Santa Monica — Rob Borrett Photography

I was in LA at the start of March and it is one of my favourite cities in the world. I had a week of meetings for work, staying in Santa Monica. When I landed on the Monday I had a short opportunity to grab my camera and run a block West to the beach. LA is famous for it’s sunsets and this one didn’t disappoint.

First I headed to Venice Beach. I have been here a few times and I had an idea of the shot I wanted to get. A long lens shot across the park with the silhouette of skaters as my subject. As ever the skate park was busy with more spectators than skaters. A brilliant mix of locals, holiday makers, day tourists, drunks, stoners and hipsters. Venice is always an assault on the senses, visually it has everything. Architecture, sun, palm trees, beautiful people, young, old and homeless. The homelessness is eye opening to a visitor. Some sleep, some eat. Some sell things and some just appear to be mad. Drugs are blatant and the smell of weed mixes in the air with street food and boutique roasted coffee. Art meets desperation, meets wealth, meets poor, meets inspiration. It is a very odd place.

As I muscled in on my spot against the rails of the skate park I noticed an angle that if a boarder got high enough it would capture sun, palm tree and subject. Below are the results. The silhouette theme from my original idea was still prevalent and it began to set the style for the rest of the shoot.

Once I reached Santa Monica the sun was low and the vibe was chilled. 1000’s of people, sat in relative silence all together, watching the sunset and enjoying a moment in time. The pier was the perfect backdrop and set the tone perfectly.