So Cal Neon

[Clearlight]

After a year of shooting almost nothing but landscapes and with the price of gas getting even more ridiculous, I was looking for a subject that I can do without having to travel too far. So I decided I'd start shooting some neon signs.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2126/2384954435_d38f9ae481_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2346/2404457845_c23f89a166_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2293/2404458201_99e1ac7463_b.jpg

[DerekRob]

Is that the famous rocker place where the great rockers hung out? The girls girls girls sign?

Cabaret?

[Clearlight]

Is that the famous rocker place where the great rockers hung out? The girls girls girls sign?

Cabaret?

No it's not, although I'm not sure what place you're referring to. I know Motley Crue did a song called "Girls Girls Girls" but I don't recall any famous strip club where rockers used to hang out in the Los Angeles area.

You may be referring to the infamous "Nude Nude Nude" sign that is at the corner of Aviation Blvd and Century Blvd near LAX.

[7446Guy]

Hey Clearlight.

What settings did you use?

[Clearlight]

Hey Clearlight.

What settings did you use?

Hey, I haven't seen this thread for awhile. Thanks for asking :)

The first image is:

Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 200

The second is:

Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/20
Focal Length: 45 mm
ISO Speed: 800

and the third is:

Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 32 mm
ISO Speed: 800

All taken with a EOS 30D

If you're interested in more So Cal Neon, please check my flicker photostream. All of the images there have the exif intact.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clearlight

[7446Guy]

Thx for the reply. What's been hard for me and I notice for you as well is trying to capture the wall light that the sign is on as well. i've been trying to get more accurate pics of our jobs and it's been hard to get a "true" pic.

[Clearlight]

Thx for the reply. What's been hard for me and I notice for you as well is trying to capture the wall light that the sign is on as well. i've been trying to get more accurate pics of our jobs and it's been hard to get a "true" pic.

I'm sorry but I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "the wall light that the sign is on".

If you're referring to the light from the neon reflecting off an adjoining wall like in this photo:


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2040/2510937854_c454989564_b.jpg

than my reponce is it's just all in how you choose to compose and expose the shot. Some times I'm looking to add that type of reflection and other times I'm just shooting the sign itself.

When shooting just the sign there are also times that I simply want to expose only the neon and other times I might want to try for a longer exposure so that I capture the neon and the body of the sign as well. Like this shot:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2254/2429824361_0ba2dcbcee_b.jpg

[7446Guy]

Here I'll give you an example. It may be hard to do but I'm trying to capture the sign in real sight. In this pic you can see the wall that the wall sign is on, probably only because there is a little bit of light, or more than at night.
http://www.westcoastsignco.com/modules/gallery/albums/album09/IMG_2166.sized.jpg

But even at night you should be able to see the wall that the sign is placed on. I'm trying to accurately portray the sign and not make the sign appear brighter or dimmer. In this shot, the sign is accurate as well as the under canopy light. But the wall that the sign is on appears black or too dark which is not the case. I'm not sure if it's something that I must give up in order to capture something that has light coming from it.

http://www.westcoastsignco.com/modules/gallery/albums/album02/solarefin.sized.jpg

Another sign that is hard to capture are individual illuminated letters that are red, or channel letters.

[djthemac]

very nice shots

[furiousbox]

Great neon shots! Wandering around downtown today I stumbled on the museum of neon art: http://www.neonmona.org/flash/index.html, made me want to take some night shots of signs around Hollywood as there seems to be no shortage of neon in socal.
As for the Motley Crue song, I think the only club in LA is the Seventh Vail in West Hollywood.

[Clearlight]

Great neon shots! Wandering around downtown today I stumbled on the museum of neon art: http://www.neonmona.org/flash/index.html, made me want to take some night shots of signs around Hollywood as there seems to be no shortage of neon in socal.
As for the Motley Crue song, I think the only club in LA is the Seventh Vail in West Hollywood.

Thanks. Yes, I highly recommend the MONA. It's a great resource for preserving some of the historic Los Angeles area neon.

And you're right the poster that mentioned the "famous rocker place" probably was referring to the Seventh Vail.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/2523886771_b58ce77c5f_b.jpg

[old cholo]

wow you really captured Los Angeles-