Camera Test for Lomo'Instant Wide Glass

I really like Fuji Instax film, but actively dislike my Fuji Instax Wide camera - it has never been very sharp, and I've been frequently disappointed with it everywhere other than parties (in which people look better in slightly soft focus anyway)...  So I decided to try Lomo's attempt at this (despite some very mixed past experiences with their cameras).  

But to test it, I decided to take it to a SHINY, TRANSPARENT, REFLECTIVE sculpture.  This... wasn't very wise.  Because: how the hell do you correctly expose such a subject?  Anyway, I figured it out eventually.  The GINORMOUS (oh my gosh - I have dictionaries that are smaller) camera works fine.   And I have some happy memories of goofing around with such a charming installation.

DAAO by Day

I went back to test a camera, and Studio DAAO's installation is also delightful in full sun. 

Big and Red (13 December 2024)

 There were no humans nearby for scale...

Circus (lights)(13 December 2024)

A little BIG tent. 

Let's Glow SF at 250 Fremont (13 December 2024)

The building is ribbed, and the art made use of the texture at different times, but I'm showing two of the more organic and fractal images.

I told my Cousin that the building (which I have many photos of) is like Brutalism by someone who only pretends to believe in Brutalism.  I find it very sculptural.

Studio DAAO (at Let's Glow SF)(13 December 2024)

This is the giant, inflatable, opalescent art I needed! (Reposting with four views, replacing single view.)

Let's Glow SF - Ferry Building (9 December 2024)

So lovely! 

Let's Glow SF Kickoff with Dancers

The pre-lighting event is festive!

I love that kids have no hesitation about dancing in public with people in LED costumes.  Adults should figure out how to retain this skill.

Kids should have fun, but not ALL of the fun!

My Cousin says that this costume reminds him of the aliens in The Abyss.  (Trust my dear Cousin to choose a good sci-fi reference!)

It was nice to see dancers and spectators having fun.

 

Holiday Lights

The usual, though the palm trees have fewer lights than usual, depriving me of my California-flaunting opportunities. 

Ferris from Afar

I saw this from a distance, and hoped it would be the sort that goes fast and makes visual swirls on film, but it is one of the more reasonable, sedate models.

SF Beneath Clouds

Little did I know when taking this photo, after discussing a bike trip down the California coast with a commute pal, featuring a long aside about historic tsunamis up in Crescent City, that we would be under a tsumani alert ourselves...  The danger passed, it was all fine (and we are on an inland bay), but it still felt quite EVENTFUL.

Nursery plants

My cousin needed some plants, and I got to ride along!  

Presidio in Sunshine 2/2

So many good shades of red today...  Also: now I know there is a food truck that serves tahu goreng, and I needed this info!

Presidio in Sunshine 1/2

 It is late November, but it got up into the 50s, and was a visually glorious day.

Autumn at the Pavillion

When I lived near Golden Gate Park, it felt like my backyard, so I almost posted that this is a scene from my backyard (the internets are gullible, I've read), but it felt wrong. 

Sunlit in Golden Gate Park

I was able to take off my puffy vest in the warm sunlight... and have well-lit subjects. 

Botany in color

Such great colors today...  Yes, it is late November, and yes we are so lucky. 

Autumn colors

The fact that it is turning red at a different speed in different parts of the tree makes it work for me. 

New Oil Pastels (24 Nov 2024)

I finally opened up the box of Kawachi Oil Pastels from Tokyo, and they are even creamier and dreamier than they look.  I haven't used oil pastels in years, but finally came to acccept that chalk ("soft") pastels are too dusty for me, and that oil is a better solution.  And these... they are SO GORGEOUS!

I need to get to know them, so I'm trying laying them on thick (left), laying them on thin in linear ways (bottom), and blending with my finger (top right).  Oooooooh, blending is so nice...  I'm afraid I'm going to have to take on several subjects (including recent, improbably colored sunsets!) once I have a feel for how to control these.  

Hot sky, cold morning (20 Nov 2024)

The glow was a bit too much for my phone sensors, but it really was volcano-themed.