I’m  not much for photographing jungles of concrete and metal in search for urban portraits and city landscapes, but when the opportunity arose to spend time with photographer friends near Los Angeles a few weeks ago, I figured it would be worth it to shoot for a day in the big city. As photographers, we carefully selected a few spots we thought would be unique and ignored all the glamor and junk that the metropolis has to offer.

Big cities are not exactly the safest places to be in the world. So just to be safe, we went on a Saturday to avoid traffic, walked together in a group, planned out each spot we would visit beforehand, brought maps and a GPS, and made sure we were out of the downtown area before dark.

From a photographer’s perspective, below are a few spots I would recommend if you are ever in the area.

1. Walt Disney Concert Hall

Home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, this fairly new building is an architectural marvel to behold. It’s extreme abstractness makes it fun to take pictures of, though it’s sad to think that so much money went into a building whose exterior serves no other purpose than for looks. Free tours of the building are given throughout the day, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn the answers to “how?”, “why?”, and “how much?” about the building.

2. The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites

After touring the Concert Hall, we just strolled down the street to the downtown area. It’s just like any other big city with skyscrapers and stuff. We had heard about this Bonaventure Hotel which had a nice view of the downtown area on the 32nd floor, so we found the building and stepped inside. It was a ritzy place, and the glass elevators are a lot of fun to ride, but we couldn’t make it to the 32nd floor for some reason. And perhaps that was good; they say it was a lounge atmosphere up there which we weren’t interested in, so we just enjoyed riding the elevators.

3. Griffith Observatory

To top off the day, we drove over to the Griffith Observatory. It’s a beautiful old building sitting on the top of a mountain so it provides breathtaking views of the city. It was a cloudy day so there wasn’t much of a sunset, but it sure was nice once the city lights began to glow. The planetarium there claims to be the finest in the world so make sure to check that out plus the exhibits and Zeiss 12in telescope if you go.

For more pictures of our excursion in Los Angeles, visit this album.