Photo Assignment: Capturing Los Angeles
From Watts Towers to Sunset Beach, documenting LA’s hidden gems
When I paw through my digital and analog photo archives, it’s not hard to see that I’m always taking pictures on the road. There are plenty of reasons to do that. First, it’s a new place for me, and I might never return, so I strive to capture some pics when possible. Secondly, a new place always presents new opportunities for photography.
For the past twenty-plus years, I’ve been in the Los Angeles area each March. Ostensibly, I’m there to work with clients at the Natural Products Expo West tradeshow. I’ve either worked for a company that had clients exhibiting there or my own company had clients at the show, which meant I was onsite to make sure they were well taken care of.
But as long as I can remember, I’ve scheduled a day or two of downtime away from the show to scout the area. Over the years, I’ve explored cities and rural areas near Washington, DC, Boston, Philly, and other cities. The time I stayed in DC was only a few years after 9/11, and I took a day to drive from DC to NYC and into the city, which in a way was probably nuts, but it was a Sunday, and I found a parking spot a block away from the World Trade Center site.
But I digress. This post is more about collecting photos from the Los Angeles area, going back to as early as 2003. Let’s dig in, okay?
Watts Towers
It was in the early part of the ‘aughts that I read about Watts Towers, and the story fascinated me. They’re a hard-to-describe set of towers in the Watts section of LA, that were built by one dude, Simon Rodia, starting in 1921, when he was around 40. The whole is at the link earlier in this paragraph, and it’s worth a read. And it’s kind of crazy what was used to build them:
The sculptures' armatures are constructed from steel rebar and Rodia's own concoction of a type of concrete, wrapped with wire mesh. The main supports are embedded with pieces of porcelain, tile, and glass. They are decorated with found objects, including bottles, ceramic tiles, seashells, figurines, mirrors, and other items. Rodia called the Towers "Nuestro Pueblo" ("our town" in Spanish). He built them with no special equipment or predetermined design, working alone with hand tools. Neighborhood children brought pieces of broken pottery to Rodia, and he also used damaged pieces from Malibu Potteries and CALCO (California Clay Products Company). Green glass includes recognizable soft drink bottles from the 1930s through the 1950s, some still bearing the former logos of 7 Up, Squirt, Bubble Up, and Canada Dry; blue glass appears to be from milk of magnesia bottles.
After I read the story, I had to see them for myself. It was worth the trip:
Bob Marley One Love Experience Ovation Hollywood
In 2022, I visited Roger and Mary Steffens near Echo Park, and Roger told me that he finally had his first real job in forty years! He was a regular speaker at the One Love Experience at Ovation Hollywood. He said if I wanted to go that night, he had a pair of tickets for me. I couldn’t refuse. Even though I took dozens of photos inside the exhibit, I also took a lot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the area. Here’s a smattering of images:
Driving Around, Checking Sites
Of course, I had my camera handy when I was behind the wheel. Here are a few images that caught my eye:
Sunset Beach
In 2023, I took an evening to drive from my Airbnb in Santa Ana to Sunset Beach to watch the sunset. It was a nice one!
From the Tradeshow Floor. Sort of.
While looking through my files, I came across an image that made me stop. I’d forgotten about it, but it was a fun one. It’s a double exposure that I made in LA. The image of the dog is from the floor of a tradeshow booth on the last day of the show. The dog was tired and laying on the floor, so I snapped a photo. The second image was a sunset image of the hotel I was staying at (maybe, I’m not sure!). Anyway, it’s a cool image:
Vietnam War Memorial in Sid Goldstein Park, Westminster
Another spot I’d read about prior to heading to LA was a Vietnam War Memorial that honored both US and South Vietnamese soldiers, which is a unique approach.
Westminster City Councilman Frank G. Fry initiated the Vietnam War Memorial Project in 1997. A committee selected renowned sculptor/designer Tuan Nguyen to create the statue and design the surrounding area. The dedication ceremony took place on April 27, 2003.
As they way in Hollywood, That’s A Wrap! Thanks for viewing!