German Photographer Pairs Historic and Contemporary Photos of San Pedro
Photographer Tim Maxeiner stands in front of a wall of historic and contemporary photos of San Pedro that are part of his exhibit Second Thoughts San Pedro, which opens this Saturday, Jan. 11 at Cornelius Projects. (Photo by Megan Barnes)
When German photojournalist Tim Maxeiner moved to Los Angeles almost three years ago and drove out to San Pedro one day, he was so intrigued by the sights and feel of the port town, he decided to make it his new home.
“You have the harbor industrial part, and you have this beautiful coastline where it clashes together. That basically makes Pedro,” says Maxeiner, 27. “I wonder a lot what it must be like to grow up here because I grew up completely differently. San Pedro is 125 years old; Augsburg [Maxeiner’s hometown] is over 2,000 years old. But it’s interesting to me that you can see the change of even only 50 years.”
His interest would lead him to the sixth floor of the San Pedro Municipal Building, where more than a century of photos, microfilm, books, newspaper articles and other pieces of San Pedro history are kept in the San Pedro Bay Historical Society’s archives.
One day, Maxeiner came across an old photo of a fallen tree on the sidewalk that was strikingly similar to one he had taken on Pacific Avenue just a few days earlier. He started recognizing places and buildings, and similarities between his own photos and the archived ones started jumping out at him. The pairings would eventually lead to Second Thoughts San Pedro, Maxeiner’s exhibit of both photos from the archives and his own lens that capture the essence of what drew him to and continues to fascinate him with San Pedro.
A pair of photographs in Second Thoughts San Pedro. (Top: San Pedro Bay Historical Society. Bottom: Tim Maxeiner)
The fallen tree photos are among the first in the show that opens this Saturday night at Cornelius Projects, an industrial building turned gallery space on Pacific Avenue whose exterior looks like the subject of one of Maxeiner’s photos itself. Owner Laurie Steelink opened the space last year and recently wrapped up an exhibit by punk guitarist Joe Baiza.
“I didn’t want to make the typical now and then thing. It’s been done before,” Maxeiner says. “These are different places. They just fit together. I hope everyone sees something different.”
Maxeiner, who published a book of photos of old cars and homes in San Pedro last year, was this month’s guest speaker at the San Pedro Bay Historical Society’s First Sunday series.
In addition to the photos, which capture everything from back alleys, to children playing, to aerial shots and Terminal Island’s Brotherhood Raceway, the exhibit will feature video footage, including some of tap dancer Fred Crawford.
“I think in Los Angeles in general, and in San Pedro I experience it more, you pass a building for so long and never really pay attention to it, or you do and wonder what’s behind it. Once you find out, it’s like, ‘Oh!’ You put it together in your head,” Maxeiner says. “But if my friend from Germany comes over here, he doesn’t see all of this. He just sees one house, one shoe box after the next. So I think the longer you stick around somewhere, the more fun it gets and the more you get an idea of what’s behind it all.”
Second Thoughts San Pedro opens this Saturday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. at Cornelius Projects on 1417 South Pacific Avenue. The show will run through March 1 and be open to the public on Saturdays between 1 and 6 p.m. or by appointment.
