This was the view from the parking lot of the apartment building in Santa Barbara, CA where Sam and I lived during our college years. 

I was walking to the darkroom (the apartment complex built a couple of darkrooms for the Brooks Institute students) and used up the last frame of Ilford Delta 400 film in my Rolleiflex 3.5e taking this photograph. 

I don’t mind having power lines in my landscapes. I used to shun them, and any part of the hand of man, but I decided one afternoon while going through some negatives to accept them into my work. I reasoned that if  they’re there, and I can’t change them then why fight them? I didn’t like being burdened by trying to negotiate my camera around them. Besides, they add strong visual lines that can enhance the photo. 

I’ve learned to accept a lot of things. Life demands it. I try to place stress on the things that I can change and ignore the unchangeable. 

I used to think about every part of my photography. It was a luxury whose value wasn’t realized until I had to work my tail off to earn a few bucks. It’s an old memory now, faded and thin.