Sights of Los Angeles, California
The Los Angeles Less Traveled
 The
Hindu Temple at Malibu Canyon and Las Virgenes in Calabasas, built in 1981,
a temple for the Hindu God Venkateswara (or Srinivasa, is the supreme God
believed to be a form of the Hindu Deity Lord Vishnu). It is owned and
operated by the
Hindu Temple Society of Southern California.The architect of this temple is Muthiah Sthapathi of India, and the South Indian style temple is one of the largest and most authentic Hindu temples in the Western Hemisphere. I've been enamored of this temple for years, photographing it numerous times, even filming my student Super 8 film here. However, one of my fondest memories of this temple was a Balinese gamelan music and dance performance by Cudamani, part of the World Festival of Sacred Music 2002. We sat directly in front of the pyramidal tower. The clouds were very tiny, puffy balls, and as the sun set, all of these small clouds turned brilliant orange and pink. I could not have dreamed a more beautiful or perfect evening. A subsequent visit was not quite as romantic. My band Nectarphonic came here for a photo shoot for our band on September 23, 2007. We looked a little too professional, with our wardrobe hanging from the back of my car and our photographer using a camera with a $4000 lens on a tripod. They thought we were doing a commercial shoot, and asked us to just take a couple of photos and leave. |
 Leroi,
son of our friends, checks out the deck of his new home, a yurt in the
forest in Topanga Canyon, September 2007.Topanga is one of my favorite places, a small town nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains between the San Fernando Valley and the Pacific Ocean. And what is a yurt, you ask? Traditionally, it's a circular tent of felt or skins (or in this case, space-age fabric) on a collapsible framework, used by nomads in Mongolia, Siberia, and Turkey. |
 Inside
the yurt, Lorenzo, Adam, Leroi, and Naomi eagerly await Jill's delicious
beef stroganoff. |
 One
of the aspects of Los Angeles that I especially love is the diversity and
colorful neighborhoods, such as Little Ethiopia on Fairfax Ave., home to
over half a dozen Ethiopian restaurants as well as markets. Pictured
here is Rosalind's Ethiopian cuisine and, farther north, Merkato Ethiopian
Restaurant and Market, where you can pick up the latest CDs by
Tilahun Gesesse or other Ethiopian singers. September
2007. |
 A
mysterious fog blankets the Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge wetlands, early
Halloween morning. And yes, this photo was actually taken Halloween
morning (2007).
This is south of the Japanese tea garden, between Woodley and the 405 Fwy. |
 Birds
soaring over the wetlands in the Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge near Lake Balboa
in the San Fernando Valley, Halloween morning 2007.I literally know nothing about birds, so I'm going to let the Essortment website describe what you may see here: The Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve and Japanese Gardens offer the bird-watcher the chance of a lifetime. Here you will find several ponds, some with islands and reeds, and platforms in which to watch the wildlife. Flycatchers, Cassin’s Kingbird, bluebirds, bushtits, warblers, hummingbirds, pelicans, and geese are just a few of the species you will see here. |
 Rainbow
on 8 December 2007. My friend says the rainbow has something to do
with John Lennon. |
 Beautiful
winter sunset just outside our home, 8 December 2007. |
 Buddha
and Christmas lights inside our home, 8 December 2007. |
The Los Angeles Less Traveled
Eleven Shadows Travel Page
Contact photographer/musician Ken Lee
