03.10.10
Peeling Back the Layers
This past Friday, Sam Javanrouh of the lovely photojournal, Daily Dose of Imagery and myself did battle on the grounds at Layer Tennis. Jim Coudal kindly invited us both to play in a pre-season exhibition match of an experimental nature. We’d do photography. Live. Outside. While mobile. From different ends of North America: Toronto and San Francisco. While back in Chicago, musician Mark Greenberg composed music in response to our shots — instead of a guest commentator. And also in Chicago, the Coudal crew would be writing some brief commentary, stitching the shots together along to the music in After Effects and uploading this whole whizbang, while anxiously awaiting Sam and I to take a photo, scramble for wi-fi or tethering and send it in.
A feat indeed. So what went on behind the scenes on Sam and my end?
09.29.09
Two-Wheeled Portraiture
This past Sunday in South Park, a few of us went to get photos of our bikes and ourselves taken by James Newman & Co. I snapped a few photos myself, which I’ve put up on Flickr.
08.11.09
Headlands
Cycling brethren, buddy of all trades, pizza-and-ice-cream eater and all round good guy, Mr. Zach Thomas was in the city (and surrounding areas) for the past few days. We found ourselves conquering hills, miles, food and pavement.
07.25.09
Four Fellas n' Fish
This past Monday I finally got around to getting together with some people I’ve been wanting to sit down, have some food and good conversation with. Our original venue Schmidt’s announced new hours and was therefore closed to us. We ended up at El Matate instead. Fantastic fish tacos and agua fresca. Though I think Noah got a burrito with something else.
The West Coast version of this, I suppose.
From L-R: Wilson Miner, Noah Stokes and Ryan Sims
07.20.09
Sunday Streets
Jen and I took a walk towards the Mission this past Sunday where we became part of Sunday Streets. Just a few more.
06.04.09
Fade to White
A ride over Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco into Marin. When Kim was in town, visiting a few days ago. The tops of the bridge were lost in the fog. Quite lovely actually.
06.01.09
Fishing for Sharks
Another from the ongoing Work & Tools collection.
Over Memorial Day Weekend, a few of us rode to Heron’s Head, where we came upon a few fishermen as well as some with their full families in tow. They were all Chinese and I took some photos of their poles and associated gear set amongst the rocks. We also came across some live loot — a pair of small multi-coloured sharks, anchored via something that looked like a shoelace in shallow water. It felt wrong to me as I didn’t know what they would do with them (most likely sold to a local aquarium perhaps) but it wasn’t my place nor ours to say otherwise.
05.07.09
Needle & Thread
I’m currently documenting moments in working and workspaces that just aren’t digital. Other more tangible, labourious aspects of working around here. This is the sewing machine that Jen got from her recently passed aunt. It’s a stellar old machine, built into a desk. The manufacturer is White, a company that’s been around for over a century. Still solid and still going strong, being used by another generation.
04.08.09
Amateurs vs. Professionals
The above occurred to me the other day as I was trying to distill what makes or elevates a professional above an amateur. I was considering photography and how Flickr members and other similar photo sharing sites have found their members being approached to contribute their work to stock photography sites. What elevated these photographers from being hobbyists or prosumers into becoming “legitimate” photographers?
I answered my question with the above which I’ll reiterate here: Amateurs wait for the moment or serendipity to strike. Professionals know what they’re looking for and how to make it happen.
04.02.09
SXSWi 2009 Photos
Belated but it’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks since Austin. Below are a few selections from the photos I took while at this year’s South by Southwest Interactive.
03.03.09
Pointing a Path to Shoot
This afternoon my trusty Nikon D70 was acting up again — a common issue with digital SLRs that age is that the memory card bay starts to act up. Occasionally, the card can’t be read or the card reads as if there are no images on it or it says it needs to be formatted. As someone who diligently formats their cards before every shoot, this is a sad occurrence. All seems to be well for now, though it lead me to think about photography and how much I do love it despite its frustrations. Technology, right?
02.23.09
Yohei, In Quiet
Japanese National Treasure™, International Bike Ambassador and good friend, Yohei Morita, was in town for his annual pilgrimmage. It’s always great to catch up with Yohei no matter for how brief a time. It’s remarkable to me that it’s been four years now.
02.18.09
4-in-1
One of the nicer aspects of owning an iPhone is being able to take photos more frequently. I no longer carry the DSLR around too much, having found its size wearing on me. The iPhone’s built-in-camera is alright but the apps that enhance the camera are certainly fun and interesting. Recently I picked up QuadCamera and have found it produces interesting results.
NYC 01.2009
A batch of photos from my recent trip to NYC at the end of January are now online. Most of the time, I felt that I didn’t have a lens wide enough to capture the city appropriately. I also wished I had more than the 30 or so hours I was there for. Next time.
02.01.09
Rib-eye for the Web Guy
Dinner at Les Halles, NYC. From L — R: Mike Essl, Chris Fahey, Jason Santa Maria and Khoi Vinh.
Title courtesy of Virginia.
The Items We Carry
Gapers Block
