Three Days in Los Angeles

This year, one of my goals is to have more destination photoshoots. Since I have a couple clients that live in Southern California, I took to opportunity to go down to Los Angeles this past weekend.

Since moving to CA 9 years ago, I’ve only visited LA twice. Usually we just go to San Diego. So this trip worked out perfectly. Not only did I get to visit some of my friends, I got to do some work while at the same time got to see this gorgeous city.

On Friday, I got to see the Walt Disney Concert Hall. I wished my little sister was with me because she would have loved it. The hall was designed by the famous Frank Gehry. The first time I saw his design was at the MIT Campus in Cambridge (when I visited my sister last November). True to his style, the building has lots of clean lines, lots of curves, is so unique and is so, so aesthetically pleasing .

All steel on the outside and wood + steel on the inside. What contrasting materials and yet it still flows together to be so clean and modern?

walt disney concert hall downtown los angeles-7 — Cafe. There was a children choir performing that day and they were handing out tickets for free.

walt disney frank gehry architecture design los angeles california vacation — On Friday when I came, the garden was closed due to the private concert they were hosting. However, it was open on Sunday when we came back so we were able to see the garden.

walt disney frank gehry architecture design los angeles california vacation-10 — I must have waited around for 10 minutes at this area just to get a clean shot. I just love, love, love the organic element (tree) versus the industrial steel. It’s like ying + yang.

walt disney frank gehry architecture design los angeles california vacation-14 — In the middle of the garden was a lotus sculpture made of ceramic. Seeing this reminded me of the Vietnam Trip I took with my Mom 3 years ago. We went to a temple that was made entirely out of broken ceramic tiles.

walt disney frank gehry architecture design los angeles california vacation-12 — All over LA, purple flower trees are blooming. It’s like cherry blossom season but purple.

walt disney frank gehry architecture design los angeles california vacation-19 — Names of all of the donors that made the garden possible.

Since I could’t get into the Broad that Friday, I went to the Fashion District for lunch instead. It was fun just to walk through because everywhere there were people selling, people browsing, radio singing and man yelling out different prices.

fashion district santee alley los angelese california-2 — Enter a caption

I had to ask to take a picture of this man because he kinda blended in with the clothing. I couldn’t tell whether he’s the owner or he’s just waiting for his wife to finish browsing on the inside.

This children bridesmaid show was just magical!!!! If only I have a little girl that I can dress her up in one of these. She can pretend that she’s a fairy and we can meander through flower fields after flower fields just to take pictures.

The tacos at Jesus Hot Dog stand was BOMB!!! I would think twice about getting the hot sauce though because they are not playing when they said it’s HOT!!!!And of course what trip to the fashion district without getting some fruits mixed with chili. They are on every corner.

After the fashion district, I had some time so I walked back to the car instead of taking UBER. I was really excited because when you walk, you get to see so much more of the city.

For example, this guy on his skateboard with his luggage was really interesting. I wonder if he just came into town and this was his source of transportation or did he choose to use a luggage instead of a bag to go shopping because the luggage has wheels and would allow him to move around more easily? Even if it is just to go to the grocery store.

The Grand Central Market.

On Friday afternoon, I had a shoot at the Santa Monica pier. Since this was my first time there and the shoot wasn’t until 6PM, I came early to scope out locations.

Across from the pier, there is a beautiful park with these really unique [pods?]. There were also lots of plants and flowers that were blooming too.

Of course you can’t forget about the ferris wheels at the pier.

SATURDAY MORNING HIKE AT SOLSTICE CANYON

This place is just so beautiful. We got there around 9AM and already the sun was beaming on our back. But that view though, was so gorgeous!

EL MATADORE BEACH in MALIBU, CA

After hiking, we went to El Matadore Beach for a picnic. My friend, Laney, packed us all sorts of healthy snacks and lunch. She was on a no sugar and no carbs diet so everything was delicious and light: caprese salad, meatball, humus, etc. Chilling at the beach with a picnic spread underneath an tall beach umbrella, it felt like a scene out of a vacation movie.

This is Laney. Isn’t she gorgeous?

El matadore beach malibu los angeles california-11 — “Beach Babes”

SUNDAY BRUNCH IN MANHATTAN BEACH

On Saturday afternoon after the beach, I went to the Griffith Observatory to photography Tien and Teresa’s Engagement Session. On Saturday night, I got to visit and stayed over at my friend Emily and her husband’s home in Manhattan Beach. On Sunday, we got up early and headed to brunch while David went to a car show.

Lots of surfers were out catching waves.

Lots of people were at the beach, the pier. There were lots of opportunities for people watching. We saw a guy running on the beach with no shirt, suspenders, and long khaki pants. He ran to his wife to get a hat, ran into the ocean to fight the waves, got knocked over and end up losing the hat after that. Really? Why? I looked around several times to see of someone was filming a secret clip somewhere. LOL..

I mean, it is LA after all.

“You had me at pork belly benedict.”

THE BROAD MUSEUM IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

After brunch, we tried our luck at the Broad Museum. I went the day before and the line was way too long.

the broad museum downtown los angeles california — The Broad is located on Grand Ave, next to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA. Admissions is free. You can reserve tickets online or wait in line. Since online tickets were sold out, we waited for about 1.5 hours before we got in.

There was an ice cream truck around the corner so I was entertained for a good 20 mins while we waited in line.

the broad museum downtown los angeles california-11 — The hallway between the museum and the sidewalk has this amazing tunnel so I had to wait for someone to come in just to take this pic.

the broad museum downtown los angeles california-4 — What the outer shell of the Broad Museum looks like.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-55 — Bright, beautiful white light it provides on the inside.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-3 — “Untitled” Dancing Black Butterflies by Mark Grotjahn. When you look really close, you can see the pen mark on the paper. From far away, you can see what all of the triangles are of different sizes and they all danced in different rhythm.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-13 — “In the land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow” by Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami’s massive 82-foot long painting, In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow, reflects on the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan. It was so wide and impressive. Starting from the left, you can see the chaos. Then to the right, you can see the transition to what reminds of me of heaven in the movies we watched while growing up.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-7 — Super Cute Sculptures also by Takashi Murakami.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-21 — “Tulip”by Jeff Koons. They are so colorful and interesting. Notice how the ceiling is reflected on the aluminum to give them a cool texture.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-23 — I didn’t understand why they were called “Tulips” until I saw the stems in the back.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-28 — “Untitled”. Christopher Wool, 1990.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-30 — Close up of The America Flag. Made of old newspaper before it was painted over

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-34 — So now you know. Paintings with bulls and roosters sell so much better. When do I like cows on the side of the highway so much though?

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-36 — By Charles Ray- Probably the most interesting photographs I’ve seen. He has t

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-54 — “Balloon Dog [Blue] by Jeff Koons. His work is really distinguished, don’t you agree?

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-58 — “Under the Table” or as we called it, giant dining room table and chairs so we can pretend we’ve been shrunk.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-57 — “Honey, I shrunk the kids”- Remember that movie? That was how I felt standing next to these chairs.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-61 — “The Red Room”

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-62 — “Fall ’91” by Charles Ray, 1992. The mannequin is actually 8-ft tall. I only stood up to her waist but this man was really tall so she looked normal size with him.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-63 — AFRICAN’T by Kara Walker. These are black paper cutout glued on the wall to depict degradation, sex, and violence in the pre Civil-War era.

the broad museum los angeles california vacation-69 — “Red Block” by El Anatsui, 2010. Made entirely of alumninum bottle caps and copper wires he found. The artist is based in Nigeria.

Close up and you can see all of the copper wired used to hold up all of the bottle caps.

This concludes my 3-day adventure in Los Angeles. We just got back from Toronto and Chicago so those photos are coming soon. So stay tuned.Tra
www.twotwentyphotos.com | Sacramento-based, travel worldwide for weddings and special photoshoots.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

twotwentyphotos

Let's get in touch

I want to hear from you.