LA Helicopter Tour Part 7: Downtown to Silver Lake

Bunker Hill, originally uploaded by Atwater Village Newbie.

OF ALL THE PLACES we'd see on our Los Angeles helicopter tour, I most looked forward to downtown LA. I wanted that iconic aerial downtown photo, the famous establishing shot in LA movies and TV shows. In fact, we paid extra just so I could shoot the coast and downtown. (They're usually separate tours.) But then, unfortunately and unknowingly, I broke a cardinal rule of aerial photography. Don't. Wear. White. You see, a white shirt reflects light from the outside (sun) onto the inside (window) of the helicopter. A white shirt can wash out your pictures. A white shirt can ruin your $480 helicopter tour. Luckily this day was mostly cloudy and, thanks, to the near-panoramic bubble windows on the copter, I was able to shoot around my own reflection. Mostly. I won't clog the Internet with images of my shirt (or, sadly, the still-elusive, iconic shot of downtown LA) but you can see the rest of them on part 7 of our LA helicopter tour, downtown to Silver Lake. LOS ANGELES HELICOPTER TOUR | Pacoima to Van Nuys | Van Nuys to Malibu | Malibu to Westwood | Westwood to Hollywood | Hollywood & Highland | Hollywood to Downtown LA | Downtown LA to Silver Lake | Silver Lake to Mount Lee | Mount Lee to Pacoima