I had a studio in this neighborhood for 3 years. Just take your camera and spend a couple hours walking around admiring the colors and people and odd shops.
Salton Sea is not technically LA, but is a by-product of its history and my first-choice escape from the city: one of the world's largest inland seas and lowest spots on earth, a man-made lake in the midst of the Colorado desert, a resort area in the twenties turned in one of the worst ecological disaster of the past century.
LA wouldn't be LA without its Freeways. The Golden State Freeway is one of the most familiar places I have. It's my studio, living room, and kitchen all togheter. I can eat a sandwich, make phone calls and check my emails on the go, and even read the newspaper when it's jammed, basically all the time.
The Hollywood reservoir is hidden in between the Hollywood hills- it’s never busy and the 3 mile loop is always peaceful and great for self reflection meditation.