Documenting The City At '5 mph': Meet Photographer Elon Schoenholz

If there’s one thing Los Angeles has, it’s character.

But to really see the liveliness of the city, sometimes it takes an artist’s eye.

A photographer's eye

In the latest episode of How To LA, podcast host Brian De Los Santos hops in a car with homegrown photographer Elon Schoenholz to talk about how he sees the city and how the city shows up in his art.

It’s all a part of an occasional HTLA series centering on artists, mostly painters and photographers, who tell the story of Los Angeles through their works. Lately, for Schoenholz, that’s meant capturing the city from the seat of his car.

“I’m stuck in my car all the time,” he says. “I feel like that’s the way I love the city. And I find it infinitely beautiful. I love to drive through every part of it.”

Schoenholz has been shooting the city from his car since he was 17 (don’t try this at home, kids) but now he says he finds himself in his car all the time whether its driving to gigs or taking his children… somewhere.

"My daughter had play rehearsals… and when I was going to pick her up, I just intentionally got stopped in traffic or drove around MacArthur Park [to] get landscape photos,” he explains.

Over the summer he published a “zine” of his car shots, “LA at 5 mph.” Each page is a blending of two images – the view in front of and behind you at the same time. It’s like how you would see the city through your windshield and your rearview mirror while driving. You can’t buy the zine anymore but you can check out some of this work on Instagram.

A photo of the downtown Los Angeles skyline from Elon Schoenholz's photography book, LA @5MPH.

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Elon Schoenholz

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Courtesy of Elon Schoenholz

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Born in LA

Schoenholz was born and raised in L.A. and has been a photographer ever since he was a preteen.

“I took my bar mitzvah money when I was 13 and bought like a real camera — I bought a Minolta X700,” he shares. He took classes as a teen at UCLA Extension and also at Fairfax High School where he went to school.

“I've got to give a shout out Mr. Spitzer at Fairfax High School,” he says. “I don't know if he's around anymore, but he was one of those teachers who really, really cared, and we were punk kids and not serious about anything, but his sincerity and generosity really influenced me.”

When not taking photos from his car, Schoenholz documents art and architecture around L.A. — museums and gallery spaces. He also takes pictures of what he calls the “urban forest.”

“I sort of have an obsession with topiary,” he says.

One of his more recognized photographs is of a solitary old fashioned lamp post being overcome by shrubbery. It made the rounds in Metro stations in L.A. as a part of the city’s Metro Art Photo Lightbox Series.

“I never knew that I could make a living doing this,” Schoenholz tells Brian.

Elon Schoenholz's photograph of Nutz Produce in Los Angeles, CA.

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Elon Schoenholz

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The city at night

Schoenholz likes to take photographs of the city at night when it’s quiet and the street lights are on. Santee Alley is one of his favorite places to capture, especially when the people have left the storefronts to go home. He loves the contrast of a place that is so loud and colorful during the day, then empty after the sun goes down.

“When the dust settles and everything's quiet and there are street lights. Not too much going on on the streets, right? I like to kind of capture that. I like the quietness,” he explains.

Elon Schoenholz's photograph of the Los Angeles Theater marquee.

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Elon Schoenholz

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Schoenholz continues on his cruise through downtown with the How to LA team in tow, down Broadway, past Clifton’s, and along the North Broadway Bridge to Little Tokyo. Come with and listen to the rest of this photographer's journey on the latest How to LA episode.

And a bonus: you can hear what’s on his soundtrack.

Listen to the episode: