#1: The Neon Lights
Being a native of Las Vegas, neon lights always meant “home” to me in a far deeper way than most. After trying his hand at running a one-hour photo shop, my father laid to rest his photography skills for a different kind of art–neon bending. My father trained in the art of neon bending before I was even born. He recently worked on the new Slotzilla sign that went up on the Fremont Experience. Here’s a little more insight to the world of neon art, featuring Federal Heath Sign Company for a Leatherman’s commercial. Keep a look out for my dad, he’s featured towards the end of the video.
#2: People Watching
Sometimes an old timer of Las Vegas can get tired of what DTLV has to offer, but you can never get tired of watching the tourists. It’s interesting to observe how wild people can get with Las Vegas having the stigma of being the “city of sin”. To promote this idea even more, movies like, The Hangover have only made the reputation a more acceptable one. Next time you are on the Fremont Experience, grab a drink, pick a spot and watch. There is nothing more fun than watching people lose all inhibition.
#3: Street Performers
From a guitarist shredding it in a man-bikini to breakdancers pulling in a crowd, you can find a cluster of street performers on The Fremont Experience. One of my favorites are the spray paint artists that can make a landscape with scraps of paper and cans of spray paint in under 5 minutes. During my stroll, one of the artists made a custom Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) paintings as a memorable souvenir.
#4: Hustlers in Costumes
Las Vegas has become the Disneyland for adults. Every character imaginable can be found walking down The Strip and The Fremont Experience. While doing my photo project, I got some great candid photos of Spiderman casually talking to Captain America. You can even find Dora the Explorer, Transformers, half-naked women dressed as nuns, etc.
#5: The Flame-throwing Preying Mantis
A new addition to the downtown area is the Container park. A place, where for the first time, families feel safe bringing their kids. The park is equipped with multiple kiddie slides, small restaurants, and a some small shops. My favorite part of the park is the 15-foot tall preying mantis by the entrance. On occasion, the mantis will spew out fire from its antennae.
The Complete DTLV Adventure
Want to see what other outlandish things I saw on my photo adventure? The ladies dressed up as your no-so-average cops were my favorite candid shot. Check out the compete gallery HERE!
Camera Details
Say hello to my new favorite digital camera: the Fujifilm x20. It has the body of a vintage film camera with the technology of a digital camera. All the photos I took used a special night-time setting with no flash. I believe the more authentic you capture the scene, the better.
Light Leaks 
katherinem
Norma,
OMG! I love to people watch and the Las Vegas Strip/Freemont Street is a great place to start! ha ha My parents came to visit me one time and they were tired of walking so we sad down and started people watching….it was hilarious what we saw lol….Love the blog! Thanks.
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jordana
Wow I really enjoyed everything about this post. It was very well done and looked very professionally done. The photos were great and I really liked the 1-5 listing thing you did. Your topic was awesome as well because not a lot of people know all the exciting things that are going on downtown.
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tommied
I am all about people watching. Downtown Las Vegas is the perfect spot! I seriously can’t get enough. I loved your post and all of your pictures that are on Flickr. Your correlation Las Vegas as an adult Disneyland is spot on! Loved it. I was also looking into the camera. I might have to look into deeper because your pictures were beautiful.
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biancam
Norma,
Once again, great job on your post. The idea of doing “top 5 things to see in Downtown” is perfect and straight forward, especially because we all know there is a TON of crazy things to see down there! You’re topic narrows it down and I like #4 Hustlers in costumes and how you mentioned downtown has become the disneyland for adults. Perfect relation. Your photos are nice also. Good job.
Bianca
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hayleyc
Hi Norma,
I knew from your previous blog on web design that your photo assignment was going to be interesting! You definitely know what you’re doing with that camera! I absolutely love the culture of Downtown Las Vegas. I think this piece was very creative and I could definitely see this being published in a local publication! Great job!
-Hayley
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Nikki
Norma,
Awesome post and photo set. I really like how you gave your own personal touch to exploring downtown. I like how you gave your own unique experience and ideas of things to do downtown instead of the regular stuff found on travel sites. I also thought it was super cool that your dad does neon bending, I didn’t even know that it was a thing! So awesome!
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kelseao
I love the way your photos turned out. I also love how well they look on your page. I can’t seem to get mine to do that! I think you hit all the points! It was nice that you explained you can find these things both on the strip and downtown.
I think it is also great that you showed what camera you use. It’s great to see what others are using and whats actually working. Also awesome that you used different settings to capture your photos. Great job!
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Rhea's Blog
Hey Norma!
Great job.
I have not been downtown yet but with your post I am eager to go and explore. Your digital camera looks amazing. I want to invest in a good camera after taking this class.
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Dawn
Yes! I enjoyed reading your blog post. Your posts are always so detailed and organized, which makes it easy on the eyes. Great shots of #DTLV. The photos really make the content engaging.
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Karla Magno
Hi Norma,
This is so cool! I have a soft spot for Downtown Las Vegas–I’d choose to hang out there a thousand times over the Strip. The vibe is more different and there’s just more culture, overall. Your photo is great! And congrats on the new camera. Very nice!
Karla
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Tyler H.
I like the choices you gave as to why downtown is a must see for locals & visitors. Really nice camera and your image was nice. I feel as though since you listed the 5 things people should see while in Downtown LV, perhaps you could have included some of your flickr photos into your actual blog. of course they are there on your flickr page but put an image relating to the 5 things would have made it even better. Good post nevertheless.
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