Traveling is it Better to Rent or Transport?

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

I decided that since LA has lots of photographers there are probably places to rent a tripod.

I came up with the name Sammy's as that was mentioned here often as a reputable place. Not close to where I am staying but close to the one place I will be of some distance from my hotel.

Is it better to lug all your equipment or rent some and what would be good sources in your neck of the woods for renting. It might be useful for everyone to know some sources in case one of the users here travels to your part of the world.

BTW I wonder if Sammy's is the best for renting.

BTW some airlines allow me to take the tripod on board along with my other carry on.

But getting rid of that makes it a camera case and a back pack for a short tip. Very cool.

I think having sources for lighting and other equipment could be useful.

In New York I have used Lens and Repro and Adormama and Calumet and FotoCare all good and about the same price.

[pfigen]

Wade,

You can rent from either Samy's (323-938-2420) on Fairfax, Calumet (323-466-1238) on Highland or from PRS (323-467-1212) a little further down Highland. All are in the general vicinity of the area you mentioned you were going to shoot - maybe 5-7 minutes.

My preference is Samy's but any one of them will work.

When I'm traveling to a single location theses days, I'll almost always send my gear Fedex Ground if I have a good address for it to go. A fifty pound strobe case might run $25-30 and you don't have to deal with it at the airport.

I always take cameras as carryon unless they're too bulky. I've put Gitzo CF tripods in my personal duffle for quick trips and never had a problem with that.

It's true that according to TSA regs, you actually can take a tripod on board, but you may run into individuals who don't know that who will hassle you. The rules per airline seem to vary and the last thing you want is to be at security needing to check a tripod, especially at LAX.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

I'll rent at Sammy's and it will give me chance to feel my way around. Thanks if you want to meet me, I am the guy in Cowboy hat I buy you a Starbucks unless you like real coffee.

I am more interested in being able to find my way around a city then I am in in going to tourist sites, I feel it is better to get to know a place when you make your rounds in a similar way as those that live there unfortunately in LA if you really need to get around then you must drive and driving is out of the question for me because of the injury to one of my hands.

It is the left hand which is what I would use most for driving I could last about five minutes on the road then the hand would a tighten up source of a great deal of pain so LA is probably too difficult for me to navigate. But I will find out tomorrow.

If you want to meet for coffee my e-mail is

wzphoto ( at ) verizon (dot ) net

They tell me I'm a real fun guy with whom to spend a brief amount of time.

It is going to be sunny on a couple of the days I am there and mostly about 70º it is going to warmup here tomorrow and then on Saturday and then get colder again. But hopeful y the demo in the apartment above me is done by Wednesday when I am home.

Thanks for the info.

[pfigen]

Wade,

Then you want to try Mani's Bakery about a block and a half down Fairfax from Samy's (one M by the way). There actually is a Samy, who is a pretty nice guy, for owning the largest camera store west of the Mississippi.

If you rode with me, your hand might tighten up on its own, depending on which car I chose to drive...

When are you going to be here?

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Tomorrow I arrive at LAX at 10 AM and i figure I get to my hotel by 10:45 which is way downtown, then I will take the 3rd street bus and figure it takes a half hour to get to Fairfax.

So I am hoping that 3rd street is not far from Los Angeles Street. I don't think it is.

That should get me to Sammy's before twelve but with the paper work and all I should be about noon.

If you email me with your cell I will call and let you know if I actually went in the right direction, if you hear batting practice in the background I ended up in Dodger Stadium.

I plan to be there between 11:30 and 1:00 tomorrow i will probably look around at used equipment especially some kind of small tripod.

Yes Mani"s Bakery sounds like the kind of LA I want to see.

[PSh...@adobeforums.com]

Too bad I'm not in LA any more... it'd be fun to put a face to all those ramblings. :)

Peter, teach him something, wouldja'? :)

[Allen...@adobeforums.com]

...I could last about five minutes on the road

In LA that might get you out of the parking lot on to a freeway, which is often another parking lot...

Stick with the locals.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Adorama if anyone expects me to type aand spell well nthey have serious problems.

Samy's as I have been corrected is very nice and a very large store and Peter..was a very personable person and fun to talk to and photographs very well to boot.

He took an interesting phot of me as well. LOL! He did something that a lot of people do every where I go he took photos of me shooting. I did not take a look at them but they always look alike.

[pfigen]

See what happens. You meet someone in person and it's not at all what you might expect. Wade rented a tripod at Samy's. I introduced him to my friends there. We had coffee at Mani's Bakery down the street and took a little tour of Hollywood before I dropped him at his downtown hotel.

Wade was the guy in the peacoat and cowboy hat. Not what I expected for someone from New York, but he fit in quite well in L.A. - maybe better than he imagined.

Here's the little wideangle snap of him as we sat outside on the sidewalk at Mani's.

I guess I'll have to upload that later as pixentral is stuck right now.

[Andrew_...@adobeforums.com]

See what happens. You meet someone in person and it's not at all what
you might expect

Darn, Wade is in town and I missed a chance to see him. What are you up to this weekend? Want to meet somewhere?

[pfigen]

<http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1a4QF3Oe2MGi3aAJ2SfVfvuNQjb3o91>

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

If you are downtown I willbe shooting tomorrow nd sunday depending on the weather Near the Walt Disney Theater

[Andrew_...@adobeforums.com]

If you are downtown

I'm not but... call me.

Peter, you are good! :-)

[PSh...@adobeforums.com]

LOL ... thanks for that, Peter. Nice shot.

You look like a nice guy there, Wade. Wish I was there so we could hook up.

-phil

[Ozp...@adobeforums.com]

Looks like Wade has got his avatar picture ready for the new forums!

[-ma...@adobeforums.com]

Are there some cowboy boots to go with that hat, Wade? :)

Neat shot!

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

If I come to your part of the woods I will let you know.

What City?

I met with Andrew and I got a great looks at LA you would never get this from the web. Bot Peter and Andrew showed me qa little bit of LA that is everyday but LA is so vast that it would take a couple of weeks to really get your feet a little wet.

Andrew did the same thing as Peter did with the 24MM as close as they could get I pointed out to Andrew that the 24mm Nikkor PC (shift/Tilt) is also a Micro lens and you can get even closer then you would be able to with a normal prime or zoom lens. Some pros use it for portraits as they also use the Nikkor 85 mm PC lens.

[Andrew_...@adobeforums.com]

We hang around LA Music Center, had lunch and I drove Wade around Downtown Los Angeles. That's just scratching the surface of things to see here but I think he will be back for more.

Peter was right... take Wade away from his keyboard and its not what you might expect. ;)

Andrew did the same thing as Peter did with the 24MM as close as they
could get

Well, I was only going to use it to scare neighborhood kids but since you had to mention it...

<http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1NLsE5BWxjKsXyJLyV6abZ5ddPaZXm1>

Here are few more snapshots of happy Wade.

<http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1lM7tlePA1vByCbqsoZUCWNCZz0F11>

<http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1UvmI0K1JOYJjR8aUoJLDBfEbSqwTx1>

<http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1EDukfFanAGmnRuWVIVPBFj4qER2A0>

[PSh...@adobeforums.com]

What City?

I doubt you'd be coming to my town anytime soon - if ever. But Oklahoma City and Tulsa are close enough. The hat's a little "sparkly" for this neck of the woods, but throw on some raggedy boots caked in red mud and you'll fit in perfectly. ;)

-phil

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Tulsa or Oklahoma City...well you can never tell. One of my clients designs shopping centers right now all over the country but eventually all over the world and I actually believe he has mentioned Oklahoma.

Curious what made you move from California to Oklahoma?

LA looks like a boom town to me. Lots of acrtiviti8y and potential for growth.

I don't know if I could live here, actually becaause of personal reason I could not live in LA, but even if I did not have that
restriction I would probably find it difficult.

Altought the current weather is excellent for me, I really think this place is for a certain type of person.

[pfigen]

Wade,

It was supposed to rain this weekend and instead you had some classic southern California sunshine. I think it hit ninety degrees downtown yesterday and today, well, it was simply gorgeous.

I hope that between Andrew and myself, we could show Wade a small part of L.A. that the typical tourist would never see, and maybe even convince him to come back and visit again. Wade seemed to be going into his L.A. visit thinking ahead of time he was not going to like it. I hope that we helped him see it otherwise.

It's one thing when things get out of hand sometimes on these rather anonymous forums, but it's quite another to sit down and have coffee with someone and have an actual conversation.

What I found out is that Wade has had a virtual lifelong relationship and love of photography, and although we still won't see eye to eye on everything, I think we both came away from the experience with a better sense of mutual respect and understanding.

Wade was going to come and hear my girlfriend's band play last night but then opted to go to Disney Hall to hear a famous violinist perform. Can't blame him for that but around midnight last night I was kind of hoping he could have come to that gritty little nightclub instead. It would have been just a little more of that homegrown L.A.

Peter

[Silkr...@adobeforums.com]

I have been to Oklahoma once and loved it. South of Oklahoma city is a wildlife refuge. You can get out of the car and walk almost up to the buffalo. As with any wild animal you can trust them just so far.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

I am not so certain I made the right choice about the concert.

Although I am glad I saw the interior of the Concert Hall I might of had more fun listening to the band.

I will return to LA depending on how successful this trip is will determined how far in the future.

The weather day was incredible. Did you guys know that LA has subway that is really great but almost no one uses.

I am enjoying LA and tomorrow will take in a few of the Museums that are close to the hotel, well MOCA!

Then back to the snowy Northeast, but Peter and Andrew did show me a lot that I liked and both Ann and Linda would definitely like it and they would probably do even better if the met up here. Ann would want to return to the Northeast but Linda might like to stay.

I have a feeling, me I think I would be better off in Paris.

There is the bar that is a couple of blocks from the Hotel that is jam packed every Friday and Saturday night the line to get in can go around the block.

I wanted to see what it looked like but it is actually closed on Sunday. We have lines here in New york but not as long as that and since I don't drink I have to see it on off hours when no one is there. I have to see what would make these young people stand on line. I took a photograph.

I hope the door prizes were fantastic.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

You are right: I do like California a lot.

My explorations have been limited to the northern half of it — of which Yosemite is certainly the jewel in the crown.

I have only seen it during the summer months but it must be even more spectacular in winter?

[Laurenti...@adobeforums.com]

I would've chosen the club musical scene
but more importantly
I opt for traveling over… typing : )

Wade, brush up on your French (typing) before going to Paris : )
[not too many natives speak Shakespearianish]
can you blame them? : )

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

LT I have been to Paris three times lst year on work related business and will probably return twice this year. Ican get by with a small amount of French I know and each time I go I learn a little bit more and I can understand French better then I can speak it. Even when they are insulting me or the U.S.

The biggest language problem I have in France is they the way U.S. tourist bark at everyone.

One jerk said he loved the country but wish they spoke more English and had English signs. Of course if that were so then it would not be France and what would be the point. Also the folk from the heartland of the U.S. act like a bunch of hicks as well and they talk very loud about there mundane existance in the heartland something everyone wants to hear.

The good thing is that you do not need to listen to it intently in order to hear it as there is no way of avoiding it.

I know they do that here in New York as well.

[Laurenti...@adobeforums.com]

I avoid France
(but I like the the country, not so much the people, and I speak French : )

[Silkr...@adobeforums.com]

Maybe they don't use the subways in case there is an earthquake. :)

[Laurenti...@adobeforums.com]

part of the subway was one of the few things that "survived" in the… Planet of the Apes : )
using the subway may keep us from "repeating" the premise
maybe "they" don't use the subway because they're vane, but I could be wrong
(I'd like that to change anyway)

[pfigen]

The people who use Metro Rail here are the ones whose commute happens to coincide with Metro's destinations. It's great if you're going from Long Beach to downtown or downtown to the airport or from the valley to downtown, but most people don't use it because it doesn't go anywhere near where they need to go. Los Angeles is a horizontal city and has never really taken public transportation seriously. I guess Angelenos love their cars too much.

[-sh...@adobeforums.com]

...but most people don't use it because it doesn't go anywhere near where
they need to go.

That makes sense. %(

"You won't see a cop walkin on the beat
You only see him drivin cars on the street
You won't see a kid walkin home from school
Their mothers pick them up in a car pool

"Walking in LA
Walking in LA
Nobody walks in LA
Walking in LA
Walkin in LA
Nobody walks in LA"
~~~"Walking in L.A.", Missing Persons

[pfigen]

There is a lot of truth in those lyrics. Personally, I do walk a lot in L.A. - both in the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains, and when I don't have time I'll just take off from my front door for an urban hike. It's amazing how much more you see when you walk somewhere.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Now this is a face only a mother dare love:

<http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=19PfAFhfdogb9lgp9HwDz5KZLc8SP>

[pfigen]

Thanks Wade. I was having a decent hair day...I love that shot.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

I"ll send you a print.

Here is Andrew

<http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1GB4AUL7gibG9cnhJE68YFFnMudJRM>

[Andrew_...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Wade... for reminding me, which side of the camera I should stay on. :-)

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

You're welcome Andrew anytime you want to be reminded I'm your guy!

did you ever try a cowboy hat?

[Allen...@adobeforums.com]

did you ever try a cowboy hat?

?? Try it how? :)

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Try it in public you live in LA a cowboy hat is not anything out of the ordinary in such a place.

And it might represent some opportunities. And it will shield you from the sun.

In LA I hardly get noticed but outside of that city the hat gets me a lot of notice especially from the women. Of course even without the hat t I get a lot of notice but I do not have the benefit of being shielded from the sun.

[Fred_...@adobeforums.com]

Here in the Rural confines of the Derwent Valley in Tasmania you would look decidedly out of place if you didn't wear a cowboy hat. These days the statement is getting to be ridiculous with brims so wide that they almost qualify as sombreros...

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

BTW folks if I did not mention it before the images of Peter and Andrew were taken with the 24MM Nikkor PC lens which is an excellent portrait lens as is the 85 mm Nikkor PC.

Being able to focus within 9 and 16 inches respectively.

Very sharp and a great latitude.

[Dirk]

Hmm, too bad. I just got back from LA/Long Beach. Glad you guys hooked up. I'll post the next time I go there... Next month I'm off to Austin, TX :-)

[-sh...@adobeforums.com]

It's good to see some (more) of the faces here. :) Lookin' good guys.

I think we oughta' start a self-portrait gallery thread. Any takers?

[Andrew_...@adobeforums.com]

did you ever try a cowboy hat?

I did a job in Dallas last Summer... ;)

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

that's a good start, I think you should start the thread shep.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Fabulous!
All of the elements just drop so perfectly into place in relation to each other — right down to the guy coming out of the doorway and the yellow bus and even the yellow lines on the street!

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

Love it!

[L...@adobeforums.com]

Powerful Image

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks!

I wonder how me Gehry will feel about it when I send him a 4x6 print?

It might be a good opportunity as he is cutting back expenses and laid off half his staff.

Usually a good time to become the new kid!

[Fred_...@adobeforums.com]

Cool shot, Wade.

Usually a good time to become the new kid!

Truth.

[-sh...@adobeforums.com]

Great shot, Wade!

When you say your "successful" trip to LA, how do you mean? Just on a personal basis or...

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Both personal and business wise. I had an enjoyable time and got some good work done for a online publication I contribute to and some for my archive to post with my agency and I know that LA is not quite as difficult as most people think it is to get around.

Even the people who live there apparently do not know they have viable alternatives that would save them time and money and even if they do know it unfortunately they have a set idea as to how they should get around, which is strictly by automobile.

But that would not be a problem for me as I do things in a very efficient way, s I found that way for me and it was fun exploring the place. Peter is correct LA is not as bad as its reputation and one could live there and probably make friends easier then one can in New York, although I have a way of meeting people.

[Allen...@adobeforums.com]

Very, very nice pic Wade.

[Ozp...@adobeforums.com]

Nice indeed. Shades of the Thames Barrier in those 'shells'.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Shades of the Thames Barrier in those 'shells'.

Actually one would probably find it hard to avoid that effect with this subject.

[Laurenti...@adobeforums.com]

backlight

[Ozp...@adobeforums.com]

I just mean the look of the structure - see <http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2215/2114770283_3dfdfcedcb.jpg?v=0> for instance.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Yes very similar I think and perhaps it has had an influence on the architect as well.

Having now seen the Thames barrier in the photos on the web I think I might like to see them in person, I will make a trip this year to the UK.