This series of presentations on Los Angeles photographers began in 1994 with a lecture on the career of Los Angeles photographer Will Connell. Michael Dawson of Dawson’s Book Shop gave the slide presentation. At present, Photo Friends has hosted more than 80 Los Angeles photographers.
Unless otherwise noted, this bimonthly lunchtime lecture series is held on the second Wednesday of February, April, June, August, October and December in Meeting Room A at the Central Library. (map)
Check back for information about future programs and an updated Past Speakers List.
Past Speakers
| April 2025 | Eric Kurland – 3D in Depth |
| February 2025 | Linda Posnick: Arches and Angels The 6th Street Bridge Story |
| October 2024 | Tish Lampert – Living Activism: 25 Years, Through My Lens |
| August 2024 | Noé Montes – Unhoused |
| June 2024 | Michelle Groskopf – Ten Years of L.A. Details |
| April 2024 | Rich Kee – The Dodger Collection |
| February 2024 | Rick Castro S/M Blvd: Street Hustler Photographs |
| October 2023 | Kristin Bedford – Cruise Night |
| December 2020 | Michele Asselin – Hollywood Park |
| February 2020 | Miriam Caldwell – The Lost History of the Clifton’s Cafeteria Camera Girls |
| October 2019 | Osceola Refetoff – Creativity and the Documentary Impulse |
| August 2019 | Cat Gwynn – 10-Mile Radius |
| June 2019 | Stephen Schafer – Capturing History Forever, Photographing for the Historic American Buildings Survey |
| April 2019 | Robert Pacheco – Downtown L.A. Street Scenes of a Fading Era |
| February 2019 | Pamela Peters – NDNZ in the City: Multi-media Narratives of American Indian Culture in the Heart of Los Angeles |
| October 2018 | Tom LaBonge – Tom LaBonge Loves LA |
| August 2018 | George Rodriguez – Double Vision |
| April 2018 | Fiona Connor – Placeholder for a Grand Central Market Archive |
| February 2018 | Christina Rice – Inside the LAPL Photo Collection |
| October 2017 | Ken Karagozian – Building the Downtown Los Angeles Regional Transit Project |
| August 2017 | Nick Ut |
| June 2017 | Todd Blubaugh – Too Far Gone |
| April 2017 | Raul Roa – Pro Tips to Improve Your Photography |
| February 2017 | Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin – North of the 101 |
| October 2016 | David K. Thompson – Seeing Downtown |
| August 2016 | David Davis – One Golden Moment: 1984 LA Olympics |
| June 2016 | Warren Hill – Power & Persistence: Grassroots Activists & Musicians in LA |
| April 2016 | Leopoldo Peña – Interlude on Broadway |
| February 2016 | Roger Steffens – The Forrest Gump of LSD |
| August 2015 | Julie Green – California Country Fairs |
| June 2015 | Elisa Leonelli – 1970s Street Photography |
| April 2015 | George Brich – CarScapes |
| January 2015 | Douglas Hill & Martin Cox – Shooting Architecture |
| October 2014 | Art Meza – Lowriting |
| August 2014 | Eric John – Outtakes: What You Don’t See in Photographs |
| June 2014 | Kevin McCollister – East of West LA |
| April 2014 | Anne Fishbein – Racetrack Culture |
| October 2013 | Helen Garber – Urban Noir: LA/NY |
| August 2013 | Jeffrey Schwartz – Rock & Rock Seen: Los Angeles Through the Lens of Chuck Boyd |
| June 2013 | Sara Jane Boyers – Finding Chinatown: An American Story |
| May 2013 | Steve Grody – Graffiti: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly |
| February 2013 | John Tapia Urquiza – Sin Turistas: Welcome to Highland Park |
| August 2012 | Kevin Knight – Heroes, Villains, Jedi, Fan Convention Portraits |
| April 2012 | Ted Soqui & Glynn Martin – 20th Anniversary of the LA Riots |
| March 2012 | John Matkowsky – Ansel Adams Los Angeles |
| February 2012 | Beth Ann Guynn – A Nation Emerges: The Mexican Revolution Revealed |
| November 2011 | Gerald Panter – Eating on the Run |
| May 2011 | Tom Zimmerman & Eric Evavold – Neon Noir |
| April 2008 | Stefano Paltera |
| February 2008 | Ann Mitchell |
| December 2007 | Meredith Jenks |
| October 2007 | Christopher James Alexander |
| August 2007 | Stone Ishimaru |
| June 2007 | David Fahey |
| April 2007 | Douglas McCulloh |
| February 2007 | Doug Hill |
| December 2006 | Catherine Bauknight |
| October 2006 | Hans Gutknecht |
| August 2006 | Rick Namiahs |
| June 2006 | Wendy Horowitz |
| April 2006 | George Bojorquez |
| February 2006 | Wendy Cheng |
| December 2005 | Peter Reiss |
| October 2005 | Hector Mata |
| August 2005 | Rick Mechtly |
| June 2005 | Francine Orr |
| April 2005 | Cheryl Himmelstein |
| February 2005 | Michael Grecco |
| December 2004 | Sports symposium moderated by Andy McCue with photographers Andrew Bernstein, Keith Birmingham, Anne Knudsen, and James Ruebsamen |
| October 2004 | David Davis |
| August 2004 | Tom Lamb |
| June 2004 | Mark Johnstone |
| April 2004 | Julius Shulman |
| February 2004 | Don Rogers |
| December 2003 | Virginia Lee Hunter |
| October 2003 | Grant Mudford |
| August 2003 | Douglas McCulloh |
| June 2003 | Paul Kopeikin |
| April 2003 | Gail Albert Halaban |
| February 2003 | Art Streiber |
| December 2002 | Gil Garcetti |
| October 2002 | Carolyn Cole |
| August 2002 | Charles Phoenix |
| June 2002 | Nick Ut & Mark Edward Harris |
| April 2002 | Julia Dean |
| February 2002 | Delmar Watson |
| December 2001 | Robert Glenn Ketchum |
| August 2001 | Slobodan Dimitrov |
| June 2001 | Livia Corona & Joaquin Trujillo |
| April 2001 | Stephen White |
| February 2001 | David Strick |
| December 2000 | Darryl Curran |
| October 2000 | Howard Bingham |
| August 2000 | Marissa Roth |
| June 2000 | Ray McSavaney |
| April 2000 | Lara Jo Regan |
| February 2000 | Nancy Webber |
| December 1999 | Jerry McMillan |
| October 1999 | Sarah Fix |
| August 1999 | Marvin Rand |
| June 1999 | Lester Sloan |
| April 1999 | Sheila Pinkel |
| February 1999 | Robert Flick |
| December 1998 | Lauren Greenfield |
| October 1998 | Virgil Mirano |
| August 1998 | Tom LaBonge |
| June 1998 | Gregg Segal |
| April 1998 | Robert Berger & Anne Conser |
| February 1998 | Robert Landau |
| December 1997 | Gary Leonard |
| October 1997 | Lane Barden |
| August 1997 | Earl Witscher |
| June 1997 | Victoria Pearson |
| April 1997 | Anthony Friedkin |
| February 1997 | Bob Douglas |
| December 1996 | Tim Street-Porter |
| October 1996 | Kathleen Estrada |
| August 1996 | Tom Zimmerman |
| June 1996 | Roland Charles |
| April 1996 | Karen Halverson |
| February 1996 | Genaro Molina |
| December 1995 | Thos K. Meyer |
| October 1995 | Dennis Callwood |
| August 1995 | Irene Fertik |
| June 1995 | Todd Gray |
| April 1995 | Iris Schneider |
| February 1995 | John Humble |