What to do in Southern California?

Hi POTN,

I am making a 5 day trip down to Los Angeles in late June. I was wondering if you guys can point me to all the places where I can get some good scenery shot. Is there any park that I can visit to get some good photo of my family with the Hollywood sign in the background? Any quiet beach you recommend? A bridge? Any famous landmark?

I really appreciate the help

My advice is to just stay out of a car as much as possible.

The problem with SoCal is that you have to drive everywhere, so often you feel like you're always going somewhere but are never AT somewhere.

I hope that makes sense.

Get somewhere and stay there for many hours.

Venice Beach will never let you down if you like to shoot photos of people. Daytime or night, that place is wild.

Sunset Blvd. at night (it starts getting wild at about 11pm and continues all night).

Malibu in the summer.

There's more. I have to go.

You can always get some good shots of the LA basin from the Observatory in Griffith Park on a clear day. Hike a little behind the Observatory and you can capture both the Observatory and Downtown LA in one shot.

Another thing I suggest is perhaps purchasing a day pass for the Metro Rail. You can start somewhere in Hollywood, work your way into Downtown LA's business district, and end up in Chinatown.

santa monica 3rd street is a fun place to take candid shots. the getty center is another nice place to hang out for photos - there is a garden there, plus if you have a nice telephoto, you could shoot downtown from there! chinese mann theater, hollywood & highland all offer great opportunities.