On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good Morning All,
This weekday feature is for Juicers who are are on the road, traveling, or just want to share a little bit of their world via stories and pictures. So many of us rise each morning, eager for something beautiful, inspiring, amazing, subtle, of note, and our community delivers – a view into their world, whether they’re far away or close to home – pictures with a story, with context, with meaning, sometimes just beauty. By concentrating travel updates and tips here, it’s easier for all of us to keep up or find them later.
So please, speak up and share some of your adventures and travel news here, and submit your pictures using our speedy, secure form. You can submit up to 7 pictures at a time, with an overall description and one for each picture.
You can, of course, send an email with pictures if the form gives you trouble, or if you are trying to submit something special, like a zipped archive or a movie. If your pictures are already hosted online, then please email the links with your descriptions.
For each picture, it’s best to provide your commenter screenname, description, where it was taken, and date. It’s tough to keep everyone’s email address and screenname straight, so don’t assume that I remember it “from last time”. More and more, the first photo before the fold will be from a commenter, so making it easy to locate the screenname when I’ve found a compelling photo is crucial.
Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
Today, pictures from valued commenter ?BillinGlendaleCA.
Venice
(The one here in California.)In the 1880’s to the early 1900’s there were a series of land booms in Los Angeles, a great many fortunes were made(and some lost). One of these developers was Abbot Kinney, a tobacco millionaire, who decided to recreate Venice, Italy along side the beach south of Santa Monica. This development was opened July 4, 1905 contained a extensive canal system and a lagoon with amusement rides(a roller-coaster and water-slide). Venice was a separate city until 1925 when it was annexed by the City of Los Angeles who promptly filled in all the canals to create roads; except some on the southern edge of the development that were not part of the 1905 canal system. These canals fell into disrepair in the 1950’s and Venice was known as the slum by the sea. In the mid-80’s they restored these remaining canals with new walkways and repaired bridges. The homes face out to the canals with the roads at the back of the houses.
Here is a good piece with historical photos and a map of the original canal system from our local PBS station: https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/the-lost-canals-of-venice-of-america.
I joined a local photography meetup earlier this year and these pictures are the result of our latest outing.
Technical Note: Most of these photos were produced using a process called “blending”. I normally(with astro-photography being an exception) have my camera set to exposure bracketing so it takes 3 shots(normal, brighter and darker) each time I press the shutter. One of the advantages to this approach is that I can capture color that would be lost with a single exposure(like skies getting washed out). After the normal processing in Lightroom, I’ll open two of the exposures in Photoshop and create a mask to blend elements of the two photos.
Venice canal in IR.
Taken on 2017-10-15
Venice, California
I got to the shoot a bit early(though not early enough to get shots at the Venice Boardwalk) and had sufficient light to get a few infrared pictures. The canals are really a good location to shoot IR since there’s lots of foliage and water.
Bridge over a canal.
Taken on 2017-10-15
Venice, California
I got a couple of nice pictures of some the bridges(pedestrian and vehicular) with some nice reflections. Hey, there’s a bird there!
The bird.
Taken on 2017-10-15
Venice, California
After I took the picture above, the little bird seemed to take an interest in the photographers.
Sunset on the Grand Canal.
Taken on 2017-10-15
Venice, California
This canal goes from Venice Blvd to an outlet at Marina Del Rey. You can see the walkways that line the canals and plants between the walkways and the canals(helps keep little girls running down the walkway from falling into the canals).
Exposure blending was used to retain the colors of the sunset.
Damned photographers!
Taken on 2017-10-15
Venice, California
Here’s a picture of one of the pedestrian bridges with one of the vehicular bridges behind it. I’m taking the picture from another pedestrian bridge(I’ve not mastered the art of levitating and wasn’t using a drone). Along with the light reflected from the setting sun, you can see hills to the east(the Baldwin Hills). You can also see some of my fellow photographers in my frame.
Exposure blending was used to retain the colors of the sunset.
Sun finally setting on the Grand Canal.
Taken on 2017-10-15
Venice, California
This is the same canal as the previous photo with the little girl running down the walkway, but taken a bit further back. You can see the Santa Monica mountains in the back and ANOTHER DAMN PHOTOGRAPHER IS IN MY FRAME.
Exposure blending was used to retain the colors of the sunset.
Grand Canal at night.
Taken on 2017-10-15
Venice, California
This is shot in the other direction(south) as the photo immediately above. I shot this just before leaving and captured planes taking off from LAX and some nice reflections with the little remaining light.
Thank you so much ?BillinGlendaleCA, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
eclare
Great photos! Looks like a fun place.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Thanks, the Venice Boardwalk is supposed to be the really fun place, that’s where all the tourists go. As I noted in the intro, while I got there early, I wasn’t early enough to get any pics from the Boardwalk(even though it’s only 2 blocks away from the canals).
Schlemazel
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
We were at the beach 10-12 years ago, it is a fun tourist place to see once. I was disappointed I didn’t get to see the canals & moreso now that I have seen your pictures.
Elizabelle
I love, love, love these photographs. Bill, I would take a set of them as prints.
They remind me of early 20th century color postcards. And of Naples Island, Long Beach, at the tip of LA County where it meets the OC. Was lucky enough to live there for a while and walk the canals every day with my little beagle. Magical place.
I miss California.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Schlemazel: Thanks, it was my first time down there.
@Elizabelle: I know that area, I had a co-worker who lived in Belmont Shores. Funny guy, he’s a “collector”. I’d call him a hoarder, but he actually has collections of stuff and some of it’s pretty valuable; but he has so much stuff he had tunnels to get around his condo(OK, he’s a hoarder).
Baud
Wonderful, Bill.
JPL
Thank you Bill for sharing your photos and Alain thank you for allowing juicers to share their photos. It’s such a pleasant way to start the day.
MomSense
These look like a movie scene. And I bet it’s warm there.
Elizabelle
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yup. Tunnels says hoarding. Hope they’re earthquake-prepared.
Belmont Shore is wonderful too. Loved biking along the beach, and it’s got a lot of good eateries. California is my adopted home, because I would feel more safe there than in a purple state. Damn expensive, but so much to compensate …
Have been talking with another Barcelona fan; she and her husband are looking at being expatriates because, once and if the ACA is gutted, they cannot afford health insurance with a pre-existing condition. Lower healthcare costs in Europe — that occurred to me right away when I was over there. Even though I am healthy as can be (maybe a little high BP that I should get medicated).
I am so sick that we still have to have a “discussion” on whether healthcare is a right or a luxury. It’s all becoming too much.
Elizabelle
@JPL: Yeah. I love this feature. Gets us out of our heads, a little bit. Morning exposure to beauty, or interesting things.
eclare
@Elizabelle: I’m sick of having to call my senators repeatedly asking them why they want to kill me and my family.
rikyrah
Simply beautiful, Bill ??
Quinerly
Love the pics this AM!
Elizabelle
@eclare: What state are you in? I’m in Virginia; lucky to have Democrats Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. Although the gerrymandered GOP legislature has prevented any Medicaid expansion, despite Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s best efforts.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Elizabelle: I don’t think his “tunnels” were earthquake proof. He was using the condo for storing his “collections” and was renting another place. I found out recently that the long channel at Belmont Shores was constructed for the rowing competition for the 1932 Olympics.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Thanks, I think I’m getting the photography thing down. Though last night I went to to shoot the last of the year’s Milky Way pics(the galactic center heads south for the winter) and went to get my tripod out of it’s bag and was missing the part that screws into the camera. So I came home only to find it in my camera bag. DOH!
@JPL: I hope you enjoy them, I just sent in a set featuring LA City Hall.
eclare
@Elizabelle: Tennessee, I know it’s hopeless with Alexander and Corker, but I’m sure going to let them know my opinion. My rep is good because I live in Memphis, which is heavily Democratic.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@MomSense: Warm? It’s fucking HOT! It’s supposed to be 103 today.
@eclare:
@Elizabelle: I’ve got lots of pictures. I even took a shot of the Shitgibbon’s golf course down here.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@rikyrah:
@Quinerly: My pleasure, glad you like them.
Elizabelle
@eclare: My sympathies.
Tennessee is such a beautiful state. Deserves better legislators. And WTF, they really don’t want to remember the TVA or rural electrification or anything, do they? We have to stop this rightwing-funded amnesia.
eclare
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That is way too hot! Is that normal? I honestly don’t know.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Here’s one of the pics I took last night(not Shitgibbon’s golf course).
?BillinGlendaleCA
@eclare: No, it’s not normal; it should be cooling down now. But this should be the last hot spell for the year.
eclare
@Elizabelle: I’ll do my part, but it is an uphill battle, for sure. We’ll see what happens with Corker now that he isn’t running for reelection.
PS, don’t get me started about the benefits of public utilities, I used to work for one.
eclare
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That is beautiful!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@eclare: That’s looking west from Palos Verdes, the island on the left is Catalina and the tiny one in the center is Santa Barbara Island.
Mary G
Used to hang out in Venice in the early 70s when it was considered a crime-ridden slum. Full of artists and hippies. Now it’s gentrified and horrendously expensive. Beautiful pictures, Bill.
MomSense
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I’ve already had to pull out the down comforter so 103 doesn’t sound that terrible right now.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mary G: Thanks, I remember those days; I never went down there, even when I was in college at UCLA.
@MomSense: It should start to cool down after Wednesday.
ETA: And it’s a dry heat.
Tenar Arha
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That pix of the planes taking off, & the boats in the water with those reflections is beautiful. Thanks.
Elmo
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Uh huh. So’s a crematorium.
I grew up in Santee, California, in San Diego’s East County. There are LOTS of things I miss about California; brutal Santa Ana heat in October is not among them.
Barbara
That last photograph is just stunning.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Tenar Arha:
@Barbara: I liked that one too, I didn’t have to do anything in Photoshop on that one either(just exposure adjustment in Lightroom).
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Elmo: You think it’s going to cool down and get zapped with the Santa Ana’s, after my first week of being in the dorms at college, I was calling home asking my dad to “Bring a fan”.