Day 77: Long Exposures on Ektar
Day 77: March 18, 2014: Tank Hill
Another little experiment today. As much as I love night photos, film can be quite the proverbial pain in the ass for this kind of work, I’ve found. The lighting is always tricky at night, since any lights tend to be so much brighter than the rest of the background. This makes it difficult to keep everything in a range that the camera’s sensor or the film can capture. Film tends to handle the bright lights a bit better than digital, but adds the complicating factor of reciprocity failure, requiring exponentially longer exposures than digital for the same shot and settings when you get into exposures above a couple seconds. With enough data, the reciprocity of particular films can be calculated and accounted for, and some of the info can be found on the internets, but realistically, I’d generally rather just go hang out on a hilltop and guess instead of looking these things up on the internet and doing the calculations. If I was using more expensive/precious film, it would probably be worth the extra work, but as it is I generally get close enough with a couple tries, and I have way more fun just shooting. With this photo, this Kodak Ektar has just made it as one of my favorite nighttime long exposure films. I had to about double the exposure to 30 seconds from what I would have used on my digital camera, and it came out pretty clean, with way better highlight colors and detail than I tend to see from digital. Not too shabby.
I honestly don’t know what kind of crowd is reading these posts, whether this technical stuff is interesting or not at all, but it helps me think about and learn from these little experiences, so I’ll keep posting some of the stuff I learn along the way. In non-technical stuff, this view is from Tank Hill, home of my favorite bench and one of my favorite views in SF, looking over Corona Heights, another of my favorite viewpoints. That big building in the front is the formerly concrete-clad former AAA headquarters, currently getting a shiny new glass skin as part of it’s conversion to apartments. Will they be affordable? History and the amount of money being put into the renovation suggest no, but housing is housing in this city, and we need all we can get right now. As a commercial building that required a complete gutting and re-skinning, the end result will surely be better than the vacant space it is replacing. And aesthetically, it’s certainly a step up from that old concrete hulk on the skyline, I think. 🙂
(Kodak Ektar 100, EOS 3)
Day 76: Sunset over the Golden Gate
Day 76: March 17, 2014: Twin Peaks
Colors! Pretty pretty colors! More Colors!
That’s about all I have to say about that one.
These all seem to have a brighter band vertically through the center of the photo. I’m not to sure what to make of that. Lens? Scanner? I don’t really know, but don’t remember seeing that before. Anyone have thoughts on what might be causing that?
(Kodak Ektar 100 in the EOS 3 SLR)
Day 75: GOATS!!!
Day 75: March 16, 2014: City Grazing, Bayview
Goats! More than merely the internet cat of the future, they’ll also trim your lawn/field/other plantiferous property!
With the arrival of nearly 50 new goat kids at City Grazing this spring, San Francisco’s vegetation munching power has multiplied, while its adorable quotient has gone through the roof!
I had a chance to visit the herd during their open house and “running of the goats” today, and the goats did not disappoint. Goats and humans alike were fully enjoying the experience. I mean, look at #68’s happy face! (I’m pretty sure he was sleepy, not high, but this is SF, so…). How could you not love those cute little faces?
At some point, while I was wandering around the grounds, a little grey kid was handed to me by another visitor, and promptly curled up in my arms and started to nibble on my sleeve. I must have held the little one for about 15 minutes before he (she?) decided it was time to rejoin the others and started squirming to be put down on the hay bales. I unfortunately don’t remember any of the names, but this was the only little gray one I noticed. We had a moment, and now I find myself looking for my little friend whenever I come across the goats grazing out in the city. :p
Other highlights included a pygmy goat great escape, in which one of the little goats found a way out of the enclosure and proceeded to run circles around the outside of the pen, screaming, with the goats inside following it around the perimeter, screaming back. Perhaps they were encouraging the breakout, or maybe they were trying to help it find its way back home. Not speaking goat, I can’t say for sure, but they all seemed pretty happy here, so I’d bet the escapes were motivated by curiosity more than anything. Eventually, the little goat was directed back to the pen to rejoin it’s buddies, prompting more goat conversation.
If you’re wondering about the reason for ring on the little white goat’s neck, it looked like one of those cones that a vet might put on your cat or dog after a surgery, but turned out to be nothing of the sort. Apparently the kid had just found it somewhere on the ground and managed to put on itself. No one seemed very certain about where it came from. The goat certainly didn’t seem to mind it, and actually resisted efforts to take it off (perhaps it was fond of the new stylish necklace?), but, with much work, it was eventually corralled and the ring removed. *Cue more bleating*
They are certainly curious little creatures, and a blast to watch and interact with. They’re also available to hire for landscaping work as well as parties, special events, and films. Check them out if you get a chance!
(Kodak Ektar 100 in the EOS 3 SLR)
Day 74: A Comfy Seat
Day 74: March 15, 2014: Upper Market
This looks comfy! Really, the sidewalks up here could use more good rest spots for those of us hiking up the hill regularly. Maybe I should go ahead and put together a proposition for the next ballot. 🙂
(Kodak Ektar 100 in the Canon EOS 3)
Day 73: Atop the Mountain
Day 73: March 14, 2014: Twin Peaks
Another day turns into another night on the top of the city.
Another day passed, another hill climbed, another view photographed.
Another SUUUTTTTRRRRROOOOOOOO!!
(Arista EDU 400 Black and White film in the old Canon 650)
Day 72: Crumbling into History
Day 72: March 13, 2014: Cathedral Hill
San Francisco’s best assisted living! I’m going to go ahead and assume that claim doesn’t apply to this side of the street. Though, I’d bet you could get at least $3000 a month on Craigslist for one of those open air terraces on the top floor.
“Unique living opportunity in a sunny loft in the center of it all! Abundant space, fantastic views, this unit has it all! (hardhat not included)”
Demolition has progressed quite a bit in the 29 days since I last stopped by the Cathedral Hill Hotel. As I post this in July, I believe the building is long gone.
(Canon EOS 3 with Kodak Ektar 100)
Day 71: Around Town
Day 70: March 12, 2014: SOMA/Church and Market
Running errands around town today, in lovely light. I was out dropping off a photo in SOMA for a gallery show, and picking up film at Photoworks. For not being my job, this photography business sure seems to occupy a lot of my time some days. It’s always a treat to end up in random locations to discover nice light, though. 🙂
Also, no, I don’t have any idea what the rusty looking metal cube on a stick is…
(Kodak Ektar 100)
Day 70: Fire in Mission Bay
Day 70: March 11, 2014: Mission Bay
There was a massive fire today in a very large apartment complex being built over a block in in Mission Bay that pretty much leveled the structure.
The smoke clouded the air all the way down in South San Francisco, and, though the fire was out by the time I got back to SF, ash and debris could be found over downwind neighborhoods all the way over Potrero Hill.
I ended up passing through Mission Bay on my way through, where firefighters were still spraying down the smoldering structure, so I stopped for a couple quick long exposures as the sun went down behind them.
Seeing the damage from a bus a few days later, I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be in the vicinity when it was burning at full force.
(Kodak Ektar 100)
Day 69: Sadplant
Day 69: March 10, 2014: In the Darkness
A single photo was taken today. This is all there is. Just this one photo. Does it mean anything? Or does it mean nothing at all? Is it spooky? Is it sad? Maybe it’s creepy? Or is it merely an underexposed nothing? Is something lost? Mediocre? A waste? Too dark? Something? Nothing? Solitude? Loneliness? Too much? Too little? A plant? A hand? A claw? A dream? A nightmare? Or maybe it just is?
I’ll leave this one up to you, world. Your call.
Day 68: Of Beetles and Bison
Day 68: March 9, 2014: Golden Gate Park
Noticing patterns in the things I…um…notice, for lack of a better word. Sutro, old cars (Beetles in particular) and a few other things seem to be making a lot of appearances in this year’s collection. I’m not intentionally seeking these out, but they seem to be catching my eye. It’s pretty cool to notice these things that I’ve been noticing without really noticing that I was noticing them all this time.
What kinds of things do you notice when you’re out? What catches your eye?
(Fuji Superia 200 in Canon Sureshot A1 SLC P22)
…Notice.
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