Ellen Byron

Sunsets in Studio City

When Covid closed my gym forever in 2020, the increase in my weight and blood pressure – both of which still prove annoyingly difficult to reduce – necessitated an alternative exercise plan. Luckily, power walks in my hilly neighborhood have provided just that until I find another gym offering the dance classes I love.

Sometimes I walk with friends, sometimes alone. In addition to exercise, the solo strolls offer a chance to mull over story ideas and plot points. That is, when I can focus. Because the evening walks offer something else as well – magnificent sunsets.

I can’t tell you how often I stop to take snapshots like the one above. Or the ones below…

The photos don’t even capture the real beauty of each sunset. But they come close.

I love how this picture feels so very SoCal…

While this one almost looks like a painting…

You can see why I get distracted on these walks. But appreciation of my adopted state’s natural beauty has led to an unexpected development: I plan to set my next mystery series in California.

I’m not setting the series in my neighborhood. It will be located in mountains halfway up the state. But in creating it, I’ll make sure there’s a vantage point to look west, even if means fictionalizing the real location I’m envisioning. I want my characters to experience the same emotions I do when California truly and so very spectacularly lives up to its nickname of the Golden State.

I’m a native New Yorker. It took me years to get used to living in LaLaLand. Honestly, I’m not sure I ever will.

But views like this make every doubt go away, replaced by indisputable fact that I am truly blessed to call “The Golden State” my home.

Readers, what do you love about where you live?

37 thoughts on “Sunsets in Studio City”

  1. I love that in Florida we don’t get any snow and ice. I love that we are less than 2 miles from the ocean. We can use our pool all year long. The amazing sunsets. Palm trees. Fresh fruit and vegetables all year long at the Farmer’s Market. Meeting people from all over the country that like us have decided to retire here.

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  2. What stunning photos, El! Simply gorgeous. Here in NH I am always happy to have 4 very distinct and equally appealing (to New Englanders) seasons. We’re known for foliage and snow, but the spring and summers are spectacular as well. However…there’s a joke we have 2 other seasons: Mud (March) and Black Fly (May). Yup. Come visit!

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  3. Ellen, gorgeous photos. Although I prefer sunrise to sunset.
    What do I like about where I live? Other than having all 4 seasons? The peoples melting pot that is the DMV. There are so many cultures here. And each one has something beautiful to represent it.
    Clothes. Music. Dance. Food. The way the voice sounds when the native tongue is spoken.

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  4. Love those photos, Ellen! I do love living 20 minutes from the Racing Capitol of the World, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Fall foliage can be pretty amazing, too.

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  5. Ellen, my brother lives in Studio City. I have always lived in Northern CA! It can get SO hot!! I enjoy your books and I enjoyed this post/pictures!

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  6. I also live in New England. I love having the variety of seasons, but also the variety of terrain. We have mountains, beaches, lakes and forests with abundant wildlife and cities with a lot of history. I also live close to a river that in one direction gives stunning sunrise views, and in the other fabulous sunsets. One of my bucket list goals is to go up to the river every day at sunrise and sunset each day for a year and photograph the sun rising and setting. Then I want to make a coffee table book called “A year on the River”. Now to just get myself out of bed early enough to drive that mile and a half to take the pictures. LOL! I love New England and will never live anywhere else.
    Carol

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  8. I’ve lived in North Carolina since 1977 and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Wendell is a former tobacco town not far from Raleigh, the state capital, so we have the best of both worlds – small town life coupled with access to cultural opportunities like the opera, the symphony and even a Vincent van Gogh show that’s currently touring. I was born and raised in New Jersey, but now, I feel as if I’ve lived in the South all my life because I’ve formed such a strong connection here. The people here are friendly and polite, always willing to help someone in need. Years ago when I was in grad school, the house I was living in in Raleigh caught fire while I was away and I lost just about everything I had. The next day while I was sifting through the ruins, an elderly lady who lived on the street came over and handed ma a check for $200 – turns out the women’s group in the local Baptist church, which I didn’t even attend, heard of my misfortune and took up a collection to help out.

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  11. I mostly still love living in PA. Winters (more ice than snow here) are hard. My pain syndromes go off more in the winter, so I tend to stay in as much as I can (hibernate!) I’m close to NYC and The Pocono Mtns. I’m not too far from my NC friend… Not a bad deal. Plus, my immediate family is here. I’m glad we’re not scattered. I’m lucky.

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    1. Love PA! My kid is currently spending the summer working at a sleepaway camp near Lake Como. I keep telling her to look for a job in Philly. So perfectly located and a great city.

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  12. What beautiful pictures, Ellen.

    There is a local photographer who captures some of the most stunning sunrises in Pittsburgh. My house faces west and there’s a heavy treeline behind it, so I usually can’t see the sunrise.

    I love all the natural areas and mountains. Something I’ll get to enjoy a lot more of since we finally bought a house in the Laurel Highlands!

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  13. Like Hestia, I’m a sunrise kinda gal. I love sitting with my coffee and a book, window wide open to capture the early morning quiet of a small town just beginning to wake. I do love a good sunset too, but as a native Coloradan, can’t imagine not being able to see the sun set over the mountains. Back when I used to drive to an office, my morning commute would take me due west. No matter how often I saw it, the sun lighting up the mountains—usually covered in snow—often made me gasp it was so beautiful.

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  17. Those are some seriously gorgeous sunsets! I live in Illinois (not Chicago), in the Quad Cites. It spans two cities in Illinois and two cities just across the Mississippi River in Iowa. We are the only bend in the Mississippi River that flows east to west instead of north to south. I don’t spend much time on the river but the views can be spectacular. Especially when a sunset is involved! I do love to take the scenic water taxi across the river during nice weather. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year!

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  18. I just returned from the Golden State last night! As your pictures show, there is much beauty to behold. ❤

    I love the mountains. Whether they're naked, robed in snow, or bathed in the colors of sunset or sunrise, I never get tired of looking at them.

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