LA Calling!

I find it astonishing that I can wake up in one city one day and wake up in another city 4,100km (2,600 miles) away the next day. I am one generation removed from the generation that invented gas-powered passenger flight. Yet I am able to go to the airport, hop a plane, and be in a new universe in just hours.

I did that recently, travelling by plane from Toronto to Los Angeles. I was there to attend a photography workshop, hosted by Angie McMonigal, a wonderful architectural photographer who specializes in abstract captures of architecture. Many of the photographers I’m drawn to now come from technical or science backgrounds and Angie does too. Her focus on details is exceptional, opening up a whole new way of seeing. But it’s her artistry that is stunning.

Angie is way ahead of me and has already published a look at our session, which you can access above, along with her images from the event.

I wanted specifically to go to Los Angeles with Angie rather than another city because of the differences between it and Toronto, and because the one building that I had always wanted to see, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, was literally two blocks from where I would be staying. That was the initial motivation. But I got so much more.

So much more included the people I met, both in the group and on the journey. We had a fantastic group of hobbyist photographers, from all walks of life, from the US and Canada, even from Ireland. Some were retired like me, some still working, and many again, with technical and scientific backgrounds that made photography the perfect diversion. Apart from that, everyone I met along the way was friendly, happy to have a conversation and eager to tell me about the things they enjoyed. It was wonderful.

Los Angeles is a sprawling, vibrant, busy, noisy city, going through some really tough times right now because of the lingering drought and recent wildfires. Most of the street trees except for palms and some surprising conifers were quite dead looking. It wasn’t supposed to be hot at this time of year, but it was hotter than expected. And it was amazing how quickly something wet like washed hands would dry off almost on their own. Selfishly, it made a nice change from the cold and cloud of Toronto.

Los Angeles County is comprised of over 100+ communities. We were based on downtown LA, which made getting around pretty easy. The highways are everywhere, are massive and are always busy, except for Sunday mornings it seems, based on what I saw. The workshop took us to several different neighbourhoods in Los Angeles. I also had an extra day on my own and visited a couple more landmarks.

I won’t be showing my final images just yet – those are still being processed. But I did want to provide a recap with some cellphone pics, while still so fresh in my mind. These are not abstract art – rather they show the environment I found around me. Click on the images for a larger view.

By the way, you need to be careful as you wander Los Angeles. You never who or what you might run into…

The first day I was on my own, and selected locations that would give me an elevated perspective above the city. Surprisingly, City Hall has an observation deck 27 stories up. And the Griffith Observatory would get me higher still. Both did not disappoint. It is good to get that “20,000 foot” view when you start, as it really speaks to you about life in that location and what you might see in the days to come. Really prominent to me was the haze that LA is known for – from pollution, and the aftermath of the fires. The city is also very sprawled out, a testament to its origins as many separate communities.

The next day, I met the group for the first time, and we got right to work, heading back into downtown. Downtown has very few old buildings, which surprised me, but we stopped at one to get us started – the Bradbury building. After that, it was all about modern lines, angles, curves, bends. We visited LAPD Headquarters, CalTrans main office and other locations nearby. We then headed to the Cathedral of our Lady of Angels (the largest cathedral in the US apparently), the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual Arts. We then hopped a shareride to the west, visiting the Museum of Modern Art, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, a wonderful light installation and the Petersen Automotive Museum for blue hour.

The next day was what I had waited for. We spent hours at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. I could have stayed there all day, and in fact, did come back on the last evening to catch some night shots. Philanthropy is big in Los Angeles and right beside the Disney is The Broad, a museum built to house the personal collection of Eli and Edyth Broad. After a morning at those two locations, we hopped another shareride and headed out to Culver City, to photograph the buildings of one architect with a definitely unique style, Eric Owen Moss, who has transformed that area. I have to say his work is an acquired taste.

That was a long day, and I have to say the old bod’ was starting to have a hard time keeping up. But some rest and we were back out again, this time to another philanthropic installation – the Getty Center, a $1.3B tribute to the oilman, nestled into the hills of Brentwood. I have never seen so much granite and travertine in my life, all of it apparently imported from Italy. Surprised they have any left. Back into the city afterward to see if we could capture some interesting abstract angles from a few wonderful sculptures and a hotel lobby. Interestingly, in all cases, we were asked to leave by the property owners – something that is always a risk when photographing on private property.

We ended the group session with a fabulous dinner together at the hotel and said goodbye until we meet again for image reviews in a couple weeks. Actually I loved all the food in Los Angeles and truly felt pampered by the staff at the hotel – I can definitely recommend the Omni Hotel at California Plaza if you are looking for a place to stay in downtown LA.

The trip home was easy and uneventful, which was great given all the news about airline incidents in the past few weeks. The one and only hiccup I had on this trip was getting sick with a bug on return, and I’ve spent the last few days recovering. But that’s given me lots of time to reflect on the absolutely fabulous experience this has been. I’m not the kind of person that takes a vacation to lie on a beach. Although it gets just a bit physically harder each year, I can definitely recommend wandering around a city with a group of like-minded friends. There is nothing better to lift the mid-winter blues.