I am a member of the photo at the Times, and recently I spent three days photographing for the Motel California project at the Skyview Los Alamos. What surprised me immediately was how I was hidden in the hills that the motel was, even with its proximity to the highway. While just two hours from Los Angeles, I felt that I was in a totally different place.
The motel turns 100 years old. Explore the best paradises on the state road, and the best stop along the way.
I captured the iconic yellow “motel” sign by the pool, the turquoise ferry and many unique accessories. Having three days to photograph a task is rare in daily news, so I felt lucky to be able to spend more time at certain points of the property and remake in different lighting situations. Good light is critical to take a good photo, so I took full advantage of the golden time during my visit. All the touches of orange, yellow and bluish green around the property complemented the warm light well. I loved that most of the plants were succulent and cactus, giving the place a sensation of the desert on the central coast. When I look at all the photos as a whole, I feel the feeling of calm and warmth I experienced while I was there.
– Juliana Yamada, Photography
Ramsey 29 Motel on Twentynine Palms. The owner Ashton Ramsey took over an Lodge engine dating from the 1940s.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Rocky details on the pearl. (Megan Morelello / For the Times)
Decorative brick of the Motel Mojave Sands in Joshua Tree. (David Fouts / for times)
The atomic bomb room in the Trixie motel.
(David Fouts / for times)
Rooms 13 and 14 in the Skyview motel.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
The Skylark hotel sign on Palm Springs.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Alamo Motel signs in Los Alamos, from the left. Peach Tree Inn signs in San Luis Obispo. Motel Capri Sign in San Francisco. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
The Skyview motel sign, from the left. River Lodge's firm in Paso Robles. The sign of the Pacific Motel in Cayucos. (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times; Jacob Tovar / For The Times)
The sign of the Mojave Sands motel.
(David Fouts / for times)
The Sea & Sand Inn vacancy/vacancy sign in Santa Cruz.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
The Malibu Surfridrider seen from the Pacific coast road.
(Al SEIB / for times)
The entrance to the Norman restaurant at the Skyview motel.
The pool is seen through decorative furniture on the pool side in the Skyview motel. (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
Wallpaper inside the Trixie motel.
(David Fouts / for times)
The toilet paper at the Wren hotel is marked with its initials. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Folded toilet paper on the Skyview motel. (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
A view of a room inside the Ramsey 29 motel on Twentynine Palms.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
A detail of a patio pillow at the Pearl hotel. (Megan Morelello / For the Times)
A detail of the shower handle in a room in River Lodge. (Jacob Tovar / for the times)
A room inside the Crystal Pier Hotel in Pacific Beach, San Diego.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Wigwam Motel buildings in San Bernardino.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
A room at the Skylark hotel.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
The Hotel del Sol is a boutique hotel in San Francisco with the aim of rising above its roots as an economic motel.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
A room at the Glen Oaks hotel in Big Sur.
(Nic Coury / for times)
Located in Market Street, Beck's has a front row to the main artery of San Francisco. The motel still offers free parking at the scene, with a passable location that provides broad access to public transport, including the historical market line F.
(Megan Bayley / for the Times)
A decorative room in Madonna Inn.
(Nic Coury / for times)
Keys from the old school of the Hacienda del Sol, from the left, in Borrego Springs, the Skylark Hotel in Riverside and Glen Oaks Resort Adobe Motor Lodge. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
A meeting space at Hotel Haley in Santa Barbara.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
A view of an outdoor space connected to a room at the Pearl hotel.
(Megan Morelello / For the Times)
A detail of a bedroom door on the Mojave Sands motel. (David Fouts / for times)
Two robes hang in a room in the Malibu Surfrider. (Al SEIB / for times)
Happy guests at Restaurant-Bar Ponyboy at the Pearl Hotel in San Diego.
(Megan Morelello / For the Times)
Cocktails served in the Trixie Motel in Palm Springs. (David Fouts / for times)
The cocktails in Ponyboy at the Pearl Hotel in San Diego. (Megan Morelello / For the Times)
The dog of a guest wanders near the pool area of La Perla in San Diego. (Megan Morelello / For the Times)
A rabbit jumps to the Mojave Sands motel in Joshua Tree. (David Fouts / for times)
The outdoor shower in the Skyview motel. (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
A wooden patio chair in the Mojave Sands motel in Joshua Tree. (David Fouts / for times)
The Malibu Surfridrider is located on the Pacific coast road from Malibu Pieribo Pierbu and Surfrider, famous for its surf, and is near the National Recreation Area of the Mountains of Santa Monica.
(Al SEIB / for times)
A view of the pool from inside the property in Trixie Motel in Palm Springs.
(David Fouts / for times)
The pool in the Skyview Motel is seen through a window at the Norman restaurant.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
Pool side textures on the grounds of Pearl Hotel. (Megan Morelello / For the Times)
The pool passes in the Trixie motel. (David Fouts / for times)
The cactus garden in the Trixie Motel.
(David Fouts / for times)
