2010, Day 66 - Another Day in LA

My first full day is Los Angeles got off to an early start. I wandered around Japan Town, where my hotel is, for about an hour and the city seemed to be asleep.


The Eli & Edythe Broad Plaza, I like the clean lines against the cloudy sky.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 17-40/f4L
23mm, f4, HDR of 1/5000, 1/2000, 1/800, 1/320 and 1/125 sec @ 400 ISO


City Hall, I think...
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 17-40/f4L
17mm, f4, HDR 1/2000, 1/1250, 1/800, 1/500 and 1/320 sec @ 400 ISO


The Los Angeles Times building.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 17-40/f4L
17mm, f4, HDR of 1/4000, 1/2000, 1/1000, 1/500 and 1/250 sec @ 400 ISO


This gentleman was having a heated argument with the building and I don't blame him because I had just finished yelling at it myself.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/500 sec @ 400 ISO


Weirdo Rippers?
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 17-40/f4L
40mm, f5.6, 1/500 sec @ 400 ISO


Some graffiti I found down a narrow alley in what was, in retrospect, probably a bad neighborhood.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 17-40/f4L
17mm, f5.6, 1/25 sec @ 400 ISO

When I arrived back at the Miyako the bellman, Jesus, noticed the camera in my hands and, as I was entering the elevator, chased me down to offer access to the roof. Of course I accepted with some alacrity and up we went.


Downtown Los Angeles from the roof of the Miyako Hotel.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 17-40/f4L
39mm, f5.6, HDR 1/8000, 1/4000, 1/2000, 1/1000 and 1/500 sec @ 400 ISO


Dodger Stadium(?) from the roof of the Miyako.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/4000 sec @ 400 ISO

Having completed my 360 on the roof Jesus took me back into the public part of the hotel where I thanked him profusely before he ran back downstairs to his post at the door. Back at the room I talked to the groggy but conscious Laura to see what she would like to do with the day. The rough plan was the my friend Araceli would give us a bit of a tour but that we knew was going to be later in the day.

With time to kill we opted to head to USC to check out the campus. It was rather impressive but with what they charge for tuition I had expected it to be.


The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Courtyard at the University of Southern California.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
24mm, f4, 1/1250 sec @ 400 ISO


USC's administration building. I wanted to do the Asian thing and let myself in to have a wander but the doors were lock. Damn!
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
70mm, f4, 1/1250 sec @ 100 ISO

After our brief visit to USC we hopped into the eco-mobile (our rental car is a Prius, I kind of hate it) and decided to drive aimlessly around the city to see if anyone would shoot at us.


This seemed a likely place to be shot at but we weren't blessed with lead precipitation.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
70mm, f4, 1/2000 sec @ 100 ISO

From there the aimless driving recommenced until I asked Laura if she would be interested in seeing the La Brea Tar Pits. It seemed like a good way to while a way the time so we entrusted the handy-dandy GPS to provide us with directions.

When we arrived the museum wasn't very busy but by the time we made our way out the other side it was packed!


The skulls of wolves found in the tar pits. Apparently they thought the tar's other victims would be easy prey but were themselves caught. Good idea but poor execution.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
51mm, f2.8, 1/200 sec @ 400 ISO


There were a number of complete skeletons on display including this sabre-toothed cat.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
38mm, f2.8, 1/100 sec @ 800 ISO


Laura was impressed by the care it must have taken to locate the toe bone of a mouse in the expansive tar pits.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
70mm, f2.8, 1/320 sec @ 640 ISO


One of the archaeologists getting tags ready to label their finds.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
59mm, f2.8, 1/100 sec @ 640 ISO


A robotic display of a sabre-toothed cat attacking a ground sloth. Too bad the ground sloths are extinct, they look awesome!
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
64mm, f6.3, 1/100 sec @ 640 ISO


An open research site. It doesn't look like the kind of job that you wear a suit to work.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
70mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 200 ISO


Laura enjoying the refreshing scent of tar.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L
70mm, f2.8, 1/2000 sec @ 640 ISO

During our exploration of the tar pits Araceli called and she opted to meet us at the tar pits. When she arrived we set off for lunch in Melrose and then toured West Hollywood and Hollywood. With today being the Oscars a large section of town was closed and there were some interesting characters out and about.


This guy wanted to make a point, one that become clear when you see who was to his left (shown below).
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/400 sec @ 200 ISO


And these were the crackpots protesting the Oscars. I wonder if they're paranoid? Oh, and they didn't only have a problem with Jews, apparently gay people are evil too.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/320 sec @ 200 ISO

As our tour completed Araceli took us back to our car at the tar pits and we both drove to the hotel to meet up and decide what to do next. Despite leaving before us we arrived at the hotel first and right on our doorstep a commercial for AT&T was being filmed so I snapped a couple pictures while we waited.


The camera man focusing on the actor across the street (by Chop Suey).
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/60 sec @ 400 ISO


And the actor, across the street, phone in hand.
Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f4, 1/250 sec @ 400 ISO

Upon returning to our room we chatted and decided to explore the San Gabriel Superstore, a large Asian market. It's always fun to visit Asian markets, they remind me of my grandparents. We found taro toast and had a nice dinner of Chinese food composed of all kinds of faux meat. Afterwards it was back to the hotel, score a little frozen yogurt and a little blogging before bed.