The Curious Houses Along the Venice Canals

Los Angeles is not so much a unified city as a massive conglomeration of smaller cities. To outsiders, you come from Los Angeles. To locals, you are from Santa Monica, Hollywood, Pasadena, KTown, Van Nuys, Inglewood, Beverley Hills, or etc. It is a tapestry of neighborhoods that flow into one another with undefined visual or geographic borders. There is no Los Angeles and everywhere is Los Angeles.

“Which part of the city are you from” is of chief concern among new friends, business partners, and potential lovers because your answer will dictate your socioeconomic status, your cultural heritage, and your commute. When Lorde sang about post code envy, she was probably referring to Los Angeles.

Sandwiched between Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, and the Pacific Ocean is a neighborhood unlike any other in LA. The Venice Canal Historic District was an early twentieth century attempt at recreating the Italian romanticism in the heart of sunny California. The area has had its cycle of prosperity and disrepair and the houses lining those canals reflect those periods of change.

I took a stroll through this neighborhood on a crisp winter evening. With the neck strap of my Sony A7 loosely wrapped around my right wrist, here’s what I saw through a Leica Summaron 35mm f/2.8.

Q&A with Jason Botkin from the EN MASSE project: Black and White Photography Meets Art

Wonderful Montreal has one of the best subway systems in Canada. I suppose this is arguable because I have not ridden on all of them. But I promise, Montreal’s Metro certainly beats Toronto’s TTC, hands down.

One summer day, almost 4 years ago, while riding the Metro (and in the middle of an awesome daydream), I noticed that I had missed my stop! Always seizing an opportunity to snap more pictures, I decided to get off at the next one, and walk it. Little did I know it then, it would prove to be a wonderful mistake as I was about to encounter EN MASSE, art with complete attitude and a total unique style.

Rubber Duckie; Montreal, Canada (artist credit; En Masse)

I was so happy when Jason Botkin agreed to allow me to interview him! As cofounder of EN MASSE, I was immediately drawn to his creativity and vision.

iLHP: Let me start by saying that I have been a huge supporter and fan from when I first discovered your work outside of the Ste. Laurent Metro station!  I truly have been a loyal follower ever since.  Could you please tell us about yourself?

EN MASSE: Well, thank you so much!  I’ve been addicted to pushing charcoal and ink across paper, panels, walls, anything really, for a long time now.  I was born in Denver, Colorado in 1974, and then lived in Winnipeg from 1980-1992.  After high school I then headed west, picking up a BFA (drawing major) with honors from the Alberta College of Art and Design (in Calgary, Canada).

For just over a decade now I’ve called Mount Real (Montreal) home.  I divide my time between a personal practice and as the co-founder and director of the EN MASSE project, a highly engaging series of multi-artist-experimental-large-scale-black-and-white-collaborative-drawing explorations.

Q&A with Photographer Cyril Verron “The Magician”

Cyril Verron is one of those photographers who create magic out of their cameras sensors. His ability to make masterwork is amazing. He is a full-time pro with great projects to come for nature lovers. I had the chance to meet him and had to share this with you all. The rest is here for you to read. Enjoy!

iLHP: Hi Cyril, I’m very pleased and honored to meet you in person to ask you a few questions. As a full time professional photographer, can you tell us a bit more about yourself like when and why did you start photography (and your specialty)?

Cyril: Hi Christian, it’s a pleasure for me too to answer your questions. I’m a French Photographer born in 1981 in Brittany (France) and now live in Dordogne (France) which is a beautiful region for nature lovers and photographers. I started photography in 2010 doing mostly portraits and landscapes with my first DSLR Canon EOS 5D MarkII. This became a passion in my everyday life and later some friends of mine advised me to turn professional because my shots seemed interesting and maybe salable. So I told myself “why not give it a try?”. I wanted to start this activity with a freelance status and then I turned full time pro in 2012.

Cyril in action in his favorite environment: Nature! (Photo credit: Nicole Barge)

iLHP: Oh I see, did you learn by yourself or through photography schools?

Cyril: I learnt photography myself and with the help of forums and friends who are also photographers. I never attended photography schools. But you know, when you have a strong passion you can learn and accomplish great things. Now it’s funny because teaching photography is part of my job! (*laughs*)

“Disturbing Element”

iLHP: I love asking this question to the photographers I meet because I always get very different answers, so what does photography mean to you?

Cyril: That’s an excellent question. Photography, is for me one of the best ways to catch and transcript an emotion through my eyes and it is also a fabulous way of testifying a moment, a place, a scene, a look, an expression or a state of mind. Through a picture, I think we can learn a lot about the subject and the photographer. It’s a true mean of expression.

A Drive Through Scotland’s Countryside

Scotland was never high on my list of must see places until I moved to Paris. My best friend for many years was born in Scotland and would invite me to go back with her every year she returned to visit. I always considered it but it never came to fruition. Just recently I had the opportunity to visit again and this time I could not refuse. This was not my first trip to Scotland but it was my first time going with the intention of photographing a myriad of places. There is an area along the River Clyde where I was hoping to shoot several buildings. However, once I reached the location I realized my battery had only one power bar left.

The SSE Hydro | Glasgow |

I brought along two extra batteries on my trip however I failed to bring them this particular evening and left them back at the hotel. Also, I believed the battery loaded in my camera was charged at full capacity. This was only my first night in Glasgow so I still had the rest of the week to return to capture all I had wanted to before I returned home. I was hoping to capture three buildings my first night so I would not have to worry about returning another night during my short week there.

The Winners of our 2014 Holiday Photo Contest

The results are in for our inaugural Holiday Photo Contest. We had a variety of entries this year, with happy families in front of the fireplace and festive ornaments gently hung on a tree, to a saluting soldier laying a Christmas wreath in front of her fallen heroes. Thank you everyone for submitting your photos and voting for the images. You can check out all of the entires on our Facebook page.

We are handing out two awards this time. The People’s Choice Award is awarded to the photo with the most votes on Facebook. The Editors’ Choice Award is awarded to one photo of our choosing. Each winner will receive a full feature on iLHP to showcase and promote his or her photography.