Los Angeles
The book itself took time to develop; the photographs in “California” span 18 years and were shot across the state, in San Francisco, Nevada City, L.A. and elsewhere, imparting the loose framework of a road trip.
In her essay for the book, Virginia Heckert, head of the department of photographs at the Getty Museum, writes that when photographing Los Angeles, Chiara took full use of “the expressive qualities of the vertical diptych, most notably to encompass the full height of the city’s ubiquitous but varied species of palm trees. The staggered effect of stacked panels more closely approximates the way we take in our surroundings than a single image can.” There were other technical challenges particular to the city: Because of the film industry, shooting permits are stricter and include an enormous still camera being towed around on a flatbed behind a truck. “What if I just had a regular camera? Or what if I had a canvas and was painting,” Chiara said and laughed. “Would I need a permit for that?”
by Agatha French, Photographing California with a camera as big as a truck | Los Angeles Times | October 26, 2017
