This month I went to Los Angeles to shoot timelapses.
It was my first time being in the city to shoot and here were my three favorite views of the city! Los Angeles can get some amazing colors at sunrise and sunset with clear skies.
I also recommend having a zoom lens at 200 mm to capture the details of the city and backgrounds
1. Griffith Park at Sunrise
The day before getting to LA it had rained and it was fairly windy in the morning which was good news for air quality. Griffith Park has an iconic view of LA with the observatory and skyline. To shoot here you will need to park near the observatory and then hike about 15 minutes up the hill to the viewpoints. I shot three timelapses here each with a different composition. The first was a wide angle night to day timelapse with the city skyline. I did a 6 second interval and got some amazing colors. I then did a zoomed timelapse of the sun rising over the mountains and another one of the Griffith Observatory but zoomed in closer. Make sure to have a zoom lens for this location at 200mm+
2. Lincoln Heights at Sunset
The second location I recommend is in Lincoln Heights. I won’t give away the exact location since it’s a bit of a secret but with some google map searching you should be able to find it. This is the famous palm tree view. I did a sunset here and got some amazing colors with a 7 second interval. You will be fine shooting here near 100mm.
3. West Hollywood at Sunrise
The final location is in West Hollywood since it offers a unique view of the city and mountain for the sun. Shooting the city when clear and mountains is an amazing timelapse when it peeks over the top. This location is a bit further out from the city so you will need around 200mm lens
