I’ve passed through the Tongva park a few times while on my way to shoot the Santa Monica Pier, but never actually shot here. I would always see these lookout structures and thought they might be cool to shoot through.
So a few nights ago, I finally made an attempt to come here but unfortunately I couldn’t find parking because of some event which caused me to miss the sunset. So it is in Los Angeles. You just have to add on an hour anything you want to do around here.
The good news is, I came back a few days later, we had an even better sunset and the weekend traffic made for some nice streaking lights on the streets.
Tongva Park, Santa Monica – Sony A7r II
Luckily I brought my Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Heliar III Leica lens. The extra 1mm makes a difference over the Sony 16-35mm and the aperture stars on the Voigtlander are amazing. You just couldn’t get this look otherwise.
If you’re visiting, you could probably bang out the Santa Monica Pier and this location in one night. Catch the sunset at the pier, then come up here before it gets too dark and get a few shots around the park. It’s a great location.
This park is also relatively new, so you shouldn’t have to worry about the hordes of photographers . . . yet!
Location: Tongva Park – Santa Monica, California
Camera: Sony A7r II
Lens: Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Heliar III
ISO 100, f8, 30sec
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