I’ve learned a few things about blogging in the past year.

1) Don’t ever write posts about how you’ll “finally start blogging again.”

2) Film shooting and my style of blogging does not mix. Don’t get me wrong, I love film and I will continue shooting with it, but film rolls take weeks to finish and develop, and I like to document every detail of my life as it happens. That and stories just aren’t as fun to tell when they’re written two weeks late. I need to start taking digital photos again for this blog to actually work like I want it to.

3) Just because I’m not traveling around the country doesn’t mean I’m not seeing things worth sharing.

That’s all I’m going to say about that. Here is a blog. With photos.

This week was a good week. For one, our team at 1000memories (did I mention I have a wonderful job now? I can’t remember) finally shipped a rad project we’d been working on for a while. Second, I got a new camera AND lens. I have literally been dreaming about this gear for months.

Everything arrived just in time for me to photograph a little shindig we hosted at our office on Friday night. It was great getting some of my favorite folks together under one roof (or on one porch).

Afterwards, the team (+ a few others) headed to karaoke in Japantown. Aaron and I watched, as we both hate the idea of singing karaoke with a passion we cannot explain.

Tiffany, one of our attendees, mentioned that she was hosting a Lomo double exposure walk through Chinatown the next day. Considering it was just down the street from my house, and I wanted to grab a peek of the Lomo store under construction at Union Square, I was in.

(You can learn more about Lomography here.)

I couldn’t help but snap some photos with my digital. I’d share my film shots, but, you know… they’ll probably be ready in a few weeks.

We ended the hike with a little tour de Lomo store, which will open in Union Square this fall. I can’t wait.

By that point I was completely spent and went home to sleep until Sunday.

Today Aaron and I went to Oakland to hang with Tara and her cat, Dexter.

We stopped by the Temescal street fair for a bit, moreso to eat Bakesale Betty’s fried chicken sandwich and strawberry shortcake.

After one last quick stop by an abandoned building on the UC Berkeley campus (bc we clearly did not have enough adventure for one weekend), we were again spent and headed back to San Francisco to call it a weekend.

On another note, I hung out with two other cats this week.

Malfoy, our temporary office cat…

and Olive, who is temporarily living in my apartment/sitting on my bed staring at me right now.

Ok, that’s all for now.

END!

I’ve finally developed more film!! I’ve been procrastinating on the developing front (as it’s so expensive) – the only reason I have these photos are because Aaron stole the rolls from my purse and had them developed for me. I cannot complain. Stories below.

This is a double view of the lovely weather we’ve been having here lately. By lovely I mean awful.

This is Pete and Esme. They’re a couple of awesome compadres who I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for the last year or so. They’re getting married soon, so I took a few (mostly digital) photos of them around town.

I’m slowly getting used to the fact that my camera will double-expose when it damn well wants to.

I took very few shots during my week at SXSW, but these pretty much sum up the good times. Lots of sitting on this balcony, spending time with some of my favorite people from around the country (Mark, Corinne, and Jaime included).

More shitty weather + accidental double exposures.

This was from a recent adventure day in the Mission. Aaron and I were walking across 18th + Mission when we heard a THUMP. We turned around to see a man had illegally run across the street into traffic, been hit by a car in the process, rolled over the hood, hit the ground, jumped up, and… continued to run away? So bizarre. I wonder what he was running from.

We chatted with the shaken-up folks who owned the car until police arrived, snapped a few shots, then went on our way.

We continued on our way to our next destination…

Dakota’s birthday brunch at St. Francis.

The rest of the day was full of donuts, balloons, piles of potatoes, and bacon bloody marys, as a birthday should be.

I actually have more photos from this day, but they’re sitting on a roll waiting to be developed. More to come soon!

A few more shots from the Yashica Mat…

Last weekend was primarily centered around family-related stuff. For one, Aaron’s family was in town for the weekend, and in addition to that, I was planning to meet my sister on Friday night, for the first time ever. (Background story on that here.)

We made plans to meet at Minibar, in my neighborhood. I headed over, ordered a greyhound, found my perch and buried myself deep into my mobile phone while I waited for her to arrive. I was still buried when I heard “Helena? Is that you?”

So right off the bat, my sister is f*cking gorgeous and amazing. She looks so much like my dad. We gave each other a big hug, sat right down and got to catching up. I really had no idea how I’d react, but it wasn’t a teary emotional event at all. We had already gotten through all of that through our online correspondence. At this point, we were just in disbelief and general excitement that we were actually together in real life.

We spent the rest of the night drinking girly drinks (because that’s what sisters do) and talking about EVERYTHING. It’s pretty bizarre how much you can have in common with someone you just met.

So, in summary, my sister is awesome and I actually know her in real life now. 2011 is great so far.

Next up was adventure time with Aaron’s parents, Bob and Roberta (the Bobs, if you will).

I love the Bobs. They are perched up in Portland, but both lived (and actually met) in San Francisco. From time to time they get homesick enough to come down for a visit.

We explored Baker Beach…

ate pork buns on Clement…

wandered through museums…

and climbed around Land’s End, among other things.

That’s all for now. More updates soon!

hp

Some highlights from the remainder of Erin & JT’s epic visit to San Francisco.

Burrito breaks with Aaron while the visitors slept.

Climbing to the tip-top of San Francisco. (ok, we took a car for most of the way, but still.)

Riding the F car through downtown – and scoring the back seat.

Full of scenic back-window views…

and zombie views…

Being extra-touristy at Pier 39. (the Myrtle Beach of San Francisco, to give you east coasters a proper perspective).

Eating shitty overpriced crab sandwiches at Fisherman’s wharf while listening to a pharaoh sing Weezer covers.

Sitting at a surprisingly empty Crissy Fields.

Walking up the taller hills in the city…

And eventually standing on top of the taller hills in the city.

And finally waiting for a cab to come rescue our tired bodies from the bottom of Lombard.

So who’s gonna visit me next? Any takers?

I absolutely love having visitors in San Francisco. This is for several reasons:

1) I left a lot of my best friends and family and otherwise wonderful people I’ve met when I up and moved across the country last year. Getting the chance to see them in person is really exciting.
2) It’s easy to grow numb to the majesty and awesomeness of San Francisco when you walk through it on a daily basis. Having visitors makes me, well, remember where I live.
3) I get to create extensive adventure itineraries, full of my favorite places to go and things to eat and coffee to drink and hills to climb, etc etc. That said, I end up eating and drinking and climbing way more things than normal in a weekend, which everyone should do now and then.
2) I’m a perpetual workaholic, and if you let me, I’ll go a month without emerging from work/project land and making real human contact. Having visitors reminds me to take a break and have fun for a minute.

It’s even better when the visitors happen to be some of your favorite people on the planet.

This is Erin and JT, my very very good friends from North Carolina, and my visitors for the weekend.

The weekend was destined to be very busy. I was doubling my duties as adventure guide with two photo assignments for a certain awesome photo company that I’m shooting products for now (will get into that in a later post) that were due at the end of the weekend.

Anyway. First things first for these guys – I had to introduce them to delicious SF food, so I took them to the most delicious place I could think of – Naked Lunch.

We all got the pork & apple sandwich. I watched Erin and JT go through the SF-food related emotional rollercoaster that I found myself experiencing two years ago sitting at Tartine. Total elation and disbelief at how incredible the food is that you are ingesting – as well as depression creeping in with the knowledge that, as a non-resident, your access to food experiences of this quality are limited and thus you are setting yourself up for disappointment for the rest of your non-SF-resident life.

From there we moved on to Chinatown. It was rainy/gross outside, but we managed to keep ourselves entertained.

We had one small goal associated with our trip to Chintown – find animal hats. At the time, we felt that animal hats would be a great Halloween investment because A) they could be the basis of a very cheap half-assed yet qualified Halloween costume, and B) they are cute and perhaps we’ll wear them again.

So we explored and explored…

But we could only find…

small ferret-like animals.

and cable cars.

and cat displays.

and more cat displays.

and piles of… well your guess is as good as mine.

Finally, we found what we were looking for. I bought a bear hat (a tribute to New Bern and Bear Plaza and Barry Barrington, obviously), as well as a panda hat for Aaron. Erin bought a raccoon hat and JT bought a bunny. We were set for the holiday.

Exploring continued southward towards the Financial District.

As usual, the city was full of interesting characters.

Our next stop was Cole Valley and the Upper & Lower Haight, where we ate crepes, drank beer, watched the world series, and saw SF costumery in action.

We celebrated our Halloween as critters with a sushi dinner at Domo in Hayes Valley, then drinks at our neighborhood Minibar on Divis.

A good day of Halloween critter adventuring complete. More to come in pt. 2.

END!

I shoot film now!

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while. I’ve become somewhat bored with digital, or bored with something… I’m not exactly sure what. Regardless, I felt the urge to try something different in photoland.

So, for my birthday, Aaron bought me a Minolta x-370 while we were at the flea market.

Since then, I’ve been taking all kinds of photos with it, and it’s been a pretty epic experience for me. It’s hard to explain, but I sort of explained it on Flickr recently:

I just started shooting film, and it is a totally different ballgame. My brain is processing it completely differently.

You have to relinquish control of your work – “control” being the ability to look at your digital camera and know that your shot is as guaranteed as a successful upload to your hard drive.

For someone who holds the documentation of life experience perhaps higher than the experience itself, this is hard to adjust to. For me, moments not documented are moments lost. It sounds a bit extreme, but that’s just how my brain works. I’m sure there are folks out there who can relate.

Knowing that shots are not guaranteed is seriously an emotional roller coaster for me. But damn, film is fun, and (so far) way more satisfying.

Anyway, here are some film shots I’ve taken over the last couple of months, with some stories to go with them.

This is the first successful shot to come out of the Minolta. Aaron, Dakota and I were at friends Troy & Shilpa’s house for a barbecue (side note: I can’t believe I just wrote “barbecue” instead of “cookout.” Am I officially a west-coaster now?), where we met this great little dog named Boobies. He was a stoic little guy, despite being absolutely frozen and shaking like crazy. I let him sleep inside my jacket for a while, and he managed to warm up a bit.

This came from a roll of film that was in the camera when we got it, so I wasn’t sure if anything would come out. This is the only photo that did.

This is actually from Aaron’s holga – he let me steal it and run around downtown with it for a week. I actually really love shooting medium format, and hope to have a med. format camera by next year.

These were from an adventure day in the Mission. This is also when I realized that ordering “web scans” from the photostore equals “really shitty really small yet still really expensive scans.”

This is Aaron without a beard!!! A rare and elusive creature, beardless Aaron is.

This was a really foggy windy day in Alamo Square. I had to sit down to avoid getting blown over. The photostore told me to use this Tungsten film and cross-process it, and this is what came out. I think this is when I fell in love with film.

Working with manual focus & a really shallow depth-of-field is hard. Usually I just point my camera at something and my camera will focus on whatever’s in the middle of my image, I adjust accordingly. Not with this. I have to guestimate the distance that will be in focus, and just hope that something works out when I get the film back.

I still can’t believe this photo actually turned out. It was shot with my film Minolta, with a manual focus lens. After some time awkwardly holding out my left hand in front of my face, using my other hand to hold the camera to my face and adjust the focus to my left hand simultaneously, I finally measured up a distance that I hoped would be about equal to what I’d need for a self-portrait… a total guessing game. Did that make any sense? I also should mention that during this process I was standing on a giant, unstable rock, beside a river underneath an overpass in the middle of some random canyon in California.

In summary, this experience was much more awkward than it looks.

This was sitting on a rock in Niles Canyon. I sometimes go on random adventures with Aaron. He’s a street art & graffiti photographer, so we go on elaborate hunts for awesome pieces, and, in this case, we were sick of shitty weather and hunting for sunlight. This put us under a bridge next to a river somewhere in the middle of nowhere (I was standing on the same rock in the above photo). It was super hot and sunny – a nice contrast for the weeks of cold and fog we’d been having in SF lately.

These are Aaron’s bike and plants.

I also have some shots from my recent North Carolina visit, but I’ll save those for the next blog.

END!

I’ve been going to Portland a lot lately. And by a lot, I mean two times. I’ve had the opportunity to meet a ton of amazing people (I already knew Portland served as home to many amazing folk, but damn, you guys just keep coming). This includes Yogi and Party Boy.

Yogi and Party Boy are both long-time friends of Aaron‘s. They live in Aaron’s former Portland apartment, and we usually crash with them when we visit their town. So, when it came time for them to visit San Francisco, I naturally offered to return the favor and house them for the weekend.

Why my house and not Aaron’s?
1) My house is huge. I can house an 8-piece band in my living room with minimal discomfort. Done it.
2) I am centrally located in San Francisco, nestled ambiguously between Hayes Valley, Lower Haight, and Divisadero. There is delicious coffee, beer, fried chicken, burritos, grocers, diners and shows within walking distance.
3) I live beside Alamo Square. The Full House park. You know what I’m talking about. This one. Token visitor treat.
4) I have a jungle yard. Minimal exaggeration here.

Day 1 Objectives: Eat a burrito, make/consume vat of sangria, have jungle yard bonfire.

Come Friday evening, Yogi and Party Boy arrive. We grab a quick burrito at Little Chihuahua, then head home for treats. I had assembled a giant vat of sangria – my first batch ever. After some research, it seems that the internet really likes this recipe, so I tried it out:

1/2 cup brandy
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate (didn’t use this, but I’m sure it would be tasty)
1/3 cup orange juice
1 bottle dry red wine
1/2 cup triple sec
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
1 orange, sliced into rounds
1 lime, sliced into rounds
1/4 cup white sugar (optional)
2 cups carbonated water or ginger ale

I also added a shitload of blackberries, because I happen to enjoy blackberries.

[photocred: Ramon Bataller] [This is not my sangria, but looks like it.]

Night one was nice. I haven’t really entertained since I moved here (I used to quite often in Raleigh), so it felt good to assemble a few folk in the jungle yard for a bonfire. There were more Portlanders in my yard than San Franciscans, by far.

Day 2 Objectives: Shop, meet a bulldog, eat another burrito, ride the most dangerous taxi in San Francisco, crash a boat party benefit.

Day 2 was an interesting day.

We started our day off with a visit to the Mission. We stopped by Benny Gold, where Yogi made business deals, Party Boy bought a hoodie, and I made friends with a bulldog. We then ate our second burrito in a 24-hour period.

After stopping by a few more stores, we caught a cab toward Pier 33 to meet our friends Dave and Mark, who were doing a trade show.

Our cab driver was somewhat young and reckless. We should have known that this would be a rough ride when the driver was casually speeding down giant residential hills at 50 mph.

We begin to approach an intersection. A car is stopped, trying to turn left. We are behind it, approaching. We don’t appear to be slowing down. The car is getting closer. We are going to hit this car. We are definitely going to hit this fucking car. I’m in the middle seat. Unbuckled. I’m definitely going to die now. Does the driver not see this?

Aaron clues the driver in. The driver looks up to finally notice our cab 4 feet from smashing the back of this other vehicle at 40 mph. He jerks the wheel to the right and we swerve around the stopped car, barely missing it. And I mean barely.

He drops us off, apologizing for “almost killing us” as we step out of the car. It’s cool, dude.

We arrive at Pier 33 to see Dave and Mark. Dave and Mark are touring the country right now for Keen/Clif Bar, and happen to be here for the weekend. Dave tells us that he has an adventure for us if we’d like to participate.

We’re listening.

Two hours later, we’re casually strolling onto a yacht, fully equipped with endless piles of meat, cheese, olives, bread, veggies, SUSHI, and OPEN BAR. Yes, we are semi-crashing a benefit cruise. Only semi-crashing because Dave made donations in our name. Crashing nonetheless because we really have no connection with this thing whatsoever. But yes, I will still drink your alcohol and eat your sushi.

The cruise was a success. It was three hours of scenic touring and gluttony, and we only got a few dirty looks by fellow attendees. I’m hoping that won’t be the last bay cruise I have the opportunity to crash while I’m living here.

We closed out the night with another jungle yard bonfire, then rested up for a big day 3.

Day 3 Obejectives: Use Jeremy Fish’s toilet, ride in a pirate van, go to Trader Joe’s for the first time ever, find Yogi a poncho, sit on grass while Wu-Tang raps for me.

Day 3. It’s Rock The Bells day.

The dudes have been planning this day for a while. I had no intention of going (though I wanted to), but Aaron bought me a ticket last-minute. Thus, I found myself Sunday morning at Cafe Trieste in North Beach with the dudes to meet our friends Kate and Jeremy, and begin our quest.

Next thing I know, we’re all tucked into Jeremy’s pirate van, heading to Rock the Bells.

[photocred: Aaron Durand] [this is Jeremy's sweet van.]

How many of you have seen a hardcore rap superconcert next to Google’s campus? I suggest you try it sometime.

The weekend finally came to a close, and we bid our goodbyes to Yogi and Party Boy. Until next time, dudes.

I hadn’t planned on attending Wondercon. I wasn’t even entirely sure what it was. Then, a few weeks ago, I received a note from my friend Paul telling me he was coming to SF for said festival and had a free pass for me, if I wanted it.

Of course I want it. I’m not sure what I’m in for, but I’ll just go and find out.

It’s funny how I met Paul. Paul’s an artist. In fact, Paul was my favorite illustrator immediately upon discovering his work in 2006. I’d see his work up in galleries around Raleigh, and fantasize about the day I would have it hanging on my walls.

So one day in 2008, I was bartending at Sitti in downtown Raleigh, and a trio of folks come in. They’re my only customers, and one of them is quite talkative, so I engage them, as a bartender (or me, for that matter) does. They introduce themselves as Neil, ____ (who I never saw again and will henceforth refer to as Lou), and Paul.

Over the course of our conversation, I notice that
1) Lou mentions that Paul is an artist.
2) The owner of my restaurant (who is quite a man of status and owns most of Raleigh) approaches paul. Knows Paul. This means Paul may be important to this city or have special skills.

Then it hits me. I may be serving drinks to Paul Friedrich.

So I approach the trio. I ask – “Paul, what is your last name.”

“Friedrich.”

“Heh.”

I mention that I was recently looking at some of his prints to put up in my house. He tells me I can have prints for free (I still refuse to take him up on that offer). I sell them some more drinks. Neil leads most of the conversation for the rest of the night (which I now know is totally normal). Neil leaves me a 3 cent tip (he told me he was going to, I thought he was joking). We’ve all been friends ever since. Seriously.

Anyway, I arrived at Wondercon on the 2nd day. I wasn’t sure what to expect. This is what I found.

Thanks Paul. You rule.

So… I realized I forgot to post any photos from February. Oops.

Here are a few that are fun.

MOMA.

Jaguar Love.

Mark Growden.

Meghan & Shalaco.

Laura.

Ernie.

Valentine’s at Dolores Park.

Brandom & Lewis’ roof.

That’s all for now. Hooray for catching up!