I’ve Got a Featured Photo on Flickr!

20 February 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

Repeat that three times fast: “Featured photo on Flickr! Featured photo on Flickr! Featured photo on Flickr!”

Woo hoo!

OK, sorry about that folks — thanks for indulging me. Now, enough with alliteration! Here’s the scoop:

Earlier this evening I was receiving a ton of notifications from Flickr with members of the community “favoriting” and leaving nice comments about the above referenced panorama.

(To embiggen, click on the image above to interact with the panorama, or click below to view it on Flickr.)

I was flummoxed! I couldn’t understand what was going on until I discovered that this image was featured today on Flickr’s blog.

As it turns out, the folks at Flickr curated this image along with several other images from other photographers that captured images at either dusk or dawn as part of their “Twilight Colors” gallery.

This is apropos as the photo is of the morning twilight at Bear’s Landing in Donner Lake, California. I literally took the panorama at the crack of dawn many moons ago as part of an equipment test for my Hejnar Photo panoramic head.

Since I sequenced the shots 8+1Z+2N on the Hejnar head, the process took a bit longer than what I’m accustomed to (usually I shoot 4+1N on a 360° Precision Atome). Within moments after capturing the shot the wind began to rise causing ripples on the lake’s smooth, glassy surface. Simultaneously, the morning’s colors and light quality began to shift considerably and suddenly the magic hour magically disappeared.

For me, this nod from Flickr is pretty epic to be recognized in such a fashion and I’m feeling pretty darn lucky so I may as well go out and get my Powerball ticket now, too! =)

Many thanks to Flickr and a warm “hello” to the fantastic photographers included in this gallery.

Morning Twilight @ Bears’ Landing – Donner Lake, California

New in NoHo: “Soliloquy” Public Art Mural by Levi Ponce in 360

19 February 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

Artist Levi Ponce

Levi Ponce‘s latest public art’s project entitled “Soliloquy” took about a week to complete and was finished over this past President’s Day weekend. The subject and title is a rift on Hamlet in which Ophelia contemplates her beloved’s skull. This piece is located on the side of Al’s Discount Furniture in the Noho Arts District and measures 100′ x 13’. Medium: acrylic. Check it out on Google Maps here.

“On the Road” New Graffiti Art by MTO and UTI Crew in 360° Panorama

15 February 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

The latest graffiti art in DTLA is a giant entitled “On the Road” by MTO and UTI Crew (Black Light King, PETAL, FEAR, NUKE, SWAN) that features imagery inspired by Jack Kerouac’s 1957 travelogue of the same name.

This mural is sponsored by “L.A. loves you”, organized and curated by Melissa “Zippy” Downing with the assistance of Roy CHO. Location: Al’s Bar yard (backside wall American Hotel), 303 South Hewitt Street in the DTLA Art District. Check it out on Google Maps here.

Rest in Peace Leonard Knight (1931-2014)

11 February 201429 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

View on Google Maps Street View

Yesterday artist Leonard Knight quietly passed away. Knight was unlike anyone else I’ve ever met. He was pure love embodied. It’s visions like his and his firm belief in a loving God that give me a sense of comfort when I contemplate my own mortality.

The series of images above are from his life’s work “Salvation Mountain” located the Salton Sea of California.” Read more about them in this blog post.

While we’ve lost a great artist here on earth, heaven’s claimed one of their own. God speed, Leonard!

Dumb Starbucks Big Reveal in 360°

11 February 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

This afternoon at 4:00 pm PDT, Canadian comic Nathan Fielder revealed that the ‘Dumb Starbucks’ coffee shop in Los Feliz was a publicity stunt for his Comedy Central show “Nathan For You”.

I knew something was wrong not long after I got there. I cut through an alleyway to find a place in line when I found a filming permit that was used over the weekend that identified the production and its contacts. A quick google search raised my suspicions.

It was dumb. I mean, really dumb. Like…totally lame.

Being punked like that (by a Canadian no less) and suffering crap coffee would have amounted to a big fat fail in my book except for the fact that I met the legendary street artist Saber MSK and his posse. The interminable wait of over two hours in line was made worthwhile through thought-provoking discussions about art, culture, politics and a mutual love for açai with blueberries. It was Saber that disabused me of the notion that Banksy was behind this.

While other members of the press played into this event by asking questions about the show and the network, I was the one that asked Fielder where their health permit was. Not five minutes later, the LA County Health Department (← gal pal Rebecca Metz is featured in this story for USA Today) showed up and shut down the entire operation. I’m somewhat surprised they didn’t do it earlier.

Foster The People – “Supermodel” Mural in 360º

23 January 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

Foster The People “Supermodel”
Pre-order on iTunes

Last week the LA-based band Foster The People dropped their first single, “Coming Of Age,” from their upcoming new album “Supermodel.” The embedded music video features a time-lapse video documenting the creation of a mural for the album’s cover art.

This seven story mural is located at Santa Fe Lofts on 539 S. Los Angeles Street in downtown Los Angeles. It is considered one of the largest in the on the West Coast. The mural was executed by the Young & Sick collective that also created the cover art for Foster The People’s first album, ‘Torches.’ Visit

Dig the music? The entire album will be released on March 18th. The following month Foster The People are set to return to Coachella on April 12th. That’s where I first got turned on to them a few years ago so if you can manage to get tix, it’s totally worth it.

Today, (January 23rd), Foster The People will play a free show in Los Angeles. Follow @fosterthepeople on Twitter for more information about tickets and location.

UPDATE (01/23/2014 @ 14:01):

Tickets for our LA show tonight are available now ONLY at MOCA Grand Avenue with a suggested $5 cash donation to the…
Posted by Foster The People on Thursday, January 23, 2014

DTLA in 360° Panorama Series: Audrey Hepburn by Free Humanity

20 January 201429 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

Free Humanity‘s finished mural “It’s that wonderful old fashioned idea that others come first and you come second” is located the corner of the Winston and Los Angeles in DTLA, adjacent to Indian Alley. It features style icon Audrey Hepburn with a riot of candy raver colored hearts. I think the artist might have a crush on the divine Audrey (and who wouldn’t?) as this is not the first time she’s appeared in his work and it probably will not be his last. It is a commissioned piece that was completed in November, 2013. Check it out on Google Maps here.

DTLA Arts District in 360° Series: Tristan Eaton “I Was a Botox Junkie”

11 January 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

“I Was a Botox Junkie” by artist Tristan Eaton appears on a wall outside Zip Sushi Izakaya near the intersection of East 3rd Street and Traction Avenue in the downtown Los Angeles Arts District. Check it out on Google Maps here.

While Eaton is a Los Angeles born artist, he is now based in New York, where he heads Thunderdog Studio, a successful creative studio working for clients such as Disney, Canon, Kid Robot, Dell, Nike, Nissan, Rockstar Games and many others.

DTLA Arts District in 360° Panorama Series: Damon Martin’s “5 Elements – Korean Mythology”

10 January 201427 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

Another mural by Damon Martin is a work-in-progress entitled “5 Elements – Korean Mythology” located in front of the District Gallery at 740 E 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90013. Check it out on Google Maps Street View here.

Detail “5 Elements – Korean Mythology”

DTLA Arts District in 360° Panorama Series: Damon Martin “Every Piece of Ivory Comes from a Dead Elephant”

9 January 201430 June 2018 Tanja Barnes

View on Google Maps

“Every Piece of Ivory Comes
from a Dead Elephant”
little planet projection

Artist Damon Martin’s piece entitled “Every Piece of Ivory Comes from a Dead Elephant” is part of a multi-national campaign funded by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to spread awareness of the plight of elephants. Completed in 2012, it is located at the intersection of Rose and 3rd Street in DTLA (approximate address is 700 E 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90013).

Of his work, the artist stated, “These elephants are still in crisis. Their population is in crisis. Poaching is rampant. I am trying to bring awareness to the fact that the United States is still the number two consumer of ivory in the world. These elephants, for me, will represent a commitment towards community, family, loyalty, and also the lack of awareness of elephants themselves and how they relate to each other.’

“In recent history we have come to learn how they’re actually communicating, which I find shocking; that we went to the moon in the 60′s and we’re just now discovering how elephants are communicating. Up to a couple of miles away, they can communicate through a very low frequency; humans can’t hear it. It’s pretty shocking that we know so little about another species.’

“I know that the poachers are getting about $500 for a pair of tusks. They’re destroying this amazing, incredible, and highly intelligent animal for $500 for just maybe 3% of its overall mass. It’s not only destroying the animal. It’s destroying the community and who we are as a species.”