Evelyn Schmitt, the Queen of the Pier, strikes again
by Jefferson Graham
Life begins at 80? Who is that lady with the white hair, red jacket, Nikon around her neck and a big tripod that always seems to be under the Manhattan Beach Pier?
Not just any senior out for a morning or afternoon jaunt, but the woman many have called “The Queen of the Pier,” an award-winning photographer who fell into it at age 70, several years after her retirement as a Torrance math teacher.
“I am so impressed with her energy, skills and ability to inspire people,” says Mark Comon, the president of Paul’s Photo in Torrance, who has been on over 20 photo trips with Schmitt over the years.
In 2024 alone, Schmitt has been to Africa twice, the Canadian back country once, Italy and is en route to Hawaii in a few weeks. In past years she’s also photographed Cuba, Cambodia and Thailand.
She is always the oldest person on these photo trips, notes Comon, yet “always finds herself in the right place at the right time to get the magic moment.”
Manhattan Beach photographer Evelyn Schmitt, 85 years old in 2024, by her silver Porsche, in front of the Manhattan Beach Pier. By Jefferson Graham
While her pictures of these foreign locations win awards, Schmitt’s heart is with the Pier, especially in November and January. That’s Pierhenge time, when the sun sets directly between the pilings of the Pier, allowing the kind of shot that sells lots of copies at street fairs. The first one is set for November 17th.
She loves the shot, but more important is the crowds it attracts.
“I love the camaraderie and fun,” she says.
She loves it so much that even the 17th is the official date, she was under the Pier on the 15th, 16th, 18th and 19th, because on those days the sun can set between the pilings almost as good as the 17th, she says.
Pierhenge, the perfect alignment with sunset and the Manhattan Beach Pier that occurs each November 17 and January 27. Photo by Evelyn Schmitt
One local photographer who has been down there with her, Pete Halvorsen has said on social media that he wanted to be Evelyn when he grows up. (He’s 47.)
“She’s an inspiration as a photographer and as a person,” says Halvorsen. “Her energy and gracious nature are infectious. I used to think I travelled a lot…then I became friends with her on Facebook and saw her in places that I’ve only dreamed about going.”
Schmitt, on her third marriage to John Schmitt, her former principal in Torrance (they’ve been wed over 30 years) shares a desk with him in their small Strand home, where they both work on photos. John is also a photographer.
When not spending time taking and editing photos, Schmitt is in Torrance playing tennis, six days a week. She takes Sundays off, only because she hasn’t been able to find a partner to play with her.
Her love of photography has to do with people. “I’ve met so many great people through photography–it keeps me going.”
She started showing up at Paul’s with a little point and shoot camera, showing off her sunset shots. Comon convinced her it was time for a bigger, higher quality camera, and that she needed to expand beyond sunsets.
For this article, Schmitt compiled some of her best work, photos from Cambodia, Thailand, Venice Beach, Kenya and Italy.
But it’s the Pier that she’s best known for here. She has one of her signature shots hanging at City Hall, of huge King Tide waves crashing against the Pier last December, and she received a plaque from the city for her efforts.
She doesn’t get tired of the Pier.
“It’s actually the most beautiful pier in the world that
I’ve ever seen,” she says. “You can shoot it from so many different angles and every angle is different. I never get tired of it.”