Nobody walks in LA, and for fleeting moments, no one drives there either

January 7, 2016 11:51 AM

Some years back, Matt Logue photoshopped cars and people out of Los Angeles street scenes for a photo series titled Empty L.A. (see also, previously). More recently, Alex Scott has been wandering around L.A. freeways in the middle of the night to catch moments where the roadways are empty.
posted by filthy light thief (13 comments total)

So peaceful.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 11:53 AM on January 7, 2016

When I lived in LA in the early 90s I remember there being traffic at 11pm on Sunday nights. Don't recall any time when there wasn't traffic. Don't miss it at all.
posted by terrapin at 12:02 PM on January 7, 2016

I've always loved this photo of Toronto's Highway 401 (almost) devoid of cars. It's not even photoshopped—the highway was completely closed because of a propane explosion.
posted by mr. manager at 12:36 PM on January 7, 2016 [2 favorites]

Came for empty freeways, was not disappointed. Found out they are closing the Sixth Street Viaduct as a byproduct which is sort of sad because its one of those weirdly iconic film locations. Its replacement is schoopdy and all but I don't think anyone ever shot there looking for shiny and pretty. RIP.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:56 PM on January 7, 2016 [2 favorites]

In high school, we used to wait for the San Diego Freeway to clear at night so we could "do figure eights." I'm beginning to think that time has moved on....
posted by le_vert_galant at 3:25 PM on January 7, 2016

I'm failing to recall the name (or successfully search) an annual people's parade in which I participated held on the oldest section of the I-10 that's closed for that amount of time. I think on a Sunday. And I hope I'm right about which is the first/oldest section of interstate built. When I first moved to Los Angeles, I remember a frustration with highway signs close to downtown...is that the 101, 110, or 10? A dyslexic's binary hell. I had a nice car in LA, and driving between 2:30 to 5:30am is an ecstasy. You can be anywhere in 20 minutes. I'm exaggerating a little, but not by much. But, of course, I'd trade all that to have ridden its trolley system and lived there prior to congestion. Photographs of it produce an ache.
posted by lazycomputerkids at 3:34 PM on January 7, 2016

Spiral staircase at the 5 exit from the 110! That little area is weird. If you take those stairs from the bike/ped path above, you wind up on this island where you can stand and watch cars coming straight at you at 55+ mph. You're surrounded by cement barriers, but it's still quite... exhilarating.
posted by queensissy at 4:20 PM on January 7, 2016

For anyone wanting to attempt this, and has photoshop, there's a built-in script for that.
posted by Sallysings at 6:12 PM on January 7, 2016 [2 favorites]

These must really take patience to capture. I can remember making trips regularly at about 2 am on Monday mornings in the early aughts and hitting traffic at the 405/101 interchange. Nothing compared to mid-day, of course, but it always amazed me nonetheless.
posted by Tentacle of Trust at 6:22 PM on January 7, 2016

Great Japanese photographer Masataka Nakano spent 11 years on a project that sought to capture Tokyo when empty, no simple task in a city inhabited by 35 million people. In front of the Shibuya station, Ginza streets lined with colossal buildings, the normally over-crowded mega-city is eerily silent with no people, hence the title “Tokyo Nobody”.
posted by sconbie at 7:33 PM on January 7, 2016 [3 favorites]

A fan of The Omega Man, eh?
posted by Captain l'escalier at 3:18 AM on January 8, 2016

lazycomputerkids, that sounds interesting. Trying to track down the oldest part of I-10, I found this article from KCET on L.A.'s first freeways, including the "Ramona Freeway" that would be part of the future I-10, but nothing on any parades (except for the opening celebration with horses, stagecoaches, and antique automobiles, similar to other opening ceremonies where disallowed users tromped on the roadway for the first and last time).
posted by filthy light thief at 7:19 AM on January 8, 2016

These must really take patience to capture.

Yes. I thought it was going to be streets, not freeways. It’s hard to imagine some of those places being empty even for a moment at 3am.
posted by bongo_x at 11:53 AM on January 8, 2016