Recreating the look and feel of Earl Leaf’s photographs he shot in 1957 around Hollywood and Vine.
In 1957 photographer Earl Leaf shot several photographs of actress Joan Bradshaw around the intersection of Hollywood Blvd and Vine Street in Hollywood and I just love them.
I love them so much I thought it would be fun to try to recreate the photos.
The idea for this series was to do a contemporary version of his 1957 photos, recreating the look and feel while shooting as close to the same locations as possible. I didn’t want to try to replicate the photos exactly as I knew that would be impossible even if I wanted to since the area has changed a lot in the past 67 years.
Capturing the same feel of Leaf’s photos was the goal.
In the photo above left, we shot it on the first street just west of Vine. Leaf’s photo was taken on Hollywood Blvd north side, east of Vine and shooting west. I couldn’t use the same spot as Leaf since it was completely in the shade when we were there. A dark, shaded shot would’ve been all wrong. Photoshop wouldn’t have helped. Although it’s not the same location as Leaf’s, it has the same feel. And it was a bonus getting part of the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel built in the 1920s in the background.
In the photo above right with the Capitol Records building in the background, it was the same story. The lamppost that Earl Leaf shot at was closer to the building but I couldn’t shoot there as you guessed it: total shade. So I went to the next lamppost down Vine going farther away from the building which explains the difference in perspective.
The main difference in all of Leaf’s photos is that he shot in the morning and I shot in the late afternoon. Knowing he shot in the morning, I just didn’t want the harsh morning light even though the lighting would match his photos better. For my purposes, the soft afternoon light worked better. You can really see the difference in the sunlight in the Capitol Records photos. In Leaf’s, the sun is to the right of camera, coming from the east. In my photo, the sun hits the building from left of camera, from the west.
In the bus bench photos above left, the model is completely in the sun in Leaf’s shot. By the time we got to the bus bench, the spot was in the shade from the surrounding buildings and the many trees. Not to mention, there aren’t any bus benches anymore on Vine where Leaf photographed so it wasn’t possible to get the Capitol Records building in the background. But – we got the Taft building built in 1924 in the background instead. A worthy consolation prize.
In the photos above right taken from behind the model at the NBC marquee in 1957 and now the Avalon, once again the sun dictated where we shot. Leaf pointed his camera north on Vine street. I shot looking south. The spot where Leaf shot was very dark and unworkable.
If I learned anything from this shoot, it’s that there were no trees in on the streets of Hollywood in 1957! Look at the photos. Nothing! I’ve seen many old photos of Hollywood and I never realized how devoid the area is of them. It makes me appreciate the trees that we have even more. I’m going to go hug one now.
