Shunkan.org - Blog

Early December I decided to go to Los Angeles for a couple of days, I had to run some errands and also planned to visit the Ghetty Center to see the exhibition of the Japanese photographer Ishiuchi Miyako. I took my bike, hopped on the Coaster, transferred to the Metrolink, and cycled LA from Union Station Downtown. Since I was traveling light, I just packed my Canon 6D, a Canon 24-70mm 2.8, an Canon 85mm 1.8, and a Kenko Converter. A good thing about the 6D is the GPS, so you can be lazy and don't have to remember every location while you're traveling. The bad thing is, the GPS is a damn power hog.

Cinema makeup school at the Pellissier Building, aka the Wiltern Center.

The Wiltern Center is located just a few blocks East of where I was staying, so I headed there twice to take pictures, first in the afternoon, and then after sunset.

It really paid off to come back after dark, since I had a chance to capture the beautiful neon signs of the Wiltern Theater.

I took my sweet time to explore the Pellissier Building from every angle.

The North side of the building.

Wiltern Center seen from Western Avenue.

I know I am obsessing just a little bit about the Wiltern, but in my opinion it is really one fine example of Art Deco architecture.

Unfortunately the second time I got there my ride got stolen. Yes, my bike was locked onto one of those upside down turned U's in front of a fancy looking bank building, but when I came back all that was left was a shattered Kryptonite lock.

At least I got a chance to explore Los Angeles from a higher point of view, here you see Downtown LA from city hall.

Another shot of Downtown LA from the roof top bar of a hotel.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall on South Grand Avenue, designed by Frank Gehry.

Self-portrait on the roof top of a hotel Downtown. The WiFi capabilities of the 6D came in handy here, I used a sofa couch and a pillow as tripod, and controlled & triggered the camera via WiFi and EOS app on my iPhone. With the help of the EOS app you can set all kinds of parameters of the 6D, and you see the live picture, although the latter is a bit laggy. That, and the fact that setting up a connection between the iPhone or iPad and the camera is a nightmare, doesn't make for a good reason to buy the 6D just for the WiFi capabilities.

Last but not least a candid of this gentleman at Union Station, while I was waiting for the train back home. I really had been enjoying LA quite a lot, it was way warmer than in San Diego, since I was further away from the coast, and there was so much to discover, as far as urban sights are concerned. I already had decided to stay two days longer, but when I had my ride stolen, that plan came to naught. So on top of that, I also missed the aforementioned exhibition at the Ghetty's. But I'll be back, and the next time I'll bring a better lock for my bike!