Ave Pildas - Studio Visit - August 16th 2025

August 26, 2025

On August 16th I drove up to Santa Monica to meet up with Alex Turner who was giving a talk at Marshall Gallery about his current exhibition there. I had called one of my favorite LA photographer friends, Ave Pildas , on the way up to see if he wanted to join me. Ave, who lives in Santa Monica, couldn’t make the lecture, but said he would be home later if I could stop by after, which I did.

We were catching up in his studio space and during the conversation I told Ave that I really wanted to add one of his prints to my collection and I specifically asked about his photograph of three Long Beach PD color guard officers. He was happy that I wanted a print and agreed to make this print below for me.

I first learned about Ave’s work seven years during a visit to Arcana Books. I saw his self-published book Street / People on a feature rack, and I immediately related to his photographs. I especially liked the image above of the color guard officers. I bought the books and finally met Ave when Arcana held a book signing for his book Star Struck which was published by Deadbeat Club. Since then, we have become good friends, so it became a priority for me to get at least one of his prints.

While Ave was getting ready to make my print, I got to go through his working prints for his Liemert Park Portfolio. It was exciting getting to see so many different images from this portfolio because I remember him telling be in October of 2023 he was thinking about starting to photograph there. At the time we were together photographing in the Eagle Rock area, and we were talking about other areas of Los Angeles that would be good to document. He checked it out the following week and he has been photographing there regularly since and has really come to know that community. The work is solid and important because it documents an important neighborhood in Los Angeles’s history. I hope the right people discover this portfolio and find it several good homes; it has value.

Ave has been documenting Los Angeles for a long time, so it was of little surprise when he proudly told me that the Los Angeles Times was publishing a feature Sunday article the next day built on his 1980 Venice Beach photoshoot of seven of LA’s prominent young architects (Frederick Fisher, Robert Mangurian, Eric Owen Moss, Coy Howard, Craig Hodgetts, Thom Mayne, and Frank Gehry).

Here is a link to the article and photographs of it are below. I am so jealous of how much energy Ave has; he is really focused now on preserving his archive as well as still getting out there to keep photographing.

Finally just a few more photos from Gizmo’s photoshoot that we got in while Ave was printing my photograph.

Ave Pildas visit in Santa Monica

February 19, 2024

I was finally able to get up to Ave Pildas’s home, and studio, in Santa Monica a few weeks ago for a long overdue visit to talk about photography and some potential collaborations we are considering.

Ave designed their house and the garage (studio space) he shares with his wife Phyllis Green. It is an incredible property, perfect for a creative couple. Hopefully one day Ave does a documentary film or some reels where he showcases his space, I know a lot of people would enjoy seeing it as I did.

It was good for me to compare Ave’s studio and workspace to my own. For people who are not creative an artist’s world is a hard thing to understand, especially how artists organize things to allow for free-flowing creativity (in my case it is how I navigate my clutter). Ave’s studio design is a unique space well designed for him and Phyllis. While we were upstairs in his office looking at prints and talking, Phyllis was on her side utilizing her large worktables to create a three-dimensional project involving hats. It was fantastic how the space was both separate and connected at the same time.

Ave shared prints from his Circles Squares and Triangles portfolio and explained that photographing three-dimensional items in his studio to create images was how he kept being creative through the lockdown part of the pandemic.

Ave also gave me copies of his Nude(s) and Circles Squares and Triangles books. I have several other titles from his Small Books titles which I first discovered at Arcana Books in Culver City. These small self-published projects are fantastic. He uses El Sereno Graphics in Los Angeles to print them, and they are some of the nicest looking books I have seen in this size and unit cost. I had wanted to get this post done last week to showcase the photograph the image “Valentine” below from his Nude(s) book for Valentine’s Day, but unfortunately, I am way behind on things right now.

I encourage everyone to check out Ave’s books and his work. I am jealous of the volume of material he has photographed in his lifetime and the fact he is still out there travelling the world looking for new images. I am really enjoying our friendship and I will continue showcasing his work whenever I can.

Photographing with Ave Pildas - September 22, 2023

October 8, 2023

On Friday September 22nd I spent the afternoon photographing and hanging out with legendary Los Angeles street photographer Ave Pildas.

I discovered Ave’s work, when I found a copy of his book Street People at Arcana Books in Culver City five years ago. I liked his work so much I bought a copy of the book. I authored a blog post about Street People and how his photograph “Cop Salute” really stood out to me. I loved the fact Ave was apparently self-publishing small edition books, promoting his work, making his own opportunities. Los Angeles is a hard town to photograph in and it was obvious Ave has been out there documenting Los Angeles for a long time. I followed Ave on social media and when Deadbeat Club Press released Ave’s Star Struck book last year, I went back over to Arcana for the signing to meet him; I also authored a blog post about that. We had a great talk and I suggested going out photographing on the street together.

Ave and I had talked a few times this year trying coordinate our schedules to go out and photograph. When we figured out September would be good for both of us, Ave specifically told me he wanted to find new areas in LA to photograph. The light in September is also usually better than the summer months which I thought would be a plus, but of course the day we went out it was oddly overcast for September here. Ave lives in Santa Monica and is probably best-known for his Hollywood street photography. When we were planning the day Ave told me he was interested in exploring two Los Angeles neighborhoods: Liemert Park and York Boulevard in Highland Park. Because I knew I would be coming from a morning meeting with Photography Curator Linde Lehtinen at the Huntington Library I chose York Boulevard which was closer. I also liked how he described York Boulevard as a gentrified neighborhood with plenty of foot traffic and people out and about to photograph. I love an image rich environment.

We met at Avenue 50 and York which was perfect. There is also a bench there which allowed us to talk for half an hour before we started walking and photographing. I also got a good feel for the area watching the people pass us.

Ave and I are very different in a lot of ways, first and foremost I am 6’5”, Ave is not. I was born in the 1960’s, Ave was “living life” in the 1960’s and 70’s; and he still attacks life today. But I quickly discovered we are very similar when it comes to photography even though we work in different styles. We both constantly look for images in our travels, framing things in our mind when we don’t have a camera in hand, and we both have a strong desire to document our world. We also both feel the pressure of fleeting time and its impact on our efforts to preserve our work, so our images live on long after we are gone. We also have a similar geek side, like where we both got excited with the visit to Galco’s Soda Pop Stop. I bought some PEZ and Ave asked for a handful of eclectic bottle caps. I also loved listening to Ave and Ernestine at Leaf & Spine talk about succulents for ten minutes. We discovered her shop while adventuring around York Boulevard.

Street Photography Styles:

When it comes to photographing people on the street, Ave talks to people more, and likes to engage with his subjects. I like to move anonymously through crowds while photographing. I don’t want people to be aware that I am photographing them because I want to document the world as it is, without interfering with it; but I always do get incredibly powerful images when I get suspicious stares directly into my lens. We talked about our different approaches and during the conversation I referenced Bruce Gilden who photographs in a very confrontational style, on the street of NYC with a wide-angle lens and a flash. There is never a doubt when Bruce has taken your picture, he’s in your face. The confrontation Bruce creates is an important part of the image. Ave and I both like Bruce’s photographs but agreed we would never want to work in that style; we also agreed that style would not go over well in Los Angeles.

I think Ave photographs in a more methodical manner. Granted he is 84 years old, but he is in great shape still and could move along the street faster. He just really likes to examine everything around him and often photographs details from multiple angels to get exactly what he wants. I like to do that as well with static subjects but when I am photographing on the street I am usually moving and reacting to the people I see. I often “Shoot from the hip” literally, with a Sony RX100 vii with the rear screen tiled up so I can glance down and see it. I miss some things in the frame with this approach but with it I can move about better, and people are more natural. Missing an image is just part of the process, some things aren’t meant to be. When I see something that is amazing I will frame it regardless of whether people will notice. Often I have a Nikon D850 around my neck and will transition to that for those images. I also use the DSLR camera for all the static subjects. A DSLR camera body around the neck often helps me photograph surreptitiously with my Sony RX 100 vii. Suspicious people focus on the DSLR body, and they don’t even look at my hands. Good Life Lesson from my Law Enforcement days, always look to see what’s in people’s hands.

William Karl Valentine - York Boulevard Portfolio

The Experience of Photographing with Ave

The afternoon photographing with Ave was one of the coolest times I have had in a while. I almost always photograph alone or if I am with other people I am the only photographer. After leaving ASU I have never really had a mentor photographer. I have had outstanding advisors like Mary Virginia Swanson but no one I went out photographing with. Ave and I photographed well together, each discovering different things to photograph and moving at a pace that didn’t hinder either of us. The pace was also good because it gave us the opportunity to discuss so many different things. We meshed well, I did not set the day up looking for a mentor, I was looking to exchange ideas with an experienced peer, and I got that. I know we both got something out of the day and developed a good friendship. Ave even called me last week to tell me about photographing Liemert Park the weekend after we were on York Boulevard.

We discussed so many things there is no way to list everything here, and some things were just between us. Ave life has been an adventure. He was a successful designer in Cincinnati and when he wanted to get to the next level he followed the advice of his mentors and went to study design in Switzerland. He met his first wife in Switzerland and has two granddaughters who are Swiss. He taught in Philadelphia and ended up in Los Angeles because one of his former students worked at Capitol Records and introduced him to management when he had been in town on a road trip. He had to fly back to Philadelphia to get a portfolio to show them and was hired. We talked about some of the legendary photographers of our time, and it was interesting learning how Ave had met Danny Lyon in Milwaukee once and had seen Garry Winogrand photographing around Los Angeles on several occasions.

I look forward to getting back on the street again soon with Ave and could see somehow collaborating with him one day. His schedule is crazy, with pending trips to New York and Morocco coming up soon, but that also means I get to see more new images from him. I encourage everyone who reads this post to check out Ave’s website and follow him on Instagram, you won’t be disappointed. There is also a recently completed documentary film about Ave called Ave’s America that I am looking forward to watching once the release is complete.

William Kart Valentine on York Blvd – photograph © 2023 Ave Pildas

Ave’s Bio from his website:

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ave Pildas worked early in his career as a photo stringer for Downbeat Magazine in the Ohio Valley and Pennsylvania in the 1960's.

In 1971 Pildas began working as the Art Director at Capitol Records in Hollywood and designed and photographed album covers for the label's recording artists. He launched a career as a freelance photographer and designer soon after, specializing in architectural and corporate photography. His photographs have been exhibited in one man shows at the: Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Photographers Gallery, London, Janus Gallery, Los Angeles, Gallerie Diaframma, Milan, Cannon Gallery, Amsterdam, Gallerie 38, Zurich and numerous group shows. His photographs are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Bibliotheca National, Paris; the University of Arizona as well as numerous other public and private collections. He is a Professor Emeritus at Otis College of Design.