Visiting Los Angeles and Santa Ynez
Clients come to see us from all over the world.
We understand and appreciate the extra effort, and can often make special arrangements to photograph your family and have your artwork prepared to show to you as soon the following day.
Silver Lake, Forbes Magazine’s “Hippest Neighborhood in America”
in the City of Los Angeles
Don’t follow the tourists. If you want to find the beating heart of Los Angeles, we are right here in the eclectic, bohemian neighborhood that has been the setting and inspiration of cult hits like Love, Casual, Transparent and You’re the Worst (yes, you can book on “Sunday Funday”, but please save the drinking until afterwards).
You’ll find no shortage of independently owned restaurants and shopping, and plenty of hole-in-the wall secrets that even residents have yet to discover. Walk the neighborhoods and climb the many sets of famous Silver Lake Steps (you may even discover some homes that are only accessible through these walkways of a different era).
A lack of hotel rooms in the immediate area has helped kept the unique identity of the neighborhood, but we are happy to recommend the recently christened Silver Lake Pool and Inn right at Silver Lake Junction; we’ve seen the rooms and spoken with the staff.
Downtown and Hollywood are only a few miles away. Consider the short drive Universal Studios or the day trip to Disneyland. Please visit these parks after your kids have come to see us.
If you are flying in, the regional Bob Hope Burbank Airport is closest to us, and easy to navigate. You’ll also love being able to board and disembark from both the front and back to the plane (expert tip - sit in the back on your way here and be the first off the plane). LAX is the third busiest airport in the world, and offers direct and non-stop flights from just about any major city anywhere you might be.
Traffic in the LA isn’t always for the faint of heart, and staying ten miles from us might be just a 15 minute drive from some areas, but can take well over an hour if you are staying towards Santa Monica. Cars are suggested if you don’t plan on spending most of your time in the same part of the city. To help with live traffic, we highly suggest downloading Waze before you arrive.
The Santa Ynez Wine Country Retreat
in Santa Barbara County
For Jen and Mark, their Santa Ynez Valley studio began with a passion project photographing wine makers that eventually became Sunlight and Water. They loved the region and the people. Many of their subjects became their clients, and they found that creating portraits at their retreat made it possible to spend more time in the Valley.
Nestled in the small town of Santa Ynez, Mark and Jen see clients just eight or nine weeks out of the year. Several intimate villages are scattered among the rustic and valley, amidst vineyards and wineries. With far less commercialization than Napa, the winemakers themselves can often be found in their own tasting rooms in Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, and the Danish Village of Solvang.
You’ll want to have a car, as the intimacy of the area is too small for Lyft and Uber. Santa Barbara and San Louis Obispo both have small regional airports and are less than an hour’s drive, and Los Angeles is about 130 miles south of our studio. If you happen to be coming in by private jet, there is a small airstrip right in the neighborhood. We haven’t yet tried this option ourselves, but there are also balloon rides departing from the same location.
There a great variety of hotels in the area (nothing is more than 15 minutes away), and we recommend the aptly named For Friends Inn, which is everything you might want from an upscale Bed and Breakfast, without any of the awkwardness of shared bathrooms. We are just a short ten minute walk away. Other options that we love include The Ballard Inn which boasts Chef Budi Kazali’s Gathering Table Restaurant and the recently remodeled Landsby in Solvang.
The much loved film Sideways is a wonderful portrait of the region (we recommend watching it before you arrive). We do suggest making your reservation at the Hitching Post II in advance, as they almost always book up on the weekends. Tell Frank we sent you!