Snapshots Abound!

Nikki and I often marvel at the fact that we can go to San Francisco simply because we're bored.  Nothing to do?  Let's drive to San Francisco and hang out, see if we can find anything that looks cool.  We start off with one thing like, "Let's go to Delfina's and eat and move out from there".  So far, that well hasn't run dry.  We've been here 15 years and we're still constantly finding new things to see and do.   This time I brought my new toy, the fuji x100s along to see what it could do in the "street" environment. 

 I bought it primarily for this type of scenario because it fits in my front pocket and isn't a gigantic burden to walk around with, or use.  In fact, I'm finding that I pull it out way more than I would carrying around the other larger, more burdensome cameras.   At some point you realize what a jackass you are for carrying around a bag that weighs 5 pounds for endless hours, with little to no benefit in the end.  Plus, this thing is so small that I can set it at the edge of the table and take snapshots of the scene in front of me and nobody notices.  These aren't necessarily "artistic" shots, but they definitely paint a picture of what was going on around us while we were there. Many of my shots with the larger cameras tended to be portraits with no context in regards to the surrounding area.  This camera is definitely something I would take with me on a long vacation.  It functions well in a lot of scenarios.  Below are some of them.

This is St. Dominic's cathedral just off of Fillmore Street, built in 1873.  We had never been inside.

A few years back I took a similar shot of Nikki's mom in a church so I thought it would be appropriate to take this one.  Fun fact:  There are two people in this shot.  A lady is genuflecting behind Nikki after the last row of pews.  I had to time it right to make sure she wasn't in the shot.  She seemed like she would be there for quite a while, she had a lot to speak to the big man about.

This is one of those "scene" shots.  I sat down in a pew with the camera on my lap and got this.

Delfina's pizzeria on California street, our #1 pizza place in N. California.  The kid seemed pretty happy about being there as well.  As we were nearing the end of our meal, the dude in the doorway sat right next to Nikki at the counter and had an argument with his mother because she was late.  He was definitely a queen and pretty amusing, once we got past the violation of our space problem.  There were 3 stools between Nikki and the next guy and he sat elbow to elbow with her.  Anybody who uses the urinals knows that is a major violation.

Our bartender, Connor (left), at Betelnut on Union Street.  I went out of character and had Mai-Tai's as it was actually warm in SF.  Straight bourbon might have killed me.  I refused the orange garnish, though, so I think my manhood is still intact.

Random interesting guy as we walked out of Betelnut.  He looks like a Mafia Don from the 40's. I can hold the camera at my side, unnoticed and get these type of shots.

"Jane" coffee shop on Fillmore.  We found a coffee shop that is more expensive than Starbuck's.

Overhead lines for the "Muni" bus.  These things are everywhere.

Booze.  Always get a taxi.

SF is incredibly dog friendly.  We ran into this 5 month old on Union Street.

 

Alta Plaza Park.

This is the view from a bench at Alta Plaza Park.  The fuji has a built in "panorama" mode which I'm quickly becoming a fan of.  Doing good Panorama's in photoshop is an art and requires a lot of patience.  These look pretty good and it only take about 7 seconds to do.

This dog walked up right in front of me on the bench and started rolling.  This is one of those "right place, right time" shots.

Looking For Backgrounds

Robert and I headed to San Francisco over the weekend to look for and shoot backgrounds for a composite project we're working on.  More to come on that, but I'm pretty sure we got some usable stuff.

Due to the amount of photos I take of Robert you might think we're a couple.  We tend to do a lot of projects together, and I'm compelled to shoot the light as it presents itself, which is often in San Francisco it seems.  Plus, the guy wears interesting stuff that works well in an urban environment.   The shot by the car looks like a movie still, it's one of my favorite things I've shot recently.

As you would expect, we saw a variety of interesting things including a homeless guy, a dude on his break, and a dude with his shirt off doing bicycle ballet.  In addition, a crowd of folks were gathered around singing songs in solidarity with the Egyptian Revolution.   That's all I know about that.

I stopped and asked the homeless guy if I could take his shot in exchange for $1.  He agreed, let me take his photo, then immediately asked for another dollar because he had pneumonia and cough syrup is $1.79.    Being the sleuth that I am, I noticed he had a large cup of Starbuck's (full) on his baby stroller  which I know costs about $2.  Priorities, dude.  I told him no and moved on.

The guy taking his break was fairly skeptical of why I wanted to take his shot, exclaiming, "I'm just on my break, man" in such a manner as if he were being harassed by the cops.  Surprisingly he let me go ahead and take it, but not before making sure he understood my intentions for its usage.

Although I didn't take any photos, you know we stopped off at Fiddler's green to end the day.  I've still never had a bad day in San Francisco.

Back In The Groove

I've been trying to get back in the groove of shooting and writing but the  muse hasn't been there.  It happens.  I figured I'd do a drive by of San Francisco since that always seems to provide ample inspiration for a creative rut.

I'm constantly amazed at the amazing diversity of things there are to shoot around SF, and I go there a lot.   A small angle change, a slight tilt in perspective, a slightly different piece of land you've never explored, it  all makes a difference.  Take this naked chick, for instance.  I've never seen her but apparently she hangs out daily on Treasure Island, an old Naval base on a small piece of land about halfway across the bay bridge.  I've never asked a naked woman to pose, but she stopped and did a pirhouette for me, she's not shy.

Some days you go out to shoot and you suck.  Absolutely suck.  I don't know why that is.  It happens.  It felt like the force was with me this time out.  Even the birds gave me something interesting.  Sometimes they crap, sometimes they grab a crab and eat it nearby.  You can never tell.  They're an unpredictable lot.  This jackass flew right into my scene.  I've shot the bridge a thousand times, but now I have seagull with a crab in his mouth doing a fly-by.

It was overcast around SF so there wasn't much color happening in any of the scenes so I thought I'd stylize just a bit.  I'm diggin' it.  

 Robert and I decided we're going to do a new creative project each quarter and this first quarter is going to be a composite shot.  More to come on that, but I need to practice.  Here's Robert as the new Sheriff of San Francisco using some shots from today.

Happy New Year.

Blue Smudge

Modern art sucks.  Every couple of years Nikki and I decide to go to a modern art museum for some unexplainable reason.   I suppose it's like forgetting about how bad that one burger place was the last time you tried it.   You can't quite remember what it was like, and besides, how bad can a burger be.  So you go back, and it still sucks.  That's what modern art museums are like for me.

This scribble of blue crayon or chalk (or whatever it was) be Mel Bocher was on display at the museum.  No joke, that's the entire work of art.  It feels so condescending to put that in an art museum and call it art.   It's as if the artist thought he'd pull a quick one on the less intellectual folks because, hey, what do they know about art?  I know this Mr. Bocher:  That's a piece of crap!  How about you try next time, you know, give it the smallest bit of effort.  Sorry you had to be bothered with your busy artist schedule to have to come up with something worthy of display.  I came up with an art piece of my own while I sat there in the museum and tried to control my hate.  It's called "Yellow Smudge".  You know why mine is better?  I thought about if for ten seconds before I created it.

 
By the way, 90% of the stuff in modern art museums suck.  Every 45 minutes or so you will actually find something worthwhile on display, but you have to really look.

The beauty of San Francisco, however, is that for everything one thing that sucks, there are 100 other things going on that will make you quickly forget that other thing.   There is an endless availability of new things.

Lots of people watching

Lots of sights

Lots of things to photograph

And of course, there's my beloved Fiddler's Green.  It's small, it's old, and it's authentic.  The customers are regulars and many of them have Irish accents.  People go there to talk and sing and enjoy each other's company, not to eat, pick up women, or fight.  There's a small jukebox in the corner, a glorious mix of mostly older music, and lots of Irish choices.  They pour the best glass of Guinness I can find.  I don't know why it's different, it just is.  There is a protocol for pouring a pint, look it up.  Nikki notices a difference, and that's saying a lot because she hardly drinks beer.   It replenishes my soul, it's my place, my must-go location when I'm in San Francisco.  

Mr. Bocher, this glass is real art....

What Am I Complaining About?

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I ask myself that question a lot of times as I sit and eat my turkey sandwich while overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.  Millions of people make vacation plans and spend a lot of money to come and see the bridge, one of the most iconic architectural monuments in the U.S.  I come here to eat my fritos when I'm bored.

It's easy to find things to complain about in our jobs.  I do it every day to the point of ridiculousness.  A sales job can be a lonely existence and it certainly has some drawbacks, but my sales territory includes Marin County up to the bridge.  Hell, I was literally required to be there as we had a big erosion control project going on in the steep sloped hills for the past year.   I have taken great shots of the bridge from the driver's seat, while dialing in sports radio.  It's a fact of life,  I just see it all the time.

From the bridge I can be at the beach in 10 minutes to watch the surfers do their thing while I finish up my sandwich.  I do it often, it helps break up the day and it only takes 30 minutes.    Many times I try to tell myself how lucky I am to have the job I have in the area I have it.  It works for awhile, but I think the American suburbanite is programmed to complain.  Relatively speaking, (especially when compared to, say, a child struggling in Africa) everything is easy.   The fight for survival is so much less than it was 100 or 200 years ago.  Imagine the pioneers and the Westward migration.  That, my friends, was a struggle.

So I sit and watch the surfers and I think about how easy I have it and I begin to feel a sense of tranquility, and I vow to stop complaining about ridiculous things.  Inevitably my reverie is broken by the sound of my phone, the 3"x5" miracle that allows me to communicate instantaneously with nearly any part of the world, and I reach down to grab it and it falls between the space in the seat where I can't reach it.

SON OF A B*%*@!!!  Everything is a pain in the ass!!

Hey, Fongul!

Maurizio actually said that to me, but only because I asked him to.  I wanted to capture his expression so I asked him to say the most offensive thing he could think of.   Being a sicilian, that's what came out.  Maurizio doesn't simply resemble the Italian stereotype, he is the Italian stereotype incarnate, and it's beautiful.

One of the things I love most about San Francisco is it's authenticity.  When you go to an Italian restaurant in North Beach,  you get served by Italians.  With accents.  Who speak with their hands.  The real deal.  And you never have to plan, you just go and you find little gems like Maurizio's Caffè Macaroni on Columbus Avenue.

None of us had ever been there before and when our group of 8 walked through the door, Maurizio asked "How Many" (heavy accent).  We look at each other.  "How Many?" (heavy accent).  More stares.  "How Many"?  (Louder).  We finally get it and working like a tornado he starts moving chairs,  tables, setting napkins, silverware, and all the accoutrements necessary for lunch.

I'm guessing Maurizio is 5' 6" and every move he makes is with a purpose, but somehow lacks efficiency.   He's over here for the menu board, he's back over there for water, wait now he's back over here for a menu, oops forgot the wine glasses, now he's over yonder.   While he's walking over yonder, arms and legs pumping, hands gesturing in the air, I hear him saying, "Mama, Mia" (not kidding here), grabs the wine glasses, flashes back to table, and he's off again.  At this point, I don't even care what's for lunch, I'm so amused by this whirling dervish that the food is really secondary to me now.

At some point during the rundown of the menu board he let's us know that the "Insalate Caprese" isn't available today, but I don't catch that part.  Communication from Maurizio to the kitchen is via intercom because the kitchen is located up a set of stairs.  The conversation goes like this:

Kitchen: (loud garbled message, in Italian)

Maurizio:  pushes button, says something in sing-songy beautiful Italian, gestures with his hands, says "Mama Mia" (no Insalate Caprese), then quickly turns and heads back to the table.

 The menu board (a portable white board) may as well be an NFL play script because I can't understand any of it.  It's lots of colors, slighly smeared, written in part Italian, part English and it's a mess, but It's beautiful.  Besides, I always look for the Penne with Sausage regardless of the Italian restaurant I'm at.  It seems to be my measuring stick for grading Italian Restaurants, and I'm comfortable with it.

He goes around the table taking orders and eventually makes his way to me and I order the Penne and the "Insalate Caprese".  I wasn't being a smart-ass, I never quite caught the part about it being unavailable.  Maurizio begins chastising me with a heavy accent and hand gestures.  I can't understand the words, but I know exactly what he means.  As I'm watching him all I can think about is that now I know where the East Coast attitude originates from, and it's beautiful.

When we get our food, it's not secondary to me anymore, it's incredible.  The bread, the wine, the pasta, the dessert, everything.   I tend to remember things as "good" or "bad" in a lump sum package, and this was definitely "good", and we'll be back and recommend it to friends.  Before we left Maurizio agreed to allow me to take some photos, despite his protestations that his looks "Woulda breaka da camera".

The 30 second exchange we had with me behind the camera is the distilled essence of why I take photos.  It's a brief contract between two people to create a moment, to capture something of the individual that is lasting and enduring.  It's also a distillation of all that I've learned about photography and what it means to capture light and gesture.  I don't think about the tool (camera), I'm only seeing the subject and how I can bring out a moment in time and capture something meaningful for both of us.  That 30 seconds is a distillation of about 1,000 hours of learning and when it all comes together there's not much that can top it as a photographer.

Oh, and the other part of capturing photos is this (and I don't know who said it first):

"If you want to take interesting photos, put interesting people in front of your camera"

Maurizio, you are a beautiful and interesting person.