There were a lot of people out, but it didn't feel or look crowded.
Friday, March 27, 2026
Looking down at beaches, looking over batteries
There were a lot of people out, but it didn't feel or look crowded.
Battery Graffiti
There was more colorful graffiti on the battery I first passed through, but what made me laugh was a collection of bird watchers on the roofs, while a hawk just sort of perched on a corner beyond their notice... (See photo on the lower left, above.)
There was a good range of color and styles.
Batteries to Bluffs
I took a vacation day! (What? No, really, this is a thing that sometimes happens.). I went to the west side of the Presidio and had a lovely day, though I got too much sun. The light was muted by high clouds all morning, but the sun blazed all afternoon.
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Long Exposures with Instax Wide
I spent the darker months of 2025 making abstracts on color film through long exposures of neon and other colorful lights, and it was FUN. But I haven't really made any representational (non-abstract, recognizeable subject) long exposures in YEARS. I have a roll of film of planes taking off at SFO from some distance, but... It has been a while.
Yesterday, a clever friend sent me his first, HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL, technically superb long exposures on film made with a grown-up camera. I oooh'd, aaah'd, and was delighted.
And then I thought: how can I do something like that, but less sensibly? I happen to have an absurdly large Lomo Instant Wide Glass camera weighing down a stack of books, and confirmed it has a BULB mode. I put batteries in it; it didn't work. I put new batteries in it, got a happy blue light, walked for blocks, set it up on a tripod, and then found it didn't work again: I HAD PUT MORE DEAD BATTERIES INTO IT. (D'oh!). I put everything away, charged two sets of batteries, bought a battery for the camera's remote control (in the lens cap!?!?), waited a couple days, and found myself ready to try again. For my first several frames, I dramatically overexposed the film, based on my experience of shooting ISO 200 for two seconds, yet somehow thinking that I should shoot for 30 seconds at ISO 800. (HAHAHAHAHAhahahahahwaaaaaah.)
Anyway: I figured it out. Maybe 8 seconds for distant traffic subjects is good. Streetcars are far more abstract than I realized, as are buses. The lights atop fire department vehicles are AWESOME, and now I'm at risk of loitering near my neighborhood firehouse for ART REASONS.
Sunday, March 22, 2026
Sunday, So Warm
A lovely brunch with a friend, a walk, and then a return to my errands on a roundabout route... Today has been a good day.
Out in the city with a neutral density filter
After some washed out (pale) Instax prints, I located a half neutral density filter (half dark, half clear) that came with the Lomo Instant Square Glass camera, to see if I can improve my results.
This succeeded in giving me darker results, though sometimes darker than I had hoped. I'll get a feel for it with more practice.
Sunny Mission Walk (Instax)
The weather was nice, and I didn't want to work on any of my medium format projects, and so I went for a morning walk through part of the Excelsior and the Mission. I enjoyed myself! And quickly used up all the film I had with me.
Thursday, March 19, 2026
Ripples (toasted air 17 March 2026)
These patterns mesmerized me... This isn't the first time, but it's the first time in a while that the horizon has been so brown.
Dawn with Bay Lights and Birds (17 March 2026)
The light installation on the Bay Bridge called the Bay Lights has been reinstalled, and will officially be back on starting March 20th!
Alcaraz and Nihonmachi on Instax Mini
The Alcaraz Theater needed a look, and if only I'd brought along a neutral density filter (which I had in a box elsewhere), I could have brought out the colors in the tiles at a level that would satisfy me...
Ah, well. I also took a trip to Japan Center for tea, and took a few images while there.
San Mateo (7 March 2026)
I recently wondered how the San Mateo Japanese Garden is faring, and whether or not Spring properly arrived, so I took Caltrain down to have a look.
San Mateo was festive: several blocks had been converted into lively restaurant and pedestrian districts, with festive murals and abundant outdoor seating. What a great update!
The garden was filled with people with strollers (despite signage warning that the paths can't accommodate them) and stroller parking: I must have hit the exact time of day everyone decides to visit? Several trees in the garden were leafless, and so the forms I recall (and shot in infrared) were missing. I'll have to visit again sometime later in the year.
The park surrounding the Japanese garden is undergoing a playground renovation, and so was mostly fenced off. The camellias I could access were lovely.
My return walk featured a very odd security camera display plus a lovely mural. I'm glad I satisfied my curiosity!
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