I took a picture of him from half a block away. He held some papers out toward me. I went closer and asked if I could take his picture up close. He nodded. When I was done he spoke French to me, telling me he did not speak English. When I spoke in my halting but accurate French he smiled and seemed proud of me. We shook hands and I told him I would see him around. A passerby stopped and said that I had just taken the picture of a legend.

Main Street in Los Angeles where when you you see a man sitting on a trumpet you go talk to him. He was on his way to play and had his music sheets in his lap. Nice man. Said he was passing through, but I hope to meet him again.

The photographer who complains about the blight of parking lots is missing something. The open lots of downtown Los Angeles provide the breaks that make views possible. These spaces, with their attendant islands of isolated AM radio luxury, are surprisingly beautiful.