We took a quick trip to LA for an early Christmas with our son, Eric and his family.
Looking for a way to spend the day that we all could enjoy, we headed for Griffith Observatory.
It was a relatively clear day (for Los Angeles) with a view of downtown
and to the west, Century City and the Pacific Ocean.
We hadn't thought much about the date when choosing where to spend the day but it was the Winter Solstice, believed by some to be the day the world would end according to the Mayan Calendar. As it happens, the director of the observatory is
Dr. Ed Krupp (on the right) whose specialty is
Archaeoastronomy. Not surprisingly, they made a big deal of the event.
Visitors were invited to watch the sunset on the patio where a line in the concrete would line up with the sun at sunset on the Winter Solstice. This created several challenges for the photographer.
The first was location. With so many people it was difficult to find a spot where one could get a view straight down the line.
The second problem was exposure. A little Photoshop Elements magic helped with that.
I finally found the perfect spot, not surprisingly it was already occupied but I was able to shoot over the shoulder of the gentleman already in position. When the sun had set and everyone began to drift away I found that I had been shooting over the shoulder of Dr. Krupp. I imagine he had the spot picked out well in advance!
