Walkabout

Drew and I were watching the Travel Channel and one of the places they showcased was Philippe's, the birthplace of the French Dip sandwich.  I haven't been to Philippe's since the early 1980s and remembered that it was real close to Union Station and Olvera Street, which would provide for interesting photo opportunities and cooler weather. I convinced my Dad to join us since he hasn't visited Downtown L.A. in a long time, too.

As part of the trip, I decided I would limit myself to my f/1.8 50mm Prime lens so I would work on composition and not make excuses about having the proper gear.

 Earlier that week, my eldest and I were watching Hell's Kitchen and Gordon Ramsay dragged the contestants to Philippe's for their French Dip sandwiches as an example of "simple," but tasty" food.  Needless to say, the food was awesome and the menu is pretty straightforward.  BTW, they only take cash, but there is an ATM on-site.

After lunch we walked over to Olvera Street and attempted to take pictures of the vendors wares, however; most did not want their merchandise photographed.  Weird.  Anyway, not a great time of day to shoot, it was about 1:00 PM and the sun was overhead.  I managed to shoot some candid portraits in Aperture-Priority Mode, but none that I wanted to post.  After we walked up and down Olvera street, we headed over to Union Station.

Upon entering Union Station the first thing I noticed was the excellent light.  Huge windows that act like giant softboxes and windows all over the place.  I brought my D700 because at ISO 800 - 1600 the grain is barely visible.  Anyway, Drew pointed out a cordoned off area and said it would make for some cool photos, I think Drew may have an eye for photography.

As we walked around I noticed a young lady wearing a wedding dress followed by a photographer and make-up person.  The photographer was using on-camera flash, so I asked if I could take a few pictures.  The photographer said that she was shooting a school assignment and gave me the okay.  I had the model pose different ways and let the photographer "chimp" my LCD.  She liked my images, so she mimicked them.  All my images were shot using available light.

Overall it was a fun day experiencing cool weather and cultural diversity, and what did I learn? It's fun to challenge yourself and timing is everything.  Wish I had something insightful to share, but the trip to L.A. was meant to be a family event, which we accomplished.

That's A Wrap !!!