All of Los Angeles

Surf in the morning, ski in the afternoon. People say it about Los Angeles. This is what it actually looks like.

Shot from the cliffs of Palos Verdes, across the bay to a skyline most people never see this way. The Pacific in the foreground, downtown in the middle distance, and behind all of it the San Gabriel Mountains buried in fresh snow, lit gold by the last of the sun. A jet drops toward LAX. Ocean, city, and snow in a single frame.

A long telephoto lens is the only way to stack it like this, pulling mountains that sit far inland up over the towers downtown. Snow falls this heavy only a few times a year, and the light lands like this for only a few minutes. I waited through a lot of ordinary evenings for one that wasn't.

For anyone who loves this improbable city, where you can stand on the sand and watch it snow in the distance. Printed and finished to gallery standard, made to anchor a living room, an office, or the wall you walk past every day. A piece of Los Angeles to bring home, or to keep the city close long after you leave.