Welcome to LA River Pix

Feed from LA River Pix

One of my favorite photos of the Los Angeles River was taken on one of my very first visits to it. It was shot just south of the Los Feliz Blvd. bridge and looks north up the river. A small hill in Griffith Park rises in the background and a deep blue sky and bright green foliage serve to make it a nice colorful photo, but it is certainly not a great photo. What makes it special to me was the wonder I felt at seeing this part of the LA River for the first time, an almost bucolic setting with Blue Herons, Cormorants and Mallards settled in amongst the wiry brush that juts up and out from the river’s islands and banks.

Many photographers know you can form an emotional attachment to a photo based on the experience you felt at the time you took it. It might be from the obstacles and challenges you had to overcome in order to capture the image, or it could be the long journey you had to trek to find the location. For me, it was the feeling of excitement in knowing I had found a new and fantastic subject to photograph, a place I had never really known about before or ever had the chance to explore.

 One of the things I love about teaching photography is helping students capture that feeling of wonderment and translating it into a great photograph. But it can be so frustrating to look over a beautiful and moving scene, get all excited about taking a photo of it, and then experience the disappointment when it doesn’t live up to expectations.

The problem is not the lack of some innate ability to capture the feeling of the scene, it is the lack of understanding of the tools that enable one to do so. I don’t teach students how to take a great photo, I teach them how to make one. A big difference that was taught to me by some of the most talented photographers I have known and had the pleasure to work for.

For more info about how this was taken, click on image

I recently went back in an attempt to capture a bit more mood and drama of that original photo, I always knew the location had more potential to it and wanted to see what I could do. This time I felt I was much better able to portray the serenity and calm of the location by shooting at dusk and with a long exposure that shows the movement of the water. The point is that I always have to be  learning too.

I launched this website to showcase photos of my favorite subject, a place where I consistently experience the inspiration and excitement that I want to put in my pictures. We tend to want to shoot the most in places where we feel the most when we shoot there. That is what the LA River is to me. The diversity of scenery and the extraordinary changes the river is undergoing make it the perfect place to photograph and visit time after time.

I also started this site to share my photographic experience and knowledge with others (getting old has to be good for something). I will share the stories of how I took the photos, the settings I used and why I think a photo works and in some cases why it didn’t work. I will take you with me to see the many faces and moods of the river and hopefully inspire you to visit there and make great and inspirational photos for yourself.