Interesting places in Los Angeles, California:

Brentwood		Downtown Los Angeles
Getty Center		Hollywood
San Fernando Valley		Bunker Hill
Silver Lake		Walt Disney Concert Hall
Topanga State Park		Los Angeles-Long Beach Port Complex
Griffith Park		Museum Entrance Hall Building
Crenshaw High School		Pacific Palisades
Hollywood Walk of Fame		Lake Balboa
Will Rogers Beach State Park		Encino
Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area		Santa Monica Pier
Los Feliz		Venice Beach Boardwalk
West Hollywood		Fairfax District
San Pedro

Los Angeles, often called simply L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second-largest in the United States. However, it is the largest city in the United States in terms of its total area in square miles and metropolitan area. It is an alpha world city, has a 2005 estimated population of 3,844,829^, and spans 498 square miles. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Los Angeles metropolitan area has a total area of 4,850 square miles and is home to roughly 13 million people by 2005 estimates.

Location is derived from the great work of WikiMapia
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Top photos chosen by u all:

i am still living with your ghost, lonely and dreaming of the west coast
Made by red.dahlia
the pier on Santa Monica Beach - - - so, it's Saturday morning, i have a quick look at the group and realize that the deadline is Sunday and NOT Monday, like i'd thought. i grabbed my new precious gem of a camera, my point and shoot just in case- seeing as i didn't know how to use a real camera. i still don't know my aperture from my ISO from my shutter stop from my histogram. seriously. (this and every other photo was taken on Auto. i know, right? what is wrong with me?) also grabbed the book i've been wrapped up in, the blackberry that hates me, some money and sunglasses. stuffed it all into a messenger bag and headed out to Santa Monica. I'd been wanting to get a shot of that Ferris Wheel for ages and it was a gorgeous warm Saturday. so, the beach it was. got there around 1pm. wandered about. weaved through the heavy foot traffic on the main area of the pier, watched the rides go, and then spent loads of time walking around the shore and then underneath that pier, up on the slightly wet sand and watched the waves crash into the wooden poles, contentedly. it was sort of dark-ish underneath this massive wooden pier and it was a little magical with the sunlight straining to get in with the waves. best part was when all the adorable little ones would run through and splash about in and around the poles like it was the Best Place On Earth Ever. there were two particularly awesome little ones that were happily scrounging around trying to get a crab that had crawled in. i caught it for them since they both squealed in half delight, half fear when the crab got too close. so i solved the problem by procuring a large cup, a bit of sand, a bit of water and placing mr. crab gently inside so they could ooh and ahhh and cautiously try and touch it very quickly on top of it's head. i suppose theoretically i should be a bit more cautious talking to random children, but i honestly got as excited as they did about the prospect of catching the crab. and their mom was smiling on, so it was okay. (we, of course, let mr. crab, whom we named Bob, go back into the sand and poles and sea) when i was a child, my mom took me and my brother to the beach in Santa Monica once every few weeks. our favorite thing to do was to run out into the waves, my brother and i, and as soon as the wave began receding we'd dig super super super fast where the air bubbles in the sand came up and the little grey sand crabs (the harmless ones without claws) would be caught up in our cupped palms, wriggling about and tickling. it's funny. i remember more now than i ever did before how much we found the same amount of near obsessive joy in the same things. from classic rock to novels we'd pass back and forth to each other or going on hunts for bugs and insects and of course later, throwing parties together when our parents went away. just few of the many, many things. i wish i remembered back then to not to forget to remember all the good things when they were happening instead of looking back on the good old days. i ended up staying until 9 that night. i had no idea what stunning images that lit up Ferris Wheel and sunset and wet sand would provide. or how peaceful and tranquil i'd feel just being there, near the ocean and memories. i lost track of time and couldn't believe i'd been there for 8 hours and it was dark, dark, dark by the time i packed it in. it was what i didn't know i needed. it was the good old days, but i remembered to remember that this time. ------------ for the group cliches are fun - reflections.


juxtaposed
Made by Neil Armstrong2
I took this one on a quick hike to the Hollywood sign. After reading countless stories about the difficulty getting to the sign I decided to give it a go... After risking life and limb I have convinced myself of on thing; Don't pay attention to people on the internet. On a scale of 1 to 10..the hike was a 3 at best. My HDR story. One year ago I was in the hospital and the doctor said; Neil, if you ever drink again, you will die. So I was forced to stop drinking the gallon a day and the two pack habit that was my regiment . What to do with all of my time? 5 years prior, in a drunken rage, filled with Jack Daniels, cocaine and enough nicotine to make a Virginian choke, I had a moment of clarity. I bought a DSLR and proclaimed this will now take the place of partying. So 5 years later, forced to fill my time, I went to internet to get started; 1. Yahoo to Flickr 2. Flickr - amazing colors and dynamic range (noticed the letters HDR everywhere) 3. back to Yahoo - HDR brought me to Stuck in Customs 4. Free tutorial - one hour later, That's the story. That's nice Neil, what's your point? The #1 reason I was drawn to HDR is a comment written by Trey Ratcliff. He wrote about getting a fancy new camera and being disappointed with the images. The images it produced didn't portray what he saw with his naked eye (I wrote eye because he claims to be blind in one eye.) He found HDR and used it to recreate what his eye saw. That leads me to my question for you.... Looking at this image, notice the colors of the grass in the shaded part of the hill on the right. With one single exposure you would not be able to see that area so vividly. The camera simply can't expose for all of the light levels in this scene. In person, I saw the color in the shaded areas exactly the way I represented them here. Now our brains tell us that we shouldn't see color and light in a shaded areas based on the thousands of photographs we've seen. So my question; DOES THIS HDR image LOOK UNNATURAL OR REALISTIC?


Like the time I ran away, turned around and you were standing close to me
Made by bhampton1963
High vibration go on To the sun, oh let my heart dreaming Past a mortal as me Where can I be? Wish the sun to stand still Reaching out to touch our own being Past all mortal as we Here we can be Here we can be Suns, high, streams, through Awaken gentle mass touch Awaken gentle mass touch Strong, dreams, reign, here Awaken gentle mass touch Awaken gentle mass touching Awaken gentle mass touch Stars, song, age, less Awaken gentle mass touching Awaken gentle mass touching Awaken gentle mass touching Touching Touching Touching Workings of man Set to ply out historical life Reregaining the flower of the fruit of his tree All awakening, all restoring you Workings of man Crying out from the fires set aflame By his blindness to see that the warmth of his being His promise for his seeing, his reaching so clearly Workings of man Driven far from the path Rereleased in inhibitions So that all is left for you All is left for you All is left for you All is left for you Now Master of images Songs cast a light on you Hark through dark ties That tunnel us out of sane existence In challenges direct As eyes see young stars assemble Master of light All pure chance As exists, cross divided In all encircling mode Oh, closely guided plan Awaken in our heart Master of soul Set to touch all impenetrable youth Ask away, that thought be contact With all that's clear Be honest with yourself There's no doubt, no doubt Master of time Setting sail over all of our lands And as we look forever closer Shall we now bid Farwell, farewell High vibration go on To the sun, oh let my heart dreaming Past a mortal as me Where can I be? Wish the sun to stand still Reaching out to touch our own being Past all mortal as we Here we can be Like the time I ran away And turned around And you were standing close to me Like the time I ran away And turned around And you were standing close to me Awaken, by Steve Howe and Jon Anderson


we have the moon, so now the stars
Made by bhampton1963
I see the cold mist in the night And watch the hills roll out of sight. I watch in ev'ry single way, Inside out, outside in, ev'ry day. The sun can warm the coldest dawn And move the movement on the lawn. I learn in ev'ry single day, Inside out, outside in, ev'ry way. And there you are, Making it up but you're sure that it is a star, And boy you'll see It's an illusion shining down in front of me, And then you'll say Even in time we shall control the day, When what you'll see Deep inside the day's controlling you and me. And one peculiar point I see, As one of many ones of me. As truth is gathered, I rearrange, Inside out, outside in, inside out, outside in, Perpetual change. And there you are, Saying we have the moon, so now the stars, When all you see Is near disaster gazing down on you and me, And there you're standing, Saying we have the whole world in our hands, When all you'll see, Deep inside the world's controlling you and me. You'll see perpetual change. You'll see perpetual change. And there you are, Making it up but you're sure that it is a star, And boy you'll see It's an illusion shining down in front of me, And then you'll say Even in time we shall control the day, When what you'll see Deep inside the day's controlling you and me. As mist and sun are both the same, We look on as pawns of their game. They move to testify the day, Inside out, outside in, inside out, outside in, All of the way. Perpetual Change, by Jon Anderson and Chris Squire


Santa Monica Spin #2
Made by PatrickSmithPhotography
The Santa Monica Pier at sunset with the old ferris wheel. Timing the spin is everything. No HDR Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available! --------------------------------------------------------- Settings etc.: --------------------------------------------------------- 38-second exposure @F16 - No circular ND filters Canon 5D, Canon 17-40L @ 28 ND soft grad 0.9 over the top half of the frame. After getting a really nice sunset image from this spot and a 4 minute exposure from under the pier, I waited for the sun to go down. An extra long exposure and a little light still in the sky allowed the scene to become evenly lit. The wheel spun about 5 times during this exposure. The spinning wheel turned out to be the most import factor to getting a good photograph. Sometimes the wheel stopped, and the dynamic feel of the resulting image was lost. Sometimes it would turn too quickly and become out of synch with the way the lights on the spokes worked, creating odd-looking effects. So a lot of experimentation was required to get a smooth and dynamic look without distracting features. Improvisation is often required to get the best photograph possible. Also, the sand was reflective like this only part of the time. So that had to be factored in. .


Thanks Reem
Made by Neil Armstrong2
For 88 years Yamashiro has watched over the history of Hollywood. It has witnessed the birth of the film industry, the glamour of Hollywood’s “Golden Age”, the difficult times of war with Japan, and the current period of intense interest in Eastern cultures. Yamashiro started as a fabulous private estate and is now open to the public as a unique restaurant and public gardens. Yamashiro means “Mountain Palace” in Japanese. It was the dream of the Bernheimer brothers in 1911 to build a hilltop mansion 250 feet above Hollywood Boulevard to house their priceless collection of Asian treasures. Hundreds of skilled craftsmen were brought from the Orient to recreate an exact replica of a palace located in the “Yamashiro” mountains near Kyoto, Japan. This dream became a reality in 1914. By Thomas Y. Glover Someone at HDRlabs.com took a similar shot and I was disappointed they beat me to it. I had already scheduled this shoot and wasn't about to back out. I thought I would do it a little differently so i added a little faux tilt / shift. That's downtown Los Angeles in the upper right.. HDR image *Looks so much better at full size. There's really a lot to look at in this one. I'm actually very happy with this one.


Love comes to you and then after....
Made by bhampton1963
Love comes to you and you follow Lose one on to the heart of the sunrise SHARP-DISTANCE How can the wind with its arms All around me Lost on a wave and then after Dream on on to the heart of the sunrise SHARP-DISTANCE How can the wind with so many around me Lost in the city Lost in their eyes as you hurry by Counting the broken ties they decide Love comes to you and then after Dream on on to the heart of the sunrise Lost on a wave that you're dreaming Dram on on to the heart of the sunrise SHARP-DISTANCE How can the wind with its arms all around Me SHARP-DISTANCE How can the wind with so many around me I feel lost in the city Lost in their eyes as you hurry by Counting the broken ties they decided Straightt light moving and removing SHARPNESS of the colour sun shine Straight light searching all the meanings Of the song Long last treatment of the telling that Relates to all the words sung Dreamer easy in the chair that really fits You Love comes to you and then after Dream on on to the heart of the sunrise SHARP-DISTANCE How can the sun with its arms all around Me SHARP-DISTANCE How can the wind with so many around me I feel lost in the city Heart Of The Sunrise by Jon Anderson, Chris Squire and Bill Bruford


Station Fire, Los Angeles
Made by Jaimito Cartero
View large from LAX Southern California's 2009 wildfire season kicked off today with this behemoth in Northern LA County. The Station Fire (August 26 – October 16) burned 251 sq mi (64,983 ha) and destroyed 209 structures, including 89 homes. It started in the Angeles National Forest near the U.S. Forest Service ranger station on the Angeles Crest Highway (California State Highway 2). Two firefighters were killed on August 30 when their truck plunged off a cliff while they were attempting to escape the fast moving flames. At 160,557 acres, the Station Fire is the largest wildfire in the modern history of Los Angeles County. _______________________________________________________________________________ I was recently tagged by my long-winded, far-sighted, ultra-marathon-running buddy in Singapore... Thomas also just wrote my first (and last) testimonial (to make up for the tagging injustice). He really is one of the nicest guys I have ever had the privilege to meet on Flickr!! So apparently I'm now going to have to sit down and write ten things about my least favorite subject. This may take a while... I'm going to the beach to cool down.


Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face
Made by bhampton1963
Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face. Caesar's palace, morning glory, silly human race, On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place, If the summer change to winter, yours is no disgrace. Battleships confide in me and tell me where you are, Shining, flying, purple wolfhound, show me where you are, Lost in summer, morning, winter, travel very far, Lost in musing circumstances, that's just where you are. Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face. Caesar's palace, morning glory, silly human race, On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place, If the summer change to winter, yours is no, Yours is no disgrace. Yours is no disgrace. Yours is no disgrace. Death defying, mutilated armies scatter the earth, Crawling out of dirty holes, their morals, their morals disappear. Yesterday a morning came, a smile upon your face. Caesar's palace, morning glory, silly human, silly human race, On a sailing ship to nowhere, leaving any place, If the summer change to winter, yours is no, Yours is no disgrace. Yours is no disgrace. Yours is no disgrace. Yours Is No Disgrace, by Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, and Chris Squire


Early Morning Passion
Made by Extra Medium
Jason is stationed in South Korea as part of the US Army and was only home on leave for 3 days before leaving again. Now I had the kids this weekend so jokingly I told the couple that the only time I’d have to photograph their engagement was at sunrise on Friday (my day off). They said SURE. I said, “oh…” So I left home at 4:50am and made it down to Santa Monica, met them and then as the sun broke, took them to the end of the pier with the big Ferris wheel, setup my SB600 with Fong dome on it, fired remotely with my South Korea eBay triggers, and got my first ever sunrise engagement kissing photo. Kinda proud of it. They were good sports and we used the pier as much as we could until the security guard showed up and started hassling us about having permits and licensing and using the pier for commercial profit, blah blah blah blah. We got what we want, it was illegal, and fantastic. Strobist: D700 w/ 17-35 f/2.8 shot with SB-600 on light stand with Gary Fong clear dome fired remotesly with iShoot PT-04 CN III Wireless Radio Flash off ebay.


a momentary lapse of reason
Made by bhampton1963
A restless eye across a weary room A glazed look and I was on the road to ruin The music played and played as we whirled without end No hint, no word her honour to defend I will, I will she sighed to my request And then she tossed her mane while my resolve was put to the test Then drowned in desire, our souls on fire I lead the way to the funeral pyre And without a thought of the consequence I gave in to my decadence One slip, and down the hole we fall It seems to take no time at all A momentary lapse of reason That binds a life for life A small regret, you won't forget, There'll be no sleep in here tonight Was it love, or was it the idea of being in love? Or was it the hand of fate, that seemed to fit just like a glove? The moment slipped by and soon the seeds were sown The year grew late and neither one wanted to remain alone One slip, and down the hole we fall It seems to take no time at all A momentary lapse of reason That binds a life for life A small regret, you will never forget, There'll be no sleep in here tonight One Slip, by Pink Floyd


Lady Gaga
Made by qthomasbower
Lady Gaga Telephone Mosaic A sideways glance at the world of pop art, pop music, and music video. I created this new work of fan art out of screen shots from Lady Gaga's pop hit videos Bad Romance and Telephone (featuring Beyonce). Taken from a blend of stills from her now infamous Telephone video, the source portrait features Lady Gaga giving a candid glance into the video camera with a self-aware, almost sardonic, look in her eyes, as she turns to Beyonce and says, You know what they say: Once you kill a cow, you gotta make a burger. Top Pop Diva and Glam Rock Love, Lady Gaga and her image team, the Haus of Gaga, continue the tradition of shocking images and catchy tunes inspired by David Bowie, Queen, Annie Lennox, and Madonna. (Even Britney Spears - who turned down the chance to record Telephone herself - made a complete demo version!) View this art work in the large size -- or, you can . Be sure to visit my latest Lady Gaga mosaic Lady Gaga Alejandro.


Home, let me come home [Explored]
Made by Edwin_Abedi
I can't really write the proper description for this day, except to say that it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in Los Angeles in my life. What makes this that much more special to me was how everything worked out so perfectly. I almost never bring my camera to work, but on this day just as I'm leaving my house I decided to grab it...mainly to take some photos of friends. While at work the weather changed drastically; clouds swept over the sky and you could tell that it was going to be one of those special occasions. Quickly after work, and before having to go meet up with people, I hurried to Griffith and was able to experience the beauty of this wonderful city. I don't think my photo does the moment justice, but it was spectacular. Whether by pure chance, an act of God, or just dumb luck I was able to be there at the right moment. It is one of my favorite shoots I've had in a long time, if simply due to how many things went right when they could have easily gone the opposite way. Explore #1/Front Page!


Immensity
Made by imago2007 (on Flickr break . . . again)
boundless and immense that is the kind of world our eyes can see even without a magnifying glass all we need is to be cognizant that grandness oftentimes seeks refuge in things small and unadorned so put on a pair of fresh eyes stand before the most familiar object and experience a new world filled with uncomplexities and new possibilities but never once for a moment forget that “immensity is within ourselves” -V, 11 May 2008 Yesterday afternoon I thought I'd take more pictures of the roses in my garden. But as you can see, I ended up aiming my camera at the stem and its tiny leaves instead of the flower itself. And I am reminded of the thoughts I wrote for my NEW YEAR'S DAY POST - about the need to re-focus on things often overlooked yet just as relevant and just as important in the whole scheme of things. HAVE A GREAT WEEK AHEAD, EVERYONE!


An Abstract Way of Life
Made by Extra Medium
I was a little late to the largest Flickr meetup in Los Angeles history, but I did make it and finally saw the Walt Disney Concert Hall which I had been planning on for years. Just never made it down there. My Tamron 17-50 2.8 wasn't wide enough to get the entire concert hall in one shot so I had to practice my vertorama skill here. I took 9 exposures, 3 different times and then used CS3 to merge them all together. I know it's not perfect, but this took me upwards of an hour straight to get everything from the building to match up, the clouds, and everything. So remember this is a merge of 27 photos and next time I'll do it right. :) It was great meeting up with our fearless leader who organized the event. He's a great guy. Good enough for me to shoot his wedding in 2007. Sorry I missed most of you guys since the LA traffic had me a little late, but I did meet a couple of you guys and next time......... on time. Promise/mean it.


Rodeo Drive-Edit
Made by Neil Armstrong2
So pissed off.....I had an appointment in Beverly Hills to shoot something that could have been very special and Mapquest screwed me, my Sprint GPS wouldn't connect and the traffic was thick. As the sun went down, the western sky turned reddish pink and the best sunset of the summer just laughed at me. I was in the neighborhood so I stopped on the world famous Rodeo Drive and took these 5 exposures. What is with rich woman and their perfume...It's 2011, some one should tell these bags that woman don't wear perfume anymore, let alone bathe in it. It's rude to those around you....It does not smell good. It gives others a headache....I really don't get it. Is perfume to attract men? (they're already married,) is it to keep the husband interested? (it makes them sick,) is it to show everyone that you can afford it? (it makes everyone nauseous.) I fixed the lens distortion (crooked buildings) but I went back to this, it's more fun to look at.


Metro Retro
Made by Neil Armstrong2
For some reason the Los Angeles beach areas experience June Gloom. Marine layer fog until 1:00pm then perfect, clear, blue skies. Neither situation is good for photography.....So I went 4 days without shooting anything....I couldn't take it anymore so I looked for something indoors and came up with a Metro Station decked out in 80s style, Hollywood / Universal Studios tour goodness...... OK, a few people asked: To be honest, the image your looking at has about 30 people in it...I ran one very long exposure after the 7 bracketed images.. It was open so long, none of the people are visible...I then matched white balance from the long exposure with the tone-mapped image....then I just masked out the people using the LE. Really does look cool in full size. If you want to see the cutest child ever click HERE


Even through the fire
Made by bhampton1963
I look in your eyes and I can see We've loved so dangerously You're not trusting your heart to anyone You tell me you're gonna play it smart We're through before we start But I believe that we've only just begun When it's this good, there's no saying no I want you so, I'm ready to go Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall For a chance to be with you I'd gladly risk it all Through the fire Through whatever, come what may For a chance at loving you I'd take it all the way Right down to the wire Even through the fire I know you're afraid of what you feel You still need time to heal And I can help if you'll only let me try You touch me and something in me knew What I could have with you Now I'm not ready to kiss that dream goodbye When it's this sweet, there's no saying no I need you so, I'm ready to go Through the Fire, by David Foster, Tom Keane and Cynthia Weil


you lead me on with those innocent eyes
Made by bhampton1963
Haven't seen you in quite a while I was down the hold just passing time Last time we met was a low-lit room We were as close together as a bride and groom We ate the food, we drank the wine Everybody having a good time Except you You were talking about the end of the world I took the money I spiked your drink You miss too much these days if you stop to think You lead me on with those innocent eyes You know I love the element of surprise In the garden I was playing the tart I kissed your lips and broke your heart You...you were acting like it was The end of the world (Love...love...) In my dream I was drowning my sorrows But my sorrows, they learned to swim Surrounding me, going down on me Spilling over the brim Waves of regret and waves of joy I reached out for the one I tried to destroy You...you said you'd wait 'til the end of the world The End of the World, by U2


Beverly Boulevard 06.26.09
Made by isayx3
Beverly Boulevard is one of the main east-west thoroughfares in Los Angeles, California. It begins off Santa Monica Boulevard in the Beverly Hills and West Hollywood border and ends on Lucas Avenue near Downtown Los Angeles. #179/365 I do not not encourage driving and taking photos! On the way home yesterday I had the crazy idea of sticking my camera out the drivers window and snapping shots to put into one composite. The initial idea was to get at least 6 shots (one every minute)...but I found out that taking photos while keeping an eye on the road results in crooked photos. The other 3 were so far tilted I would have losted the wide angle feel and they would not have matched. So here is the results...3 minutes of Los Angeles on a friday evening. The idea sounded cooler in my head I'm sure. I call this drivography (I'm an inventor!...quick someone make me a wiki page!)