Terra Lago by Night

I spent the last weekend staying with friends at their house in Indio, CA. Indio is about 20 miles from Palm Springs on the other end of the Cochella Valley. The house is on a lake and this photo was taken while we sat outside enjoying the night sky and a nightcap.

This is an HDR (high dynamic range) image in which I took three exposures each 2 f-stops apart but at the same apeture setting and then combined the three images.

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Getty Center Fountain at Night #2

Here's another shot of the fountain on the plaza at the Getty Center taken at night. Here's my other photo of the fountain on the plaza at the Getty.

Canon EOS 20D
Canon 18-55mm lens at 25mm
1/5 sec at f/8.0
ISO 800

405 Freeway from the Getty Center

405 Freeway at Night from the Getty Center

The Getty Center is located on the western side of the 405 freeway just as it rises into the Sepulveda Pass from L.A.'s Westside. At the southern end of the Getty there is parapet that runs out to the edge of the site overlooking a cactus garden and the 405 freeway. This is where I took this photo.

In the lower left of the photo you can see the classic shape of the old Holiday Inn Hotel, but which since 2006 is now a boutique hotel known as The Hotel Angeleno. In the distance are the lights of what I believe is Century City, but I am not 100% sure of that. Perhaps if you know the area well, you could post a comment confirming or correcting me.

Getty Center Fountain at Night

I've been to the Getty Center many times, but a recent visit there was the first time I've been there at night. Of course that afforded some new and unique opportunities for my camera, like this shot of the fountain in the main plaza area. Got some nice reflection on this.

Canon EOS 20D
70-300mm lens at 75mm
1 sec at f/13 ISO 800

Fullmoon Over Rene and Henry Segerstrom Hall

Photo of Rene and Henry Segerstrom Hall

The Rene and Henry Segerstom Hall has only been open about a year now. It is a magnificent building and concert hall. Just like its exterior, the interior surfaces are characterized by being curved rather than flat. This is now the home of the Pacific Symphony and I recommend going there for one of their concerts to experience not only a great conert, but also this magnificant venue.

Canon EOS 20D
0.8secs at f/10
ISO800
18~55mm lens at 27mm

Full Moon Over South Coast Rep #2

Nighttime Photo of South Coast Repertory with Full Moon

This shot of the fullmoon over South Coast Repertory includes the pink floodlit marquee tower.

Canon EOS 20D
5secs at f/20
ISO800
18~55mm lens at 25mm

Imperial Bank Walkway in Black and White

Black and White Photo of the Walkway In Front of the Imperial Bank

In front of the Arts and Theater District in Costa Mesa is the Imperial Bank Building. The walkway in front of the building is made of these stainless-steel columns that have a light at the bottom. At night it all looks very cool with a lighted grid cover overhead as well. The lights came out like twinkling stars.

Canon EOS 20D
4secs at f/20
ISO800
Lens 18~55mm at 54mm

Full Moon Over South Coast Repertory

Full Moon Over South Coast Repertory

I did mention when I created the first post for this series that it was the night of a full moon; a "blue moon", in fact. Well here it is finally, shining brightly from behind the Plaza Tower and above the South Coast Repertory. What a typically sparkly night it was! Actually, when I first moved to Southern California one of the things that struck me was that you'd see the complete lunar cycle replayed over and over again because of the consistently clear skies. In my native New Zealand it would be rare to have months on end of cloudless sky. In fact, come to think of it, it was rare to have a cloudless sky!

Hamlet at the South Coast Repertory

Photo of the South Coast Repertory at Night

There are three buildings that comprise the Theater and Arts District at South Coast in Costa Mesa. The South Coast Repertory has two stages dedicated to the staging of theatrical works. On the night I took this photo, a season of Hamlet was in full-swing.

Canon EOS 20D
0.5 secs at f/16
ISO800
18~55mm lens at 27mm

Plaza Tower by Night #2

Nighttime Photo Series

Here's the west side of the Plaza Tower where you can see its curved front. As you can see, it is quite a different looking building from this side. Contrast it with this photo of the back-side of the Plaza Tower.

As you can see, there's also this "groovy" artwork on the lawn in front of the tower that really caught the light nicely.

Plaza Tower 1

Nightime Photo Series

Last Friday night (June 30) there was a "blue moon". A blue moon is the second full moon that falls within the same month. So I packed up my camera and tripod and headed over to the area around the Orange County Performing Arts Center to take some shots.

I've often thought when I've been over there for shows that it would be a great location for a shoot on the night of a full moon. There are many spectacular buildings in the area, and lots of good architectural features to try and make something of for a good architectural photo.

So here we go. This is the first of the series, a photo of the spectacular Plaza Tower. I don't know what the exterior of this building is, but it's a shiny silver in the daylight. On the back (eastern) side of the building, it's a typical flat surface, but on the front side (west) it's curved. Coming south down the 405 S. freeway at sunset you get some spectacular sights of the sunset being reflected from the building's surface. This is one of my all-time favorite buildings.

This photo is taken from the north-eastern corner.
Canon EOS 20D
30 secs at f20
ISO 800
18-55mm lens at 18mm