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The situation at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is reaching a critical mass as work slowdowns and total stoppages have caused the busiest port in the United States to completely back up, and Mike Kelley's photographs are the perfect illustration of how just how bad it has gotten.
Kelley, who you might remember for that cool composite photo of planes taking off at LAX, took a chopper and snapped some amazing aerial photos of the dozens of massive cargo ships waiting offshore to unload. Closer to shore, the lines of trucks waiting to get in shows how the problem just piles up at each step. "Even rush hour at the 405 doesn't look so bad," writes Kelley. The dockworkers union has been negotiating with the Pacific Maritime Association over a new contract for nine months, and both sides are blaming each other for the congestion, according to the Daily Breeze. Either way, it is quite a sight to behold.
You can check out the rest of Mike Kelley's work at his personal website, and even order prints of this set here.
