Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Night of laser and light art (and Instax Wide long exposures of them)


Two light art installations at Civic Center Plaza: upward-turned lasers and patterned string lights

My Cousin met me last night so we could enjoy Illuminate's 7x7 laser light installation at Civic Center Plaza.  It is installed just across the street from their Fulton Plaza SPECTRA Light Installation project created by Joshua Hubert which is also a delight (and which moves through patterned sequences that are soothing to enjoy).

It was a warm-ish night; there was a talented DJ playing music within the sculpture; there was a person with a tall ladder and a bubble gun to create patterns in the lasers that were similar to fish shining in streams of sunlight.  It was DELIGHTFUL.

Array of Instax Wide images with metallic frames of the 7x7 installation, Fulton Plaza, and City Hall (lit violet).

It wasn't truly dark until after 9:30!  I brought my full-sized tripod and several packages of Instax Wide, and made numerous guestimates of how long my exposures should take.  The best results came from around four seconds - LASERS ARE BRIGHT! - and my long and short exposures of City Hall all came out the similar from three to six seconds.

Another delightful evening with my Cousin and SF's Art!