Neighborhood Study

getting lost in the suburban maze of Coloma Terrace

a new maze of curiosity

slanted roads going against the grid

helping me discover my latest

frame of mindfulness

---

Last week, I decided to switch up my usual walk again for a few days and start 1 mile east of where we currently live in a neighborhood named Coloma Terrace.

This particular neighborhood I chose is not grid-like compared to downtown/midtown Sacramento. Because of that, it’s very easy to get turned around if you are not paying close enough attention to where you’re walking. Scratch that.. it’s easy to get turned around regardless. After I walked down pretty much every street and alleyway in this neighborhood for almost a week straight, I was still having trouble confidently finding my way back to the car on the last evening. But there was something calming and freeing with being periodically lost in this suburban maze. I decided to let its confusing design be an opportunity to change my route and direction each time.

During those zig-zagging walks, I took snapshots of what I found odd and/or simply satisfying to the eye, per usual. Nothing more, nothing less. Just some good ol’ photo walks.

Brand Way B Street Alley

Coloma Way, 51st Street, D Street

Coloma Way, F Street

Meister Way

Brand Way, La Purissima Way, 51st Street

D Street

A Street B Street Alley

It felt so good to just take these photos for the sake of taking photos. This particular exercise reminded me a lot of when I first moved to Sacramento during the winter of 2015. I would spend my off days and any other free time walking up and down countless downtown streets and alleyways in search of anything that would cause me to stop and take a photo. Since it was mostly an unfamiliar city to me at the time, everything was so interesting: the old architecture, the way the sunlight bounced off of the asphalt and windows, the cityscapes, the traffic noises, etc. I felt like the camera was the most ideal way for me to take it all in. It just felt right. And I even remember those usual thoughts I’d have after pushing down on the shutter:

“That’s going to be a good one.”

or

“Ah, not the right light/time of day.. I’ll come back another time.”

I would take endless mental and written notes on my exposures, time of day, new ideas, areas to dive into on my next walks, you name it. I soon realized that these photo-notes and photo-walks helped me stay grounded and focused on making the most out of any area I was in.

Fast forward to almost 8 years later and these notes and walks still prove to be an integral part of my creativity and well-being.

And I still get excited about unfamiliar neighborhoods.

Thank you, photography.

---