A Los Feliz Day in the Rain
On a rainy day at the end of 2020, instead of having a normal Southern California rainy day and curling up with a book and the fireplace on, we decided to venture out. 2020 had left us stuck inside for many reasons.
The virus — Staying inside became the default.
Fires — The fires brought dangerous air quality leaving you to wonder if it was healthier for you to exercise in the poor air or stay sedentary for another while.
Heat — The heat of summer seemed longer than ever this year. Masks have been great in cold weather to warm you up. They do not, however, make the heat more bearable.
On this rainy day, the rain stopped for a moment long enough for me and my girlfriend Rebecca to pack up and step outside. Rain offers scenery we don't get to appreciate most days. We walked through our neighborhood on streets we walk most days and into Griffith Park, our familiar and loved outdoor space.
A look back offers a glimpse of downtown behind us.
As Hillhurst meets and merges with Vermont, a look down Vermont offers a quiet look at the giant fig trees overreaching the median. Satisfyingly little traffic this morning on an otherwise unusually busy road. Vermont leads cars to the Griffith Observatory, The Greek Theater, a golf course, tennis courts, and trails. This summer there were no concerts and the observatory has been closed but this part of the park was as busy as ever with the trails being one of the few places "open" this year.
Coyotes — a contentious, feared, and perhaps misunderstood species among some of our fellow NextDoor neighbors. Here in the park, they are relaxed and share the space with people. This pack must live nearby as we've seen them many times in this location.
We made our way up the empty trails with the observatory behind us and the golf course below us.
We stopped at the overlook by the water tower. We would normally take a moment to enjoy the view before heading down. Sensing the rain was going to come any moment Rebecca was eager to get the show on the road but instead, I set up a "quick" timelapse.
While we sat there, the rain started to fall again with increasing strength each minute we waited. I held a plastic bag as a rain shield that I had brought to keep the camera dry in my backpack.
The timelapse.
The clouds appear to be moving to the right of the frame but the storm is actually coming in from the right side.
The view was stunning. It looked this unreal in person. No filters or color changes were made to this photo.
The rain poured heavy on us on our way down the trails. We watched as water formed new paths of erosion in the dirt. I covered my camera with my plastic bag in hopes of getting another shot. It proved too rainy and cold to take any more shots until the rain let up and we were back to Vermont and the water was draining into the roads.
Of course, what would a storm in LA be without palm fronds strewn everywhere.
With only our windbreakers protecting us, we got home cold and soaked but happy to have found adventure in our backyard.
Thanks for coming on this photo journey with me.
