The Spirit of Burbank

Some would argue that the Spirit of Burbank is the worlds first Mach 2 Fighter Aircraft, while others would say its the smell of soapy cars making their way through a car wash on a bright sunny Day. Some would even shout that it’s the name of the Halloween store open year round on historic Magnolia Blvd. I would just say that Burbank’s spirit is just something fleeting, something in the lighting. It’s something that can only be captured on film. And also the plane. The plane is Literally called ” Spirit of Burbank”

I was getting a bit restless this weekend, and I wanted to try out a new film stock, So I packed my Canon AE-1 Program wit a couple rolls of Fujifilm 200 and set off on my bike searching to capture some of Burbank’s magic

Kelly Johnson’s faster than sound fighter was a deadly missile in both ordinance and design. They sometimes referred to it as the Missile with the Man Inside. Not all F104’s were equipped with men inside though, In 1964, Jackie Cochran set the women’s speed record at 1400 Miles per hour in one of these winged rockets.

Burbank’s thirst for aviation is powered by the Burbank Water and Power utility company, which you can get an amazing view of on the Magnolia bridge, I stopped here on my bike to get a shot of that beautifully pastel tower.

If you wish to visit Burbank, One of the possible ways to get here is by Train. The metro line stops very close to downtown. Although the preferable way would be the classic Automobile…

The wide streets and slow speeds limits of Burbank are perfect for vintage cars. You can see plenty of them cruising on the weekends. Or just parked out on the curb in one of the many free parking spaces that Burbank seems to have so much of.

Perhaps you are more of a downtown person. I like getting up high on the parking garages to see the tops of buildings. I like the way the light hits them and makes the strong diagonal shadows on the ground!

Or perhaps you would like to get even higher, and away from the city. For those who wish to raise their spirits, there is wild wood canyon trail. A steep hike that rewards hearty travelers with a view of one of Southern California’s finest Radio towers. This day was a bit hazy, so there were no good pictures of the valley, but Hopefully I’ll snag one soon.