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The canals are a short walk away from the Venice sign.
About the canals
The canals are an underrated tourist destination in Los Angeles, especially on the west side. Yes, Santa Monica is interesting, and Venice beach is famous, but it's all stuff you've seen before. How about a neighborhood that's tucked—hidden almost—a few blocks away from all the tourist action and sits on a series of canals that was inspired by the other Venice? As an added bonus, this neighborhood has been on the mend for nearly 20 years and now has a wonderfully diverse set of architectural styles, from classic beach bungalow to California modern. The best part? The whole thing is accessible via a set of sidewalks that makes it really easy to explore by foot. Try the guided-audio Detour for a rich, immersive experience.
About this series
I shot this series in a single visit during on 19 Oct 2016. On the ride back home to Santa Monica, I remember looking at my camera backs thinking, 'Damn. I didn't get a single usable image out of this entire thing.' But first impressions can be deceiving. Sometimes I've found that I have to will a set of photos into being, and this was one of those instances. In the end, I had a serviceable set of seven images that hung together nicely as a series.
The most memorable part about this shoot was that 19 Oct was the night of the final presidential debate. Walking by these canal homes can be a pretty intimate experience because the sidewalks are right up against the houses. I was listening to the debate on my headphones as I was walking around capturing the images, but many of the houses had the TV on, so I actually ended up seeing many of the pivotal moments in this debate.