Because my last post was about shooting in shutter priority mode, it would only make sense that this post be about shooting in aperture priority mode. That post will come soon, however, I had an interesting weekend that I wanted to share.
I had a pretty interesting weekend, at least Saturday and then Sunday morning. Saturday was interesting because my better half had some family friends in town from Vermont who wanted to see Los Angeles before leaving for their two-week cruise to Hawaii. Since their flight home was right after they returned on the cruise, the time Saturday before they sailed out on Sunday was the only chance to tour LA. They wanted to see downtown LA, Hollywood, and the Hollywood sign. We managed to do all of that, and a visit to the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday. Now they are cruising to Hawaii while I am going to work.
I took my camera with me on Saturday, but because we were covering so much ground so fast, I really only got some snapshots of the sights around LA.
Angels Flight:
Our tour of LA began at Angels Flight as it is a landmark. We had planned to show them Angels Flight as it was on the way to the Grand Central Market and the Bradbury Building. Everyone from the group had heard of it and all of them wanted to see it so our tour guide day was off to a great start.
Bradbury Building:
After Angels Flight and the Grand Central Market, we went to the Bradbury Building at 3rdand Broadway. The Bradbury Building is an historic building in the Historic Core area of downtown. It was built in 1893 and is an architectural marvel. We took the group there and, just like anyone who has ever seen the Bradbury Building (regardless of how many times) were taken in by the building’s beauty and the detail work. The iron railings, the woodwork, and the tile work are just so beautiful that everyone really enjoyed getting to see it.
The Last Bookstore:
From the Bradbury Building we went to The Last Bookstore which is an interesting book store that winds through two floors. The upstairs floor has a book tunnel and some interesting artwork and vendors.
Intercontinental Hotel:
From The Last Bookstore, we went to the Intercontinental Hotel on Figueroa. After going to Vermont last summer to visit my better half’s family, I learned that the tallest building in the State of Vermont was 9 stories tall. Knowing that, we had to take the group to the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel which is on the 70thfloor. From that high vantage point, we showed them the view to Santa Monica and the ocean, LAX, and pointed out that we were above Dodgers Stadium even though the first floor of the building was downhill from the stadium.
Hollywood:
After the Intercontinental Hotel, we took everyone on the Red Line (subway) to Hollywood. We got off at Hollywood and Highland. Everyone was hungry so we grabbed lunch at the Mel’s Diner. The 50’s style restaurant was a hit with the group. From there we walked down Hollywood Blvd. to Cahuenga where the Hollywood sign is best viewed. After the obligatory photos of the Hollywood sign and the group with the Hollywood sign behind them, we got back on the Red Line toward downtown. Once we were back downtown, we got on the Expo Line to go out to Santa Monica.
Santa Monica Pier:
After a ride on the Expo Line, we arrived in Santa Monica just a couple of blocks from the Santa Monica Pier. As one of the group is a huge fan of Route 66, seeing the sign on the pier representing the end of Route 66 was a hit.
From the pier we pointed out where Malibu is, and showed them (from a distance) the famous Venice Beach. At the end of the pier were the usual fishermen and a harbor seal hoping for some dropped catch.
After all of that, the group took a ride back to their hotel in San Pedro to get ready for their cruise and we headed back home.