Take Some Time to Enjoy the Colors

By Ed Fuentes
Published: Monday, January 07, 2008, at 05:39PM

Ed Fuentes [Flickr]

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — It's a given that many Downtowners may still be busy catching up from a long holiday break. Hopefully, a few took some time to watch this sunset over the skyline today. The clear air and lingering clouds created the perfect setting for an explosion of color. The Arts District provided the perfect venue to catch it all with a skyline foreground.

Comments

Todd R. Doherty writes:

A very beautiful picture, Mr. Fuentes. Sadly, because Los Angeles (the poster child) and five other Californian cities have been designated as the - most polluted cities - in the nation, landscape photographs such as this will only get more interesting to look at. Los Angeles sunsets refracting off of the particulate matter pumped into the breathing air by the tailpipes and smokestacks - by the way, the exact same sources fueling the climate crisis - make for great pictures, while wreaking havoc on the planet.

# on Jan.08.2008 AT 09:40 AM

Naturallawyer writes:

Todd– I’m no environmental scientist, but I think the sunset was so beautiful because it took place after three days of rain, which would mean the air was cleaner than usual.

# on Jan.08.2008 AT 11:25 AM

Ed Fuentes writes:

I may have to concur with Natural Lawyer in this one Mr. Doherty, although, we do appreciate the environmental message.

As a matter of fact, according to a 2006 Forbes article on the American Lung Association survey of polluted cities, Los Angeles is number one on the U.S. list and includes Long Beach and Riverside ozone measurements.

The other California cities listed may not have the traffic that L.A. has, but share the geographic air trap.

It was also interesting to see that China’s cities fill the top ten listing of most polluted cities in the world.

I’m sure you are doing your part by using public transportation once in a while. And if you do ride a bike when the air is clear, think about taking a few photos and dropping them in the blogdowntown photo pool.

# on Jan.08.2008 AT 12:03 PM

Benjamin Pezzillo writes:

Nice photograph Ed. I can tell you waited until the sun just barely fallen over the horizon to snap this. Looks like your patience was rewarded.

# on Jan.08.2008 AT 11:55 PM

Ed Fuentes writes:

Well Ben, truth be told, I was on the phone with Eric when I peeked out the window and saw a corner of the sky. I told him in the middle of a conversation “I gotta go . . photo op” and hung up to sprint to the roof to shoot some frames. I caught it in time. Moments later the color was gone.

# on Jan.09.2008 AT 12:23 AM

Benjamin Pezzillo writes:

It’s a better story your way.

But yes, in my experience, those colors only seem to happen in the brief moments just after the sun drops over the horizon.

# on Jan.09.2008 AT 07:58 AM