Hey Collyer,
While shooting in Seattle try a roll or two of transparency film and when
you come to L.A. try out the processing at A&I Color Lab on Highland Avenue.
They have extremely consistent E-6 and C-41 processing at fair market prices
(E-6 36 exp. sleeved about $6.00 for paper mounts about $8.00, C-41 36Exp.
single 4X6 prints gloss/matte about $16.00), their tack sharp prints are
usually made on good Fuji paper and they are often less expensive than a lot
of one-hour minilabs that suck. Of course the C-41 is a one day turn around
but the E-6 is only three hours!
As for camera stores go see Samy's Camera on La Brea, rentals and darkroom
on the ground floor and cameras (all formats), glass, gear and other
material on the second floor. Samy's is really the only big NYC style
camera store around, there are lots of camera store holes in the ground like
PIX and JAX that I go to but they are all specialty shops. While at A&I
check out the pro photo rental shop in front of A&I called P.R.S. if you
want to rent it they have it clean calibrated and ready to go, rental shops
should all be like this!
The cool part of Melrose Blvd. is not too far from Samy's or A&I and on most
any night an amazing place to shoot trendy upscale street scenes, you can
find it all here if it doesn't find you first! Hip, beautiful people travel
in packs you'd be amazed at who you can run into here and the street itself
is a crazy place to shoot, buildings, restaurants and store fronts are
whimsical to outrageous. But bring your walking shoes as when Melrose is
hopping there is very limited parking and you will find it easier to park
once and walk all over. Check out Tommy Tang's on Tuesday night for a bit
of a freak show or Chianti on a week night for a very intimate classic
Italian meal. But really most of L.A. is a freak show in one way or
another. :) The famed Boulevards of Sunset and Hollywood are also rich
environments to shoot after the sun goes down, lots of lights and color but
there are mainly tourists in the theater section of Hollywood Blvd. Try the
outer east end of the Sunset Strip for street people, hookers and hooker
hotels with great neon lighting after dark. There are also incredible views
of L.A. from the Westside in the Hollywood hills along Mulholland Highway
and from the Hollywood sigh.
Other places to shoot, downtown L.A. at lunch time is good, also at rush
hour. Come to think of it so is dawn and at sunset when the secret third
shift occupants of downtown and of L.A. in general are out and about. The
Flower Mart area on Los Angeles street is amazing too but you must get up
early to see it. Lots of hustle and bustle at 3:00A.M. as they pack sell
and ship flowers for all of the surrounding L.A. area! Even more amazing it
the Los Angeles Produce terminal, starting at about at 2:00A.M., many trucks
and amazing people to shoot with amazing sometimes long stories to tell and
it all shows in their faces, bring high speed B&W and/or if you prefer color
film, say ISO 3200 and shoot with fast lenses (EF 50 1.4USM, EF 85 1.8USM
and EF 135 2L are good choices), and a monopod or learn to lean on stuff to
shoot. There is a lot activity there not to mention truck movement so be
careful while shooting and watch your back. There is also a lot of
beautiful produce and lots of personality in the market stalls even though
they are all pretty much new in terms of the building, it's only 10-15 years
old but the produce market has been here since almost the very beginning of
Los Angeles city. Just a few blocks away is the old produce market area
which is now mostly taken over by the Chinese produce market. This place is
like stepping into a foreign land and the produce is just as foreign looking
but the people are the same with amazing stories to tell.
The view from Griffith Observatory (which sits on top of a hill), on a clear
night is shocking and impressive, you'll need a tripod with wide-angle
glass, 24mm is good 20mm is better, even with a 14mm you will still need to
stitch the images together to take in the scope downtown L.A., while you are
there call ahead to find out about the schedule of the observatory's star
show, they are very interesting. Griffith Park also offers interesting
subjects to shoot, there is a live steamers club (live steamers are fully
operational scale models of steam engines that once ruled transportation on
land), with their amazing intricate precision machined parts, valve gear and
hardware. Then there is Travel Town, while Travel Town is in one of their
restoration cycles right now it can yield interesting images of some real,
big steam engines.
L.A. is a big place and from the observatory you can see only the oldest
part, the core of L.A., the Basin as we call it here. There is a whole
other planet over the hill in the San Fernando Valley but that is a freak
show of its' own. Imagine June and Ward Cleaver and their neighborhood, add
lots and lots of money, lots of cosmetic surgery (BIG boob jobs and lippo
mostly), with hair to match, make them Jewish, shallow people on XTC and
nose candy driving BMWs and Mercedes Benz cars and SUVs and you'll have the
valley. Scariest place I've ever been to, look out for the HumVees too!
Hey I should know my wife is Jewish.
Some other cool places to shoot are at the Santa Monica Museum of Flying
with their impressive collection of restored still flying WWII, Korean and
Viet-Nam era aircraft, mostly props but there is the occasional jet trainer,
Shooting Star and Phantom F4. Lots of static displays but if you are lucky
and go out on the ramp you may get to see the real stuff flying and landing.
Santa Monica beach and to the south Venice beach offer some great shooting
on week-ends too. Check out the pier at Santa Monica at sunset when the
lights are on. Also find out the schedule of farmer's market in Santa
Monica, if it's there when you are there can be good stuff to shoot. To the
north there is Malibu and Zuma beach where if there is any kind of surf it
will be here. For the surf pixs you'll need long glass to get good images,
600mm is a good start. Also cool is on Wednesday nights the CYC (California
Yacht Club), in Marina del Rey hosts a beer can race (you race around temp.
marker buoys that look like really big beer cans, hence the name), and most
any of the bigger boats racing will take you aboard if you can stay out of
the way. The BEST place to shoot a yacht race is from the deck of a yacht
in the race, bigger boats are faster the mayhem on the foredeck is balanced
by the graceful lines of big boats. The ride is free and fun and afterward
there is a big party with beer, grilled burgers and chicken severed on the
Cal Club patio for less than $10.00! Not great food but lots of fun!
A must see is the scene at the Rock Store far out on Mulholland Highway,
bikers (don't worry they're safe), biker women (they are less safe), biker
skin art (tattoos), and the incredible art of the custom motorcycle is on
display every Sunday morning here. Amazing stuff from custom American Hogs
to the latest $50,000.00 custom canyon play and race bikes from Italy and
Japan are here with plenty of leather, Kevlar and pride to boot. The
hardware is amazing and worth the drive if you like bikes and metal art on
wheels. Bring a macro capable lens, 100mm or 180mm is good, monopod or
tripod and slow (ISO or slower), saturated color films, moderate speed ISO
100 B&W for the people is also really good. For the scenic route take
highway 101 to Las Virgenes Road/Malibu Canyon Road left at the bottom of
the ramp (south), for a couple of miles turn right on Mulholland Highway and
go west until you get there. It's just before a big trailer park and an
uphill left-hand sweeper to a vista overlooking the area that is great for
shooting bikes as they blast up the hill.
If you are a nature kind of guy look into the Santa Monica Mountains, this
is one of if not the largest nature areas in a city anywhere in the U.S.A..
Griffith Park also offers some great views from the horse trails if you
ride. Lots of trails to hike or bike and birds to see.
Too bad your not going to be here at the end of Sept. as the NHRA Import
Drag Series final is at Pomona Raceway and you can get some extreme import
drag racing action there. The car show and the women alone are worth the
price of admission. If you change your schedule let me know I'll hook you
up with a gate credential. Oh, cars! Go to the Peterson Automobile Museum,
impressive stuff is in here but they don't allow tripods (stupid reason
trust me), and if you are into drag racing or land speed history the NHRA
museum at the Pomona Fairgrounds cannot be beat in the nation!!! Tripod a
MUST use moderate ISO speed films, these cars are restored to an within an
inch of over-restored and absolutely beautiful to look at!
Oh well just a few ideas for while you're here. If you want to have company
shooting any of this stuff email me, could be fun.
Regards,
Chip Louie
> -----Original Message-----
>
>
> I will be in Seattle during the last week of September and in Los Angeles
> during the first week of October.
>
> Please email me privately-
>
> Any suggestions for places to take photographs or interesting things,
> recommended camera stores, galleries, events to photograph.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Take Care,
>
> Collyer
>
*
****
*******
***********************************************************
* For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see:
* http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm
***********************************************************
