The Getty Center: Through Lens and Light

On October 13th, 2024, I took a trip to the Getty Center with my friend Alan, and his friend Ivan. For them, it was a long time if ever in going to the Getty Center. For me, it had been over a year since visiting, so I made special effort to wear my favorite beanie that I bought there the last time.

I had it in mind that the main purpose of our visit was a photography exercise of our choosing. I brought my two canon full frame digital cameras with a bunch of primes. Alan brought his canon 70D, and his Nikon f2 with the 85mm Nikkor. Ivan was testing out his new Sony RX100VII. I ended up letting Alan borrow my 24mm 1.4L, as it was a perfect fit for standard focal length on a crop body. My favorite lenses were the canon EF 35mm 1.4L, my Pentax Super Takumar 50mm 1.4, and my Vivitar 135mm 2.8. I actually started off the day with my 85mm 1.8 USM, but I find that I struggle in the outdoor setting with my compositions. The 135mm I found to be super useful outside, so it's making me lust for the EF 135mm 2.0L.

The Gardens are always the obvious attraction, so I snagged a few shots from up high before going in to see some exhibits.

Lumen was one of the featured exhibits on display this time. I had high hopes for an exhibit that uses light in its name. While there were certainly some cool installations like this giant concave lens, I was left perplexed as to the eclectic mixture of themes, and somewhat restrained execution. I guess I was hoping for something with the impact consistent with typical contemporary art installations. I was able to make use of the Takumar, and a sneaky cameo from my 17-35mm 2.8L.

The Gardens for sure had plenty of color. Despite the early fall weather, the Garden was still full of vibrance and life. There was a haze in the air, giving a dream like glow over the images. I had a lot of fun with the Takumar wide open doing portraits, and almost nailing a humming bird amongst the blossoms. The 35mm 1.4 wide open also shows off its dream making, contextual characteristics. The compression and contrast of the Vivitar 135mm 2.8 still come off phenomenally. Aperture and autofocus are the only reasons I would want for more. Modern tech like crazy fast shutter speeds and ibis really made some of these shots possible, while the optics provide the look I'm going for.

I would say that this isn't some of my best work, but it's consistent with the look I'm currently trying to achieve with my work. I'm deriving immense satisfaction from my optics choices, where I feel this is the fixation that drives me further into the art.

As the day progressed, I discovered the side mission of practicing my street photography skills. I found I wasn't too shy to take pictures of random strangers, especially if I justify it by using manual focus primes. These require effort and skill to master. So if we can all agree that I was PRACTICING, we can overlook how many potential bangers I would have had if they were in focus, and composed properly. I am not discouraged!

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My primary mission of the trip was to play with geometries and interesting light. I found that the distinct lack of color at the outside of the Getty Center really lent itself to black and white photography. Only few places did color speak to me.