Sometimes 30 feet is all you need to get a different perspective. So I mounted a camera on a giant painter’s pole and headed out to the Palisades fire.
I spent the previous day covering the fire in Pacific Palisades and wanted a different way to show the destruction.
The amount of devastation is hard to quantify — street after street of rubble where houses once stood.
I’m always looking for a different way to cover a story — a unique view for our readers. That means I’m often lying on the ground to take a picture or I’m climbing on a wall to get a shot. And, other times I’m flying a drone.
Well, drones are forbidden during active firefighting activity. Not only is it dangerous for firefighting aircraft, it’s also illegal. The FAA issues constant reminders that interfering with firefighting efforts is a federal crime punishable by up to 12 months in prison. They can also impose a fine of $75,000.
To make 30-foot view images, I used a collapsible painter’s pole with a tripod adapter screwed to the top. Then I attached my iPhone 16 Pro and triggered it with my Apple Watch. The images range from 30 feet to 10 feet above the ground.
The tall pole swayed as the phone moved side to side atop the pole. I could see the live view of the phone with my watch and made very small movements as I positioned the camera.
Here are some of those images:
Abandoned cars sit on Sunset Boulevard during the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, CA, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Brothers Jack and John Lombardi look through the remains of their family home during the Palisades Fire in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, CA, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Destroyed homes along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, CA, during the Palisades Fire on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Rows of destroyed homes during the Palisades Fire in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, CA, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Rows of destroyed homes during the Palisades Fire in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, CA, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Rows of destroyed homes during the Palisades Fire in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, CA, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Rows of destroyed homes during the Palisades Fire in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, CA, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Orange County Register photojournalist Jeff Gritchen uses an iPhone 16 Pro attached to a 30-foot painter pole to get a unique perspective of destroyed homes along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.Rows of destroyed homes during the Palisades Fire in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, CA, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Rows of destroyed homes during the Palisades Fire in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, CA, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Photojournalist Jeff Gritchen started his career working for the American Red Cross as a disaster relief photographer 1989. He has been a photographer for Southern California News Group newspapers since 1994.
