[close] Created as a result of the California State Library's "Shades of LA" project, in which families were invited by their local public libraries to bring family photographs for inclusion in an exhibit illuminating the diversity of Los Angeles's communities, the Shades project proved to be so popular and successful that it expanded to include libraries and communities all over California.

Shades of California brings together the most interesting of the thousands of photographs that were gathered, along with notes and anecdotes about the families the photographs came from and the moments when the pictures were taken. With images of ordinary day-to-day life, milestone occasions, sad and joyous moments, this book paints a loving portrait of the complex collage that is California's family. [close]