Just Above Sunset
April 16, 2006 - Mythological Beasts in Hollywood












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Griffin, Edmon Stone Galleries, Melrose Avenue

 
 
Los Angeles can be a tad hallucinatory at times. You think you see something, then you decide you really didn't see that, but, if you have a camera with you take a shot and you have your evidence. The griffin (also spelled gryphon and, less commonly, gryphen, griffon, griffen, or gryphin) is "a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Often, griffins are depicted with a pair of prominent ears, traditionally termed 'ass' ears.' Since the lion was considered the 'King of the Beasts' and the eagle the 'King of the Air,' the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Some traditions say that only female griffins have wings. The griffin is generally represented with four legs, wings and a beak, with eagle-like talons in place of a lion's forelegs and equine ears jutting from its skull. Some writers describe the tail as a serpent."

Here's one or two at Edmon Stone Galleries, down on Melrose Avenue. This is an odd, block-long business, specializing in hand carved wood and cast stone mantles designed to customer specifications - for the mansions in Beverly Hills and for movies sets. It's a niche business, but they do very, very well. And their building features griffins.

Griffins, Edmon Stone Galleries, Melrose Avenue

Griffins, Edmon Stone Galleries, Melrose Avenue

All day long they stare at this ... 

View, Edmon Stone Galleries, Melrose Avenue

Griffins, Edmon Stone Galleries, Melrose Avenue

Oh yeah, there's this guy…

Statue, Edmon Stone Galleries, Melrose Avenue














If you use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me.  

There is a copyright notice at the bottom of this page, of course.

These were shot with a Nikon D70 - lens AF-5 Nikor 18-70 mm 1:35-4.5G ED or AF Nikor 70-300 mm telephoto.

They were modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0
The original large-format raw files are available upon request.

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Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 - Alan M. Pavlik
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