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. 

Mosaic Rooster (20 Nov 2024)

Look, a visual art form that I do not do!  This proves... something.

Festive, crisp evening (18 Nov 2024)

The heat lamps glowed hot... 

Colorful lunch (9 Nov 2024)

I have an easy time eating all the colors...  also, the food at La Mar is SO PRETTY. 

Colorful breakfast (9 Nov 2024)

the little colorful potatoes aren't half bad this year.  And they taste good with poblanos (because: what doesn't?).

Tuesday, a gorgeous autumn evening

 Yes, I swooned. 

Fun in Japan 2024 - Vegan and Vegetarian Food

I have dietary constraints, but I was able to eat very well, thanks to temple-style vegan restaurants, a rare Thai restaurant that served the same kind of Thai food we have in California (very vegetarian friendly!), and South Indian foods.  I'm not showing ALL of the meals (I'm omitting hotel breakfasts, snacks, and an AMAZING daal), but despite all the planning and patience required, I did eat well.

This concludes my 'top ten' themes, for the folks who want a peek but not to soak in my travel photos from this trip.

Fun in Kobe 2024 - Sorakuen Garden

I waded through nostalgia as I returned to this garden after a multi-decade gap.

It remains lovely, and well maintained.  Plus: it has autumn color!  And koi.

I sat in a little pavilion on top of a small hill, listening to the sound of a waterfall, and enjoying the views.  It was a satisfying, cooling, aesthetically pleasing visit.  I'm so glad I returned!  (I'm eager to see how my infrared images of this garden turn out...)

Fun in Kobe 2024 - Waterfalls and Emerald Streams

Nunobiki Falls called to me, so I took a cable car up to a local decorative garden, and then hiked to it.  This was a long hike with few other people around, and signage only in Japanese for most of the route.  I was concerned I was lost, but it turns out there is an all-uphill route that visitors favor, while I had chosen the long downhill route.

It is LOVELY.  And the color of the water that goes to Kobe for drinking is GORGEOUS. 

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Matcha and Wagashi

I was able to enjoy hot matcha with wagashi, a traditional rice-based sweet, in a building on a decorative pond.  It was tasty! It was seasonally decorated! It was... really pleasant.

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Tokyo Ramen Street

As a religious vegetarian with gluten intolerance, I felt very left-out about the stretch of Tokyo Station dedicated to ramen, that special noodle dish written in foreign characters (but which we think of as exclusively Japanese).  However, vegans recommended a place that wasn't on the Tokyo Station Navi app called Soranoiro Nippon, and I eventually found it!  It has gluten-free brown rice noodles, which can be added to their vegan tan-tan noodle soup.  The soup itself isn't entirely gluten-free, but my condition allows for some minor, incidental gluten, so I went for it.  It was superb - I have no regrets!

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Lotus Ponds and Temples

There is a famous pond filled with giant lotus plants, and...  I have finally visited it!  And had a chance to see the cool temple that sits within it.

Shinobazuno pond was all I'd hoped for.  And the temple is grand, as well!

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Art Supply Heavens

Pigment Tokyo is a temple to color, and I was able to visit this famous shop, purchase pigments I want to turn into paints, and wallow in the joy that comes from having countless choices that run the full length of the store.

P.S.  I should show that, shouldn't I?  I'll add one more photo here:

(See what I mean?  And yes, I lost my mind in the best sense.)

I also made a special trip out to Kawachi Art Supplies, where I met the owner in her home studio (downstairs in the building at center bottom), got to see where she makes oil pastels by hand, and purchase a set of them.

  The colors are gorgeous! And the texture is so buttery...  I'm giddy to use these.

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Dining in a Traditional Building

The Tokyo National Museum has a historic building in its garden, which happens to serve food and contain beautiful ink paintings.  So... I went!  My iced almond milk matcha latte was superb, and my fruit plate contained unusually flavorful fruit.  It was a lovely experience.

Having a chance to dine in a room with tatami mats is special.  This felt special.

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Immersive Contemporary Art

I was able to go to teamLabs Planets installation.  It was fun to frolic, barefoot, through a warehouse full of art!  Everyone participating appeared to be having such a good time - there was tangible glee in the air (and in the brightly lit water).

Fun in Tokyo 2024 - Shrines

Hello!  [wave] I have returned from a deeply enjoyable trip to Japan, and am still adjusting to our local time zone.

As an overzealous semi-professional photographer, I know that the photo collections I make for myself are packed, perhaps with more enthusiasm for niche topics than people who are more broadly curious can manage.  So, I've made a set of little collages to hit some of the themes.

This is the Kanda Myoujin Shrine, and it is really gorgeous!

Glowing morning

Oh, how I love this time of year... 

Coneflower

Such a lovely color.  Part of me is trying to justify buying more paint, but I can mix this yellow... 

Red and Gold

Glowing festively beneath cloudy skies. 

Somerset (8 October 2024)

I hadn't realized this ship had a Flight 93 tribute on it...  This is the USS Somerset.  And yes, it is SF Fleet Week. 

Reflections (during a heat wave)

Such a pretty morning.  Such decorative clouds.  You know how I am about clouds.

 

Reflections of a Tawny Sky

This reminds me of Van Dyke Brown printing over Cyanotype... 

Another Tuesday, Also Before Sunrise

Oh, this Bay Bridge, this fishing pier, these early mornings... 

Tuesday at Sunrise

What a gorgeous morning.

Every morning we wake up is special (because we are lucky enough to wake up), but some mornings also LOOK and FEEL special.