Moving to LA – About Totally LA

It’s been about two years since I sold the house in Denver, packed up my things and moved to LA – for the third time.  My friends thought I was crazy, that I was at an age where I should be securing my nest and that rents and the cost of living in Los Angeles were outrageous.

The photos in this post are ones that I took on the drive here in Southern Utah.  Its beautiful country and this trip through I managed to have good light.  Seems every other time, and there were many I was too early or too late.  You can see more of these stunning photos of Southern Utah on my other site. They can also be purchased as prints for you wall.

They were right.  But as a commercial photographer, I had reached my zenith in Denver.  I couldn’t expand beyond what I had grown to.  LA offered a much broader client base and different opportunities.  For example I now find myself routinely working with celebrities, photographing red carpet events and having my work in galleries much more frequently.

I’ve also had my share of mis-adventures.  But when friends ask me after one of them if I am sorry I left Denver, the answer is no.  Denver has managed to drive its rents up and overall cost of living up just about as much.  And though it tries, it lacks the opportunity, the cultural events, the nightlife, and the appreciation of the arts that you find in Los Angeles.

LA is a city of contradictions, juxtapositions and opposites.  The tents of the homeless can be found on the sidewalks before luxury condominiums and high class office buildings.  There are vast numbers of people crowded into falling apart boarding houses where they pay rents equalling that of a nice one bedroom apartment in other cities across the street from luxury homes.  A city known for the arts, we find it in the expensive galleries on Rodeo Drive, and painted on the concrete enclosing walls of the city’s underpasses.

It is also a city with a vast wealth of hidden treasures.  I plan to bring all of this to you so that you too can discover Los Angeles in all of its forms.

I hope to show those visiting and those who live here parts of LA they may not have seen.

Enjoy.

Mark Stout