Shot with a Canon R8 (in monochrome) with an RF 15-30mm f4.5-6.3 IS STM. I had just gotten the zoom when these were taken. I love the perspective alteration that wide-angle lenses cause and I love black-and-white photography.
First up, "En Memoria" documents an unfortunate tradition in our county. Many times near the site where someone passed away, a family will build a memorial. This memorial is next to a canal that is largely unfenced. Sometimes kids fall in. Sometimes kids go swimming. The water looks calm, but under the surface it churns and can pull a person along. Every so often there is a weir that can trap a person under water and drown them. The memorials are usually maintained for quite some time after their initial appearance.
Second is an image of the "Let Sing Gong" (Chinese) Temple. The original temple was destroyed in a catastrophic earthquake in 1952 and relocated to this building. The architecture and interior of the temple were "harvested" by the Kern County Museum to create a facsimile given that relocating the actual building was not feasible, though they have relocated other buildings when feasible. We also have an abandoned synagogue (two congregations united) that was broken into by the homeless and in turn damaged beyond repair by fire. It bothers me when "sacred" buildings are no longer used as such.
Last is an image of one of the Mexicali (restaurant) signs that are an iconic part of Bakersfield's "America's Newest City" era (late 50s) landscape. Bakersfield is notorious for not preserving its past in its rush to bulldoze and build new things. It's even gone so far as to do building projects to create fake history so they will have something historic in town.
