage years.
20. Fishing & Reflecting
black and white photograph, circa 1995
This dock had just been built and one day before heading home from school, I went to check it out. I don’t remember talking to this person, probably because I was still too shy to ask because of my limited English at that time. I had yet to be introduced to the concept of street photography.
21. TV Antenna
black and white photograph, circa 1995
One of my first long-exposure photographs, I made this image looking at the back of this stone building located on Main Street. This building now houses Cole’s Chop House and Torc, two of Napa’s staple restaurants.
22. First Street at Coombs Street
black and white photograph, circa 1995
I took this image early in the morning before school while walking to the old bus station on Pearl Street. I stood in the middle of the street for a long time, and I remember thinking how strange it was to be the only one on the street that morning. Once I walked away, there were still no other people or cars coming from any direction.
23. Cueva Numero 8
I made this image by printing photo #32 twice, one of each side of the negative on the same paper, and created the composite image I called “Cueva Numero 8”.
Benjamin Falk of Benjamin Falk Gallery on Main Street gave me a spot in my first group art exhibit where I sold this piece, my very first photo sold. Eight is my lucky number ever since I was 8 years old and played baseball wearing a uniform with, yes, the number 8.
24. By the river(side)
black and white photograph, circa 1993
One of the nicer boats I had seen on the Napa River, which caught my attention. I captured this image during the summer of 1993 or 1994.
25. Noyes to Hatt
black and white photograph, circa 1994
This is one of my favorite images I’ve ever taken - and it was the last frame on that roll of film that almost didn’t make it! I printed this image numerous times in the darkroom of my photo class at Vintage High School. I cropped out the overexposed area at the top of the frame caused by a light leak common at the end of a film canister.
This site is on Soscol Avenue near Third Street is now the site of Riverfront Green, a sliver of a park along Soscol Avenue, just south of Third Street. It is now the home of “Moonrise”, a metal sculpture by Sacramento Delta sculptor Roger Berry. Once the site for Noyes Lumber Company, the image was taken just a few feet from where the “Moonrise” sculpture now stands.
26. River Dock
black and white photograph, circa 1993
I know this as the first dock built on the Napa River after a long time, and before the 1995 flood. The current dock is located in almost in the same location as the one in this picture, now in front of the Napa Riverfront.
27. Bridge to Bridge
black and white photograph, circa 1993
I took this image from the Main Street bridge, between First Street and Pearl Street, facing East. Directly below is where image #23, “Cueva Numero 8”, was taken.
28. Picnic On The River
black and white photograph, circa 1994
This is one of the many photos I took the summer of 1994, during a time when I read my first required high school reading books in English. I captured this image from the balcony of the apartment where I lived on Riverside Street, the spot where I did most of my reading.
29. Broken Clock
black and white photograph, circa 1995
Napans loved & hated this clock tower. It hardly ever worked. It was iconic, a landmark where you met your friends, your date, your dealer (I’m told). It was also the site of some of the first art installations I was ever involved with.
In 1995 during my senior year, a classmate climbed the tower and changed the time on all four sides to read “4:20” as part of the senior prank for the graduating class.
The clock tower once stood in Dwight Murray Plaza on First Street where the base for the clock tower still exists.
30. Franklin Crossing
black and white photograph, circa 1993
I took this photo while enjoying a cup of coffee outside of Paupaiz Coffee at Second Street and Franklin, where Grace’s Table restaurant is now located.
31. Clouds & Stones
black and white photograph, circa 1995
One of the corners of the stone building on Main Street at Pearl, which now houses Cole’s Chop House, Torc and other businesses.
I spent a lot of time near this building hanging out at “The Soda Hole”, a café located in the back of the building adjacent to the Napa Opera House (now Jam Cellars/ Blue Note).
32. Under The Main Bridge
black and white photograph, circa 1995
This is one of my very first pictures I ever took, on one of my first 5 rolls of film. It is the image that makes up the the composite image for “Cueva Numero 8” (#23). After showing it to someone familiar with this spot, they shared an intimate memory of them and their partner enjoying some good times under this bridge on Main Street. They’ve owned a copy ever since.
33. Long Stormy Night
black and white photograph, 1994
This is a long exposure image I captured after a stormy late afternoon in the winter of 1994. For added dramatic effect, I stacked the branches that had fallen from the tree just behind the cyclone fence. The building in the background is the Hatt Building, currently the home of The Napa River Inn.
34. Freedom To Dream
black and white photograph, circa 1995
The first book I read in English was Richard Bach’s, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. It (and many subsequent photographs) were inspired by this book. I captured this photo near the basketball courts at Vintage High School during lunch time. That’s when the seagulls had lunch too.
35. Status Quo On the Second Floor
black and white photograph, circa 1995
While scouting for cool places to take pictures to complete the photo assignments given in photo class, I entered the Native Sons of the Golden West building located at 937 Coombs Street. This room is on the north side of the second floor, adjacent to the main ballroom hall seen in image #14.
36. Cancer Cells
black and white photograph, circa 1998
I was diagnosed with leukemia in 1997 when I was 20. While in between chemotherapy treatments, I did what I couldn't do in the hospital, make pictures. It helped as a form of meditation. I didn’t always have the physical and mental strength to get out of the house in those days. When I did go out, I would only capture a few frames before I was overwhelmed with emotion or be completely exhausted physically after walking a few feet.
This place was located off of walking trail on the south side of Napa Valley College campus. It is now a baseball field.
37. Church The Farm #1
black and white photograph, circa 1998
This awesome building was located off Henry Road in the Carneros, southwest of Napa. I often went there, and still go to locations like these alone, and use photography as form of meditation.
38. France, Merci?
black and white photograph, circa 1995
Hidden between the trees surrounding the old Napa Courthouse (on Brown Street between Second and Third Streets), this scaled-down Eiffel Tower replica can easily be missed. I’ve always liked it a lot, I find it kind of odd and misplaced.
39. Full Steam Alone
black and white photograph, circa 1995
I only saw this boat in the Napa River a handful of times, and don’t recall ever seeing people on it. At the time of this photograph, I was reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
40. Transition Cometh
black and white photograph, circa 1999
I remember capturing this photograph because I already missed the “Old Napa”. I felt that a transition had begun, marked by the new lampposts on the also newly built (and current) Third Street bridge.
41. The Fountain Worked?!!!
black and white photograph, circa 1995
Just like the clock tower in the background, the water feature of the fountain in Dwight Murray Plaza hardly ever worked. It was soon decommissioned after another prankster added dish soap to the fountain, creating a big mess. Another “love to hate” architectural feature of this plaza.
42. High Noon on Third
black and white photograph, circa 1995
I have and will always photograph this specific section of the Third Street bridge, and whatever lamp post stands there. According to the internets, a lamp post symbolizes hope, courage, steadfastness and resistance. From a spiritual point of view, a lamp post in your dream is the symbol of the right path, right way, and right course in your endeavors. Trains and train tracks have always been my jam, and I thought of them in a very similar manner as well.
43. Summer Twilight
black and white photograph, circa 1995
I was looking northwest on Main Street towards Veteran’s Park as I headed to the Soda Hole Café when I captured this image. I remember feeling happy, looking forward to seeing who I was going to hang out with and meet that evening at the Soda Hole. We would drink tons of coffee past 8pm, and if I was lucky, I would be invited to stay after hours to play liar’s dice, and usually be poured a Samuel Adams in the same paper cup I had been drinking coffee from!
44. Foreshadowed Ending
black and white photograph, circa 1997
On the set for one of the scenes for my short film “The Closure”. My friends and film crew were not aware that I I recently found out that my cancer had relapsed. I’d be admitted to the hospital for a third round of chemotherapy soon after filming this scene was completed.
The Hatt building is adjacent to this spot, which located at the east end of Firth street.
45. Upto the Sky
black and white photograph, circa 1996
Observing the sky and the clouds has always been one of my favorite things to do. On this day, watching the sunset on my way home from school was no exception. Many of my photographs have been taken from this spot near Main Street & Third Street looking west.
I had also noticed that for several weeks a couple of the letters on the neon sign for the Uptown Movie Theater had been out. It inspired me to look up and really notice the sky, which also inspired the name for this image after I printed it.
46. Valley of the Fullmoon
black and white photograph, circa 1994
Credence Clear Water Revival’s, Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits of 1976 was the soundtrack for several summers when I lived on Riverside Drive. “Bad Moon Rising” is still one of my favorite songs. I took many blurry pictures after purchasing my first zoom lens. This was unintentional, I was just super excited to be able to “zoom in!”, and was very much still learning the skills that pay the bills.
I captured this image from the balcony of the 515 Riverside Drive apartment building, looking east.
47. Take It Easy Rider
black and white photograph, circa 1996
I always had a love and healthy fear of motorcycles growing up. After a scary accident on my Honda Aero 50 (a moped), I had to walk home the 2.8 miles from my job at a health food store in North Napa. While listening to Depeche Mode on my Walkman on my way home on Soscol Street, I heard the distinct roar of Harley motorcycles, which gave me enough time to focus my lens and capture this image. I miss riding motorcycles.
48. Bark & Building
black and white photograph, circa 1996
Very much a lesson in “learning from your mistakes” images like this one eventually taught me about light & composition. The tree to the right is no longer there. I believe it was cut down because it posed a threat of falling. On August 24th, 2014, a 6.1 earthquake hit Napa causing damages to many buildings, including the building in the background.
This is located on the south corner of Second and Brown Streets, now home to Carpe Diem.
49. Bridge The Track
black and white photograph, circa 1994
In my early photography I had a healthy obsession with old stuff - bridges, trains, and train tracks. This image ticks every box in my continued, but less practiced, obsession. What still prevails in my current photography is the exploration of light and composition.
This is a train bridge over Napa River, at the Oxbow section near Soscol Avenue. Since the late 2000’s, a new bridge has taken its place.
50. Brick & Stones Way
black and white photograph, circa 1994
This alleyway connects a parking lot on Second Street and a sidewalk on First Street. The building to the left is the Native Sons of Napa building, and to the right is the Goodman Library. The Goodman Library is the longest-operating library in California.
51. America Inline
black and white photograph, circa 1994
Teenagers following the inline skating trend of the late 1900’s probably heading down to the skate park to shred on some rails.
I took this photo at the intersection of Seminary Street and First near the Napa City Fire Station.
52. Loco-Coco-Motive
black and white photograph, circa 1994
On this day my “motive-ation” to find places and things to photograph took me to a train yard on the west side of highway 29 in American Canyon.
There’s something melancholic about the after-life of this train engine. When working, it is powerful to hear and almost intimidating, yet we don’t see it. But to see it lifeless on the ground is a powerful and deafening sight.
53. Rough Of A Diamond
black and white photograph, circa 1994
This gem of a mansion, “Churchill Manor”, sits only a block away from my old Riverside Drive family home, a part of the Central Napa area that I remember being consider a “rough” neighborhood. It is now a bed and breakfast and a plabe where people get married. But during my 26 year stint as a wedding photographer in Napa, I never photographed a wedding there. I always felt as if I did not belong there. I was more comfortable out in the rough of “Little México”, as that neighborhood was also known.
The Churchill Manor is located on the corner of Brown and Oak Streets.
54. My Way On A One Way
black and white photograph, circa 1996
There’s too much going on in this image, some of which is not visible at first glance. I remember feeling like I wasted a frame on my roll of film when I took this picture. Now it makes me feel uncomfortable, but I’m not sure why.
55. Fare Dodger Catches Light
black and white photograph, 1996
I captured this image and a few others using a large format camera I borrowed from my Napa Valley College photo class in 1996. My respects to Ansel Adams, this was the first and last time I used such a camera.
56. Super 8 For Life
black and white photograph, circa 1997
A friend took this image of me on the set of my short film “The Closure”. I am holding my Super 8 camera filming the last scene in the film. Six months later I would relapse again, and would began my fourth chemotherapy treatment in preparation for the first of two autologous bone marrow transplants.
This spot is located at the end of Stanley Lane, underneath the Napa River Bridge.
57. River Dock Version 2
black and white photograph, circa 1998
This dock had been rebuilt a second time after it washed way after the 1997 flood. The current dock is located almost in the same location as the one in this picture, but sky and clouds are now replaced the Riverfront building.
58. All Aboard
black and white photograph, circa 1994
As described in image #39, I only saw this boat in the Napa River a handful of times and don’t recall ever seeing people on it.
Recently I met a man named Chuck who knows the original owners, John and Judy A.. He told me the harrowing story of how John and Judy brought the boat from San Francisco to Napa on a very foggy and windy day, and how the engine kept experiencing problems. He said that later John and Judy hosted dinner cruises and private parties on this boat.
59. Ice Speed Skating
black and white photograph, circa 1995
While hanging out once again at Paupaiz Café, I saw this gentlemen in the photo. He had an almost horizontal lean forward as he walk across the street. It caught my eye, because it reminded me of the speed skaters I had seen on TV during the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.
The post office is behind on the right side of the image.
60. Train Conducting Engine #71
black and white photograph, circa 1994
I enjoyed capturing everyday life with a sense of admiration and dreamed of having a job as a train conductor. I spent a lot of time imagining my future from the balcony of our Riverside Drive apartment.
61. Boat to Boredom
black and white photograph, circa 1994
I remember seeing boats pass by on the river across from our apartment and thinking how strange it was to see some of the passengers appear to be really bored. It didn’t matter how fast they sped by. I wonder if this still happens today.
62. My 18 Inches
black and white photograph, circa 1994
Capturing moments like this has given me understanding and respect for personal space and comfort levels. When I can create an environment where people feel comfortable and respected in terms of their spatial boundaries, I contribute to a positive and enjoyable social experience for everyone involved.
In this image, my friend Jordan is sitting on a ledge in front of the landmark post office building. Yup, the same post office building where the banner is now!
63. Warning Shot
black and white photograph, circa 1994
On this day my motivation to keep finding places and things to photograph took me to a back road in American Canyon. This truck sat in the middle of a big empty field and the only structure around was the water tank seen behind on top of a hill. The bullet hole on the truck brings up some painful memories for me, which I relate to my family immigrating to the U.S. My close family and some friends know the stories, I may share them openly one day.
64. On The Right Track
black and white photograph, circa 1993
I took this image in my first year of learning about photography. I snuck (trespassed) into the Wine Train yard across the river from my apartment on Riverside Drive for the first time and I felt like I had struck a goldmine of beautifully designed rusty steel, aged fuel, and grease smells. The overcast skies provided a soft light that illuminated the inside of the car perfectly. I am glad I did not get caught doing this or any other time I went back to this site.
65. Passion For 90’s Fashion
infrared photograph, circa 1994
This image is a kind of gem I took of a father and son walking across the Third Street bridge. I was experimenting with infrared film and was still learning how to get consistent results.
66. France Wannabe
black and white photograph, circa 1994
At the beginning of my photo career I was all about landscapes, city scapes, and old stuff. This little park still exists downtown but, it has been closed up for a long time. I imagined that scenes like this were what I would see in an old European town. That is the Pearl Street bridge in the background. I hope this and other stones bridges like this are never replaced.
67. Cradle the Tracks
black and white photograph, circa 1994
I have quite a few photos like this and now understand it is about one of two things: One is the fact that as a new photographer, I couldn’t help but take photos like this one; and the other is old bridge’s symbolism about striving to always being on the right path in life. One can only try. Ha!
A new bridge was built here as part of the Napa flood project. It spans between First and Third Streets, parallel to Soscol Avenue on the East side. See another view of this bridge in Image #71.
68. Change Is Here
black and white photograph, circa 2002
When the new Third Street bridge was built in 2002, it had a big impact on me. It symbolized that Napa was becoming a city and no longer the small town I had lived in for the past 12 years.
That same year I traveled back to México for the first since immigrating to the U.S. That trip also had a big impact on how I viewed the idea of my “home town” as well as my community.
69. Mysterious Structure #2
black and white photograph, circa 1994
This structure stood next to the Napa River in the empty lot across from the Napa Mill on Fifth street. I never knew what it was for but, it was the coolest medieval, gothic looking thing I had ever seen!
The south corner of the Napa Riverfront building occupies the spot where this “gothic box” stood (image #9).
70. Fishing For Ghandi
black and white photograph, circa 1994
This was the first time I had seen a hardcore fisherman at night right across the street from the Riverside Drive apartment where I lived. The bright light on the left came from the Napa Valley Wine Train yard across the river, which illuminated the area when a train arrived after a day of trips up and down the valley. I loved hearing the bell as the train came to a stop and the diesel engine would power down.
71. Napa Landmark
black and white photograph, circa 1994
Another view of the Historic Napa Mill, one of the coolest looking buildings/places in Napa, in my opinion.
72. Ooh Rusty
black and white photograph, circa 1994
Old bridges are gems to me, especially when are as rusty as this one was.
A new bridge was built in this spot as part of the Napa flood project. It spans between First and Third Streets, parallel to Soscol Avenue on the East side. See another view of this bridge in Image #67.
73. The American Dream
black and white photograph, circa 1994
This imagined scene was partly inspired by “The Great Gatsby”, one of the first books I ever read in English. It took me some time to understand the story, but somehow I’ve always known that the “American Dream” lives within ourselves. It’s a dream that can become true regardless of the physical place a person lives.
I met Tina through mutual friends. At the time she was an inspiring actress whom I would describe as a sweet and humble human being. I was fortunate to work her. She brought to life characters that were beyond my expectations in every photograph I took of her. I wish I’d had more experience with my photography at the time, who knows what we could have done!
74. Hard To Break
black and white photograph, circa 1994
One more of the old Third Street bridge at night.
75. Henry’s Bar
black and white photograph, circa 1994
Henry Hamamoto was one the coolest people that I’ve had the fortune to meet in my life. The few stories I’ve heard about him from other people who knew him described him as someone who more than “kept it real”, he kept it right and he took no B.S. from anyone. When I only 18 years old, he allowed me to hang out at his bar “Henry’s” with my co-workers from Geezer’s Bar & Grill (now Zuzu’s). But I could stay only if I didn’t drink anything and sat by the tables close to the entrance door. I wish he was still alive when I turned 21. That first official shared drink would have been a baptism of sorts.
76. It’s A Boat, It’s A Train, It’s A Phantom!!!
So much going on in this photo! Me looking at the people on the boat, who are looking at the guy on the bike taking a nap, the guy on the bike between a Camaro, and a Chrysler Phantom. I love this photo.
One more captured from the balcony on Riverside Drive.
77. Church The Farm #2
This awesome building was located off of Henry Road, on the Carneros region, south west of Napa. I often went, and still go to locations like these alone, and use photography as form of meditation. Oh yeah, did I mention I like rusty stuff?!
78. Ghost Train
On one of the days that I explored the wine train yard, I was presented with this captivating sight - a beautiful, rusty canvas that wanted to be photographed. The lengthy corridors reminded me of cathedrals, inspiring a meditative and almost spiritual ambiance. As I walked around and took photos of these cars, I imagined and pondered the lives of those who once embarked on journeys aboard these trains, reflecting on the journeys their spirits may have experienced.
79. Silhouetted Skeletons
This photograph was taken off of Coombsville road at First Ave during a late afternoon. The specific type of film used, and its limited light sensitivity because of its low ISO, combined with my novice photography skills, contributed to creating an intriguing, almost ethereal effect in the image—reminiscent of a blurry double exposure. The resulting image was a good surprise, prompting me to explore and experiment further to intentionally recreate similar captivating visuals in my work.
80. The Lizard King
The synchronized walk of the punk rockers stood out to me on the street. It looked cool, like a movie scene. As they moved towards Veterans Park, a place I frequented after school, I had enough time to ready my camera and capture the moment. The click of the shutter indicated a slow shutter speed, unsure if I had captured it. It was a pleasant surprise, demonstrating the possibilities of what I could do with photography.
We got to know each other and became friends with some of them. In this photo, I learned that it was a significant time for these people. "Lizard," on the far right, passed away from an overdose. Even though I didn't know him well, I remember his friendly smile and silly British kind of humor. He was the first person I knew who died in this manner.
81. Twilight Factory
At a time when not many people, not even locals, ventured to downtown Napa, the south side of downtown stood as the loneliest and somewhat scariest part of the area. The area along the Napa River, once abandoned and eerie, has undergone a remarkable transformation into the vibrant Napa River Inn, shedding its spooky feel to become a welcoming part of the city.
82. Rocking Johnny
I captured this photo of Napa’s very own Johnny Smith honing his musical skills in the heart of the downtown. It's truly remarkable how the Veterans Park on Main Street was a vibrant center of creativity and a source of rich life experiences for a lot of us that hang out there in the early to mid 90’s.
83. The Beer Garden
The owners of the Soda Hole Café initiated this event that only lasted for a brief period spanning two summers. The vacant space adjacent of the Soda Hole Café behind Napa's opera house, now known as Jam Cellars & Blue Note, was transformed into a stage where bands would play, and bratwursts and beer were served. This was Napa's "Bottle Rock" for Soda Hole regulars coming of age.
84. Rusty Trainspotter
The photographs I captured in this nostalgic train yard serve as a poignant connection to a bygone era, highlighting a way of life that has gradually vanished from our modern world. I find myself drawn to these images not solely for their vintage aesthetic, but more so for the stories and memories they carry. There's a sense of solace and nostalgia that washes over me when I look at these old trains, reminds me to value the things that truly endure.