People in Your Community regularly highlights one of our unsung neighbors who is making a difference in Los Angeles.
Award-winning photographer Ian Shive’s passion for natural beauty was ignited over many childhood visits to New Jersey’s Assunpink Wildlife Refuge and hardwood forests near his home. Subsequent trips to the Grand Canyon and Glacier National Park in his teens inspired him to go to college in Montana and study filmmaking, which in turn naturally led to LA. But even a successful career at Columbia Pictures proved no match for the lure of photography and environmental causes.
Shive’s book, The National Parks: Our American Landscape, is particularly poignant as we face continued state and national budget challenges from those who consider our parks expendable. His extraordinary photographs (one of which graces our cover) are not so much a comprehensive look at our outdoor national treasure, but a personal journey of extraordinary moments in extraordinary places.
My neighborhood is Century City and love it. I’m one of the rare people in LA who doesn’t own a car, but everything I need is right here. I do have a drivers license but only rent cars for projects that require them. Having a home office makes this reality much easier.
What is unique about my neighborhood is the park and golf course in Cheviot Hills. I typically build a long run into my day, anywhere from four to seven miles, and it has a 2.2-mile trail all the way around it. I never have to cross a single street.
My favorite place to hike around LA is Runyon Canyon. I also recently discovered the Angeles National Forest and was amazed that a place with so many canyons, waterfalls and swimming holes existed only 30 miles from my house. I also love coastal hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains, including portions of the Backbone Trail.
When I’m looking for inspiration I look at other people’s photography. I find inspiration in the unique perspectives that people have. I love all images, sometimes for different reasons. [Even if] they aren’t technically the most well-executed, they could still offer insight into a unique perspective or place.
One unglamorous part of my job is people don’t realize how physically challenging it can be. I typically have 35–40 pounds of camera gear plus whatever food and water I need for the day. Now imagine sprinting for the perfect set-up at last minute light.
When I have down-time, I like to hang out with friends. I dig spending time in Venice on Abbot Kinney hitting up the food trucks, or playing video games.
My friends would describe me as multi-tasking. I get bored easily and have a constant need to fill every minute with some sort of activity. I’m working to be more mindful and allow quiet time into my day.
What’s most surprising to me in my life is I live in a city! I grew up thinking I’d end up living in some mountain town but once I moved to California, I knew instantly that this state was for me. It has more national parks than any other state, mountains meet ocean, moderate weather and a bustling economy filled with creative individuals who constantly inspire me.
The one thing I still haven’t done and hope to do is an epic journey. A multi-month foray across a continent, perhaps Africa; or retrace the route of Marco Polo; or drive from LA to the Arctic Circle documenting the entire journey in photos and words.
Something that makes me happy is people are living smarter and more consciously here in Los Angeles and cities around the world. For a long time people thought that to be an advocate of the environment you had to go back to the stone age, giving up five-star restaurants, architecturally designed homes and the life they love living in a city. We can have those things and just do it all smarter.
The way I think I can have the greatest impact on the environment is inspiring people to get outside. The best compliment to me is when someone sees one of my photographs and feels inspired to put on boots and get out there. I believe that is where the seed of environmental protection begins, that we feel inspired to go somewhere beautiful and eventually fall in love with that experience. It may not be right away, but over time hikers become defenders of the places they draw so much peace and enjoyment from. That is the foundation of a conscious environmentalist.
See more of Ian Shive’s work at waterandsky.com.
