Downtown Sacramento sure has changed culturally in the 30 years I've lived here. The arts scene with Second Saturdays, Concerts in the Park, museums and galleries.
So when I heard about a photography exhibit that ties it all together at Beatnik Studios, I had to check it out.
One of the four artists with work on display is Kent Lacin. As a young man, he used to walk around Sacramento snapping candid photos on a not so fancy camera with a so-so lens.
But what he got was magic. Not many people had cameras back then.
"I just pulled out the old box of negatives," Lacin explained. "I said, 'these look great, interesting.' They're like 60 years old.... It’s like buried treasure"
The photo exhibit is called "Still in the Streets: Four Generations of Street Photography." It's a remarkable look at Sacramento dating all the way back to the 1930's. Not only do we see the buildings and benches of yesterday, but the emotion of the people.
People were different back then without the distractions of social media. You can see it in their faces—almost innocent.
Many of places and faces in these images are gone now. It's the Sacramento of yesteryear. Your grandparents in their prime. Good times in a town soon to get big.
"A lot of the photography is like wine," Lacin said. "You bottle it, put it away for a while, [and] it's better. You're getting a look back at the experiences you've had."
The "Still in the Streets: Four Generations of Street Photography in Sacramento" exhibit runs thru Thursday at Beatnik studios at 7th and S street.