March 29, 2005

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   I purchased my Sony DCR-PC105, which is a digital videocamera with a still photo function, about one year ago. One of the most visited “folders” in my Webshots Gallery, where I put my photography on the internet, is the “Hollywood Boulevard” folder. I have three folders online with photos I shot while walking down Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, CA, last year. Last week the folder got 297 views and 31 downloads. I don’t have this folder linked from any of my other pages on AllThingsMike, so I would guess people just want to take a look at photos of Hollywood. So in the interest of featuring more photography that I haven’t yet shown on my blog, here is a sampling of some of the sights on the Boulevard.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  The main court of the Hollywood and Highland complex. (Click on any photo and a full size image will pop up in another browser window.) The famous “Hollywood Sign” can be seen in between the pillars here, and the architects designed the building so this would happen. The complex, which is a new “mall” has been built around the forecourt to the Grauman’s Chinese Theater and was designed to look like the set of the old D.W. Griffith silent film “Intolerance”.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  This is the marquee for the “Cinegrill” nightclub which is located in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  The “Pig and Whistle” restaurant enjoyed a brief resurrection in business when it was featured as one of the sets of the movie “L.A. Confidential” in 1997. I love to eat in the “Old Hollywood” restaurants, which have red vinyl seats at the booths, and waiters in jackets and ties. It’s almost like going back into the 20s for lunch.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Anyone who lives in Southern California will tell you that Hollywood Blvd. is mostly noted for tatoo parlors and wig shops, and although the city is trying to “brighten up” the place with new construction, and more touristy attractions, like the Hollywood and Highland Mall, there are still plenty of tatoo parlors and wig shops along the boulevard.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  I love to shoot photos “through windows” and get not only the subject, in this case, a sleazy mannequin, but the street shot from the reflection as well. I have a lot more of thes featured in the folders on the Webshots Gallery.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  I took these photos on a weekend in summer, and the street performers were out in force. Here Jimi Hendrix (or a reasonable facsimile of) strums his guitar on the sidewalk, strolling for tips.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Lastly, here is a shot of the Capitol Records building, a Hollywood landmark, only I shot it as a background for a building with a bar and a burger place, so it isn’t the “featured” subject of the photo. I also have some photos showing the now dilapidated mural with Nat King Cole, which adorns the side of the bar in front of the Capitol Records Building.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  I can never seem to find enough photos to post on these entries. Here is a bag lady and some of the “stars on Hollywood Boulevard”. Catching nobody else walking down the sidewalk was quite a feat since there were lots of visitors on the day I took these photos.

  
  

  

  
  

  EDIT: 5:42 p.m. Here is a last shot of the forecourt to the Hollywood and Highland Mall on Hollywood and Highland Boulevards in Hollywood, CA. I have added for Shonda (Xshodax), because she specifically asked to see “whatever those winged beasts are”. They are Babylonian Gods (Only in L.A.) and you can also see one of the elephant statues, which tower above three floors of shops and restaurants.

  • 8:08 am
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