Abbot Kinney Boulevard's sidewalks were packed for tonight's monthly First Friday extravaganza. Different vibe than the Downtown Art Walk, with mostly the same food trucks — if fewer of them. The Venice event is more about hanging out, meeting friends and browsing in shops, and less about art galleries. But there was a good crowd of media folks, photographers and bloggers at The G2 Gallery for Nature LA, a show of some amazing Gulf oil spill images by Los Angeles Times photographer Carolyn Cole. The paper's roving global photographer based in New York, Cole had just flown in from Baghdad for tonight's reception. She won a Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for her photos from Liberia and this year has been immersed in Haiti coverage as well as the oil spill. The exhibit closes Sept. 10.

Photos: LA Observed