City of Angels: LA Street Photography with Tyler Woodford
2 12 Share TweetDocumenting the streets of LA, photographer Tyler Woodford shoots stunning urban scenes of downtown, Hollywood, and Santa Monica on our CN 800 and Berlin Kino 35mm films. Having previously photographed both Mexico City and NYC, Tyler's photos of LA capture a whole new place with a whole new feeling. Check out his photos here!
Hi Tyler. We previously showcased some of your photos from a trip to Mexico. What have you been up to since then?
Since Mexico, I’ve been getting comfortable in the LA area photographing the three major spots of the area, which are Hollywood, the Santa Monica Pier, and Downtown LA. Aside from that, I’ve been doing my best getting used to shooting in LA and staying inspired to keep shooting.
Your new project takes place in and around the Hollywood Walk of Fame. What about this location interested you and how did you come up with the idea for this project?
The new project started out directly about the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Starting the project, I was concerned that the photos would start to look the same. That ended up happening, so I decided to expand the project to the Santa Monica Pier and Downtown Los Angeles to get more variety. The project kind of happened on its own because the LA area is the only thing I can compare to New York. I just wanted to keep shooting and progress with my work.
There is a really interesting lack of technology in most of these photos. Was this a purposeful element in this body of work?
The lack of technology in the photos might have happened on accident but I usually turn away from subjects that are on their phones or something relevant to that. I feel that it’s too obvious when those aspects are present in the frame. I’ve been trying to look for more real moments on the streets and focus on composition. Along with the lack of technology, I like to keep it very simple when I shoot. One film stock, one lens, and only focus on getting the photo.
Street photography in a city as big as Los Angeles means seeing/photographing a wide variety of people. What is a favorite memory/story you have about creating this work?
I don’t want to sound blunt or ignorant but not a lot about Los Angeles is appealing to me, to be honest. Not once did I share a conversation with someone on the street or anything. That’s not because those were my intentions but truly because it didn’t happen.
You have photographed everywhere from LA to NYC to the streets of Mexico. How did your experience shooting in these different cultures/places differ?
Recently I’ve shot in NYC, LA, and Mexico City. They’re all very different in their own ways but none compare to New York City. That’s the place to be. Mexico is wonderful for its stunning colors and architecture. LA is a bit hard because the ego of the city really kills the photo scene in my opinion. Everyone dresses the same and has the same attitude that they’re more important than you. Lastly, New York is a combination of both beauty and stress. You can see so much in New York that you can’t get anywhere else. New York is a busy, constant hustle. None the less, everywhere you go, you’ll find a positive and negative about it, but I think it’s important to find the place that best fits you.
You used the LCA for some of these photos. What was your experience shooting with that camera like?
The LCA is so much fun to shoot with! The size and simplicity are wonderful. My favorite part about the camera is the lens and the ability to manually focus. It’s a small and quick camera, which is great for what I normally do. I highly recommend the LCA.
What can we expect from you in the future? Any exciting projects in the works?
What’s next for me is to hopefully move back to New York by next spring or earlier if possible. I want to keep progressing in my photography and to keep looking forward to what’s next. Most importantly for myself is to keep having fun with photography and to take it day by day.
Check out more of Tyler's work on Instagram.
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