HOLLYWOOD SIGN 2010!

I never like to do things half-ass so when my friend Ned said, let's go up to the Hollywood sign and take that photo we'd been talking about for the last eight years, I packed all my gear, Nikon D3, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, attached the sticks to my Lowepro bag, and we headed up Beachwood Canyon around 1030am this morning. It was a beautiful summer day, low eighties and my only complaint was that there wasn't a cloud in the sky, kind of made for a boring back ground. Scattered clouds are always fun and make for a more interesting scene, but we got creative with some fun shots to make up for the fact.

The backstory goes, Ned and I have been talking about taking these shots for eight long years, probably longer. Back in college we used to write these almost "chose your own adventure Hollywood emails," how we were going take over the city, and make our mark. We were young then, naive, dreamers (we're still dreamers!) but we've both achieved milestones as of late, which I guess is what finally got us off our asses to take the shot - Ned starting his own company and Amanda and I having our first baby.

Anyway, we hiked up the trail. There is a great spot that is kind off the beat and path of the main loop. As you hike up towards the sign, after the second bend, you actually head out away from the H sign, down a path that if you didn't look close enough, you'd probably miss it. Its quiet, you don't get all the tourist traffic and people staring at you. In fact, you get a great angle with the sign in the back ground. After about an hour and 253 frames later, I think we got the shot...check it out, as well as other fun frames from the shoot.

The Shot

Other Fun Moments