LA - Part 1

We spent Thanksgiving in Los Angeles with family. My dad just got a new DSLR. He got the same camera I have but he got the lens I keep drooling over but every time I get almost enough saved up an unexpected expense pops up and eats it all. He gave his old DSLR to my sister. I am fairly new to photography but my Dad and Sister have been going together on photo shoots for years. I was really excited to finally go with them on one on Saturday. We decided to go out and take pictures of the wonder of art and architecture that is Disney Hall.

We got up early and drove out to the Red Line station in Universal City. We had no idea what parking downtown might be like so we did not want to deal with driving. I just like riding the subway since it is a novelty for me living in a small town (by CA standards).

Waiting for the train, I snapped a few pictures of the station.



One of my favorite things about the Red Line is they did not do the usual boring public works project when they built it. The stations are each a work of art.



We got to Disney Hall a bit later than we had originally planned the day before. It did not really matter. The reflections were stunning and I was in a much better mood than I would have been had I woken up an hour earlier.



I have only seen the building while passing by on the freeway. As I stood there looking at the intense reflections I understood how people could have complained about the original finish on the stainless steel. They had to take off most of the exterior facing steel and lightly sand it to turn it down. You can still see the original finish in the part of the building which do not get direct sunlight.





I read that the heat from the original surface was so intense, they recorded temperatures on the nearby sidewalks at 140 degrees. Even sanded, the steel was giving off warmth on a cool November morning. I spied a bee enjoying the warmth.



Last, an interesting view of S. Grand Avenue before we walked to California Square in search of coffee and snacks.