Customer Reviews

Los Angeles Mini

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is a much larger version, published in 2006, which I had on my Wish List for ages, just waiting for the price to go down but it never budged so I went for this newer mini edition. The original was 240 pages and this mini is 264 so both books may not be exactly the same.

Overall a pleasant enough title to remember LA by, though it's not a tourist memory-jogger but concentrates on buildings: public and private. Street-Porter has lived in LA long enough to know what to photograph and he presents a rich colorful selection but I was slightly disappointed by the book's presentation. The photos don't seem to have any particular order. I would have preferred to see themes like LA modern; commercial high-rise; retail; gardens; ocean front; signs; classics (Schindler; Neutra, Lloyd Wright, Neff etc).

I also thought the book's design suffers from a common photo book fault in having all the captions at the back: so get prepared to flip a lot. Actually the captions are short enough be accommodated with the photos as there is enough page space and where the images bleed the following page would have been fine.

This mini edition joins the increasing number of visual books about LA architecture. One I enjoyed is Looking At Los Angeles with 225 photos from eighty-eight photographers and presented in a large landscape format. Street-Porter has also published others with his latest: L.A. Modern looking at thirty-eight buildings in photographic detail though many of the photos also appear in this mini edition.

***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

What a lovely compact collection of gorgeous images of all the wonderful and varied architecture of Los Angeles. I have stopped off here several times now when enroute to or from New Zealand and made my way around just a few parts of the city, but now that I have seen all that there is on offer I feel the need to explore further on my next visit.

I adored it! Great variety, fantastic pix and a lot of fun - a good measure of Art Deco for those interested - exactly what I was looking for.

This book was originally published in large format a few years ago, and while it was stunning to look at the price was (understandably) fairly high. We did not know a "mini" version of the book existed, and when we found it on Amazon we snapped it up immediately. It is a perfect small replica of the original, and the quality of photographs, paper, and binding are as good as the large format. It is a beautiful rendering of LA and Southern California. Street-Porter is one of the area's most esteemed photographers, both of interiors and streetscapes. There is plenty of both. And regarding LA, it's all here. No aspect of the city and region is left out. It wonderfully but together by someone who knows well and loves Los Angeles. And so too does actor Diane Keaton, who wrote a loving introduction.

I found it beautiful and interesting! All the photos are outstanding and every page is another terrific photo! On page 80 and 81 they have a full photo of Avalon at its best! No text, just great photos! Has 249 pages of outstanding photos! The photos are fantastic! It is really amazing and beautiful!