Moving Pictures

I thought I would finish up shooting with this really long lens by trying to squeeze the full two and a half miles of the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk into one shot. I saw it done very well once by a friend of mine about 10 years ago. Since then the light poles have been changed, repaired, and reworked several times. Pretty much every time I thought about shooting it there was mismatched lighting, construction, or bad weather. When I finally got there on just the right day, my biggest lens was just not enough. The 2x doubler I had just made matters worse and a shaky tripod made for a frustrating day. That was about 3 years ago. On this day I took my oldest working camera - Nikon D70, Cheapest lens - Vivitar Series 1 500mm F/8.0, and my $20.00 tripod set very low to the ground. I shot in the morning at Anne Kolb in highly overcast conditions. When I staked my claim on a bench at the end of the Broadwalk, the light could not have been brighter. My drive home was met with torrential rain...

The Downtown Hollywood Dream Car Classic   has returned so I hear. I didn't actually know that when I went. I stumbled upon it on my way to somewhere else. I might add I did not have my cameras with me. I did have my cell phone so after walking about half way through the event I decided to return to where I started and shoot a few photos. I'm glad I did. The lighting was perfect for cell phone shots and I was there early enough not to be bothered by the crowds. As my photography teacher told me when I was complaining about my camera, "The best camera you have is the one you have with you". The point being if you are truly a photographer you find a way to capture the best shot with whatever you have at hand. I honestly don't know if I could have had better photos if I had my newest camera in hand. What do you think?

Another great day at Camelot Days in Hollywood. For more photos, [click here]