Yeah, we out here rolling in Hollywood.
It’s pretty hectic here.
And after being here for about a half hour, I think this is definitely one of the best places to shoot street photography in LA.
There ain’t no doubt about it.
I’ve probably taken 300 photos in the last half hour.
Just snapping away.
Get a little snap.
Get a little snappy snap.
There’s just so much happening.
SO MANY PEOPLE
This little section right here is packed with people.
I’m trying to get a photo here.
Oh yeah, here we go.
Got somebody here.
You can hardly even walk through some of these areas without somebody coming through.
We’re right around the TCL Chinese Theatre and there are just people everywhere.
Characters everywhere.
That’s what makes Hollywood so much fun for street photography.
You don’t really have to search for something to photograph.
You just have to keep your eyes open and keep moving.
SHOOTING WITH JAY
I’m out here with my boy Jay.
He’s taking his cheap camera out today.
Didn’t want to bring the expensive stuff to Hollywood.
What are you shooting today, Jay?
“Characters mostly.”
No, I mean what camera?
He’s got the Leica Q3.
Cheap camera.
Couldn’t afford the good stuff.
Couldn’t afford film.
He’s being a little shy today.
But we’re just going to keep trucking.
HOLLYWOOD IS AWESOME
The sun’s starting to come out.
Hollywood is just awesome for this kind of photography.
You’ve got this incredible density of people packed together.
Santa Monica has a nice balance.
You’ve got some tranquility and you can still get your street photography in.
Hollywood is different.
Here you’re just packed into people.
It’s constant.
And you’ve got characters everywhere.
Tourists.
Locals.
People who have clearly been around Hollywood forever.
People with their own style.
People doing their thing.
You’ve also got all the signs, buildings, businesses and weird little details happening behind everybody.
The whole place is visually busy.
HOLLYWOOD AND NEW YORK
Jay lived in New York, so I asked him what neighborhood Hollywood would be if you dropped it into New York.
Times Square?
Maybe.
But Hollywood also has all these locals mixed into everything.
That’s what makes it interesting.
You’ve obviously got this huge tourist presence, but you’ve also got people who actually live and work here.
Those worlds overlap.
For street photography, that’s great.
A LITTLE HOLLYWOOD SIGN ACTION
Now we’re going up to this viewpoint of the Hollywood sign.
I haven’t been here in probably two years.
Let’s get a little photo.
Oh yeah.
That’s a nice photo.
Jay’s getting it.
Good photo.
Yep, he got a good one.
Now we’re going into the mall to cool down a little bit.
And if you ever need a public restroom while you’re shooting around Hollywood, you know where to go.
GOTTA CHANGE IT UP SOMETIMES
When you go somewhere like Hollywood after hanging out in sleepy Santa Monica for a while, it really rejuvenates you.
That’s another reason I like changing things up.
I love photographing Santa Monica.
I love the slower neighborhoods.
I love walking around near home and finding photographs in ordinary things.
But sometimes it’s nice to put yourself right back into the chaos.
People everywhere.
Constant movement.
Characters.
Noise.
You barely have enough time to think.
You just react.
And you snap.
MEETING JAY THROUGH STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
I actually met Jay through street photography.
We met in New York back in 2019.
I had only been doing street photography for about six months at the time.
I basically thought, I’ve got a camera now, I need to go to the big time.
So I went to New York.
Within my first hour or so after landing, I was shooting photographs in Chinatown.
Before I knew it, I was shooting with a bunch of other street photographers and walking around the city taking photos for the next several days.
It was freaking awesome.
I ended up meeting Jay around Penn Station.
Then a couple years later he moved out to Venice and hit me up.
“Let’s go shooting.”
And now he likes the California weather too much to go back to New York.
So that’s the story in short about me and Jay.
BACK IN HOLLYWOOD
There it is.
The Hollywood sign.
Nice little view up here.
Honestly, Hollywood seems way busier and cleaner than I remember it from the last time I was here.
But the biggest thing for me is just how good it feels to photograph somewhere different again.
I’ve been spending so much time photographing Santa Monica that coming back to Hollywood feels completely different.
Different energy.
Different people.
Different rhythm.
Sometimes that’s all you need.
Go somewhere you haven’t photographed in a while.
Don’t overthink it.
Walk around.
Get a little snap.
Get a little snappy snap.
Peace.