‘The machine turned into a lonely character gazing at an empty beach’: Alon Goldsmith’s best phone picture

On New Year’s Day 2026, Alon Goldsmith began what he calls a “365-day project, which involves taking and posting a photo every day for a year. On some days, it’s a struggle to find something worthy of being included and on others it’s a challenge to make a choice,” he says.

This image was taken on day 111. Johannesburg-born, LA-based Goldsmith was on his daily bike ride, which usually takes him through Venice and around Santa Monica Pier, areas he describes as containing a “cornucopia of curiosities”.

“I spend a lot of rides hunting for photos,” he says. “Looking at the world from this vantage point allows me to slow down and notice what’s around me in a different way. When I’m not rushing, the world reveals itself more fully.”

This Hi-Spy Viewing Machine is situated on the pier, looking over the beach. Goldsmith decided to translate what he captured into black and white during editing.

“I think the change emphasises the graphic and cinematic nature of the composition,” he says. “The drama of the clouds in black and white adds sculptural weight, and the bird helps to anthropomorphise the machine, turning it into a lonely character gazing out at an empty beach.”

Tidying up, or erasing elements, like the swooping seagull or smudge of heaped sand, was out of the question, however: “The ethics of street photography forbid altering an image in that way.”