A couple of weekends ago, me and my friends decided to hit up the Griffith Park Observatory to have some fun with a couple of lenses we had rented for a wedding shoot before returning it. One lens was the 14mm f/2.8L Super Wide lens and the other was the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM. Parking in that location is horrendous to say the least and it was a Sunday so it seemed everyone was there to spend their last weekend relaxing amidst a historic site with an awesome view of Los Angeles. Normally, it would take hours just to find a place to park within the immediate parking lot. The lot is so small and the crowd is so big that they close off the entrance and you'd either wait and drive around until they open the entrance again, or park downhill and walk your way up the hill to the observatory. We lacked the patience so we decided to hit up the exit area of the lot which is on the other side of the hill, park our car and enter through there.
I already had the 70-200 locked and loaded on my 7D and once my friend had parked his car, I walked out and immediately started shooting the downtown skyline which wasn't all that great of a view from where we were at but I wanted to test out the capabilities and quality of the lens. All said, I love the lens and am sad that we only had just a few days with it and I can't afford such a lens yet.
We started walking up the hill to the observatory and everytime I visit that place, I'm captivated by the architecture and how beautiful that place is. I always think about how visitors many years...decades ago saw the place and what life was like then. Upon reaching the top of the hill, I was rather surprised to see this vintage Schwinn bicycle. I'm not sure if it was an authentic vintage Schwinn but that's neither here nor there. It was just there and it seemed like an apt and complimentary greeting for me. Other than the modernity that surrounded me that day, the cars, people and LA air quality, the only thing that looked out of place (and appropriate at the same time) was the timeless look of the Observatory itself, and this beautiful bicycle...