Last Light on the Hills

Everyone knows these hills. Almost no one sees them like this.

This is the few minutes after the crowds start leaving Griffith Observatory, when the sun drops behind the ridge and the whole sky turns molten orange. The white dome glows. The Hollywood sign sits quiet on the hillside, the way it has for a hundred years. And for a moment the most photographed place in Los Angeles feels like it belongs to you alone.

I shot this at the last possible second of light. A minute later the color was gone and the hills went blue. That is what makes it worth keeping. Not the landmarks, though they are here, but the reminder that the best light never lasts, and the people who stay are the ones who get to see it.

For anyone who has watched the sun go down from that hill and not wanted to leave. Printed and finished to gallery standard, made to anchor a living room, an office, or the wall you walk past every morning. A piece of Los Angeles to bring home, or to keep the city close long after you leave.