Thanks everyone. Xavoy, you bring up many good points. My inside knowledge with regards to LA is having visited my father when he was alive and living there between 1976 and 1987. I had one more brief visit for a few days in 1998. And although I always had a camera with me, all told in that time period I probably shot only 30 rolls of film, and never with much intention. Since my father died, and reaching the same age at him, and delving deeper into RFF and street photography, my mind has drifted back to my LA wanderings. That's why for the past 3 years I've wanted to go back and shoot. A week and 74 rolls was a good start. One more thing, I wanted to shoot in LA so bad, I wrote a novel between April and July set in all the places I remembered. Then when I got to LA on 9/19 I visited and photographed at many of the places in the novel. I'll post those photos soon. What would be great, was if I could get my novel published, and if it had a section with my LA photos, including photos of my father I shot during my visits. I'm going to shop the novel in a few weeks, so perhaps I'll get lucky.
As for local law enforcement, I don't have connections, but in places like Hollywood and Times Square, NYC, the police are used to tourists wanting to take their photo. This and being friendly made things easier.
It would be great if I could make more trips because it would allow me to digest and plan what I wanted to shoot next, in a rough way. I agree with regards to liking shots that don't go together in terms of subservience to a theme. That's why I'm not that fond of projects -- it almost seems like when one embarks on a project, one feels compelled to shoot say another red couch in a field, or whatever, because completing the project requires it. My plan to bring it all together is to make a folder with my favorites, and then edit them down and make a Blurb book just for myself, and more as a reference for when I want to reflect on the trip.
I hear you on trying to put together a body of work from which to cull a book. For me, I reviewed the photos I was shooting and decided which I like best, and why, and what my process and equipment was to produce them. Then I stuck with that for a long time, and made side ventures.
Anyway, look for more photos of the LA River, Downtown, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Griffith Park, Echo Park, and more. Scanning and adjusting -- I need about a month or more to get through it all.
