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On the Road and In Your BackyardPost + Comments (34)
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.
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