Photography is one of my favorite ways to see the world.

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    • Embracing mistakes

      Published on April 4, 2023

      I have a problem: I tend to be a perfectionist. Sometimes, when something doesn't turn out well I get so annoyed that I don't touch it again forever. Or for a long time. (Recently, I learned that people with autism and ADHD like me have severe 'rejection sensitivity'). Being mindful of this, I'm trying to actively embrace mistakes.

      So when I pulled out my film and found many 'spots' on my photos I decided to embrace that mistake, too. I had left a small amount of Photoflo in a container that I also used to stir my Ilfosol film developer. After developing, I noticed that my solution was bubbly. For some reason the detergent bubbles only showed up on one reel of film and not the other. In fact, it lent an interesting visual effect to some of the photos.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a Mexican restaurant called Donaji and its front door. There are a bunch of bubble patterns on the right side of the image

      Dinner the other day.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a few lamps at a restaurant with a woven pattern, in front of a TV showing NBA basketball

      Surprised at how well Kodak 5222 performs in low light indoors.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing showing a lady cooking pupusa on a flat grill

      I've been delighted to see more street food vendors in the Mission these days, especially on Friday nights outside very busy nightlife spots. From this lady I also had a delicious, freshly made pupusa with pork, beans and cheese. She was shaping the masa to order when you ordered one. Or twelve.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a few pupusas being cooked on a flat grill

      I think I can eat four of them at once.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a Volkswagen van carrying tourists on a hippie tour of SF near the Civic Center area

      More bubbles. Thankfully, they only impacted less than 20% of the photos.

      All film shot on Minolta Hi-Matic 7S II, on Kodak 5222 film, developed in Ilfosol 1:9 for 7:45 min, scanned on Plustek 8200i.

    • The Cool Blues of San Francisco

      Published on Invalid DateTime

      Recently, I had an opportunity to purchase a few rolls of Kodak Vision 3 500T Film (5219). I was warned that it would be almost too 'cool', that it had tones of blue in most photos unless I used a warming filter, or fixed it in post.

      While my style of color photography tends to be vibrant and warm (Portra and Ektar are favorite film stocks), I wanted to try something new.

      I went out shooting photos of San Francisco at dusk, and also in the midst of our poor weather (on the days when it rained ceaselessly). I think that if you know its quirks, you can get a lot out of it. I really like this look and am excited to try other motion picture film stock (I have a 50ft roll of Vision 250D film I'm going to bulk roll myself).

      Shooting motion picture film is an interesting premise for a film stills photographer: you can buy it in bulk! It's affordable! And has very interesting look and film somewhat reminiscent of many of the movies we know and love (500T was used to shoot parts of Euphoria, among other TV shows and movies). The main downside is that regular labs don't process motion picture film. It has a black layer of 'remjet' at the back that can lead to damage of commercial labs' equipment. What you want to do is look for someone who does ECN-2 developing (there are several), or do it yourself with an ECN-2 kit.

      Also, it never fails to amuse me that people think San Francisco is a really modern-looking big city: to me, it's a small town trapped in time, where buildings and entire neighborhoods (except the downtown area) look more or less the same as it did when hippies were running around naked in these areas.

      a scan of a color photograph of a set of colorful garage doors in San Francisco with shades of brown red and light blue. Looks very retro. A sign says No Parking at any time

      No parking at any time.

      a scan of a color photograph of a church in San Francisco that is painted blue set against a blue sky at dusk with pink hue and white clouds

      A church in blue and pink and cloud.

      a scan of a color photograph of the stairs and front doors of a Victorian house in San Francisco that is mostly blue. A few numbers say 881 and 883

      Victorians in this neighborhood seem to like blue and white a lot.

      a scan of a color photograph of the stairs and front doors of a yellow purple and blue Victorian house in San Francisco that has a purple lion on the stoop near its columns

      And purple.

      a scan of a color photograph of a neighborhood in Cole Valley San Francisco where the Victorian houses are mostly blue and there is a retro white car parked on the street

      Retro blues.

      a scan of a color photograph of a pink and blue Victorian building on a street in San Francisco with two cars parked in front of it, and a yellow building next to it

      Pink and yellow.

      All photos taken on Minolta Hi-Matic, Kodak Vision 3 500T film, developed and scanned by Eureka Film Lab.

    • One Night in the Mission

      Published on March 31, 2023

      I used to be a creature of the night, but no longer. I used to be out all the time, but rarely now. Partly, it's that San Francisco is so chilly at night, but also that it's pretty dead at night compared to the much bigger cities I've lived in. I don't quite enjoy walking around, cold, in areas where there just sijmply isn't that much going on at all. For my wife's birthday, we went out to dinner in the Mission and I also brought my Minolta Hi-Matic 7S II. It's fast becoming one of the cameras I use the most: its f1.7 lens, combined with the small form factor and weight, makes it easy for me to pop it into my jacket pocket. It works really well indoors at night, too, with black and white film (and a steady hand.. or an elbow firmly on a table or chair or door, which is my style. I dislike tripods).

      Here are some shots on Kentmere 400, pushed to 800 in Ilfosol 3 (1:9). I really like the combination of this film and this camera, and my self dev setup at home these days. Scanned on Noritsu LS-600.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing an outdoor garden dining space with space heaters

      The outdoor space at Blue Plate is quite lovely. So is the key lime pie there.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing the neon symbols that are the sign of a bar in the Outer Mission

      I love neon signs. I also love that I was professionally involved in getting these 'parklets' up early pandemic: my team at sf.gov helped get a joint permitting process out quickly to help businesses move their business outdoors.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing the retro sign of the Mission cinema

      Alamo Drafthouse in the Mission.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a few people ordering tacos from a street taco vendor

      Street tacos are the best tacos. There was a lot of light from one side from the street lamps, but I quite enjoy the effect it casts on the photo.

      I am starting to feel more confident about bulk-rolling black and white film and developing it at home. Other than the cost savings, it's the immediacy that I love: I can roll a 24 exposure cassette in black and white, shoot it in an hour, and come back and process it immediately and see it shortly after through a scanner or light table.

    • Lower Polk, SF

      Published on March 30, 2023

      Join me on a walk around Lower Polk, a neighborhood directly adjacent to mine. I spend a lot of time here because it has the grocery stores and other shops that I go to the most. I rarely need to take a bus or car anywhere else because I get everything in the Tenderloin and Lower Polk, as well as in and around Nob Hill.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a bus stop with a sign, laid off and trying to keep the kids from realizing that mommy and daddy haven't eaten in a while. behind, a gig worker zooms past on an ebike, and in the far background, the salesforce tower looms large

      A sign of the times.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing some film development chemicals on a shelf in a photography store, brands include Ilford and Kodak

      I feel lucky to be able to walk to a world class film photography store, Glass Key Photo. They have everything I need, and more.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing artwork featuring Harvey Milk the former gay politician of San Francisco who was assassinated a few decades ago. It sits in the window of a barber shop

      RIP, Harvey Milk. Thanks for everything you have done for this city.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a neon sign that reads Cocktails in the window of a divey bar

      Hi-Lo has great drinks. Back when I still imbibed. These days, I just like the neon signs of these bars.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a bunch of rubber ducks on a table inside a glass jar sitting on a window

      Count the rubber duckies.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a mosque in San Francisco with the name Masjid Al Tawheed

      Sutter St is home to a mosque frequented by the Yemeni community in the area.

      a scan of a black and white photo showing a stone statue of a man outside an Irish bar in San Francisco

      This part of San Francisco has a strong link to Frank Norris, the anti-Semitic author. A bar in Lower Polk is named after one of his novels, McTeague.

      All photos taken on Leica M3, 50mm Summilux, bulkrolled Kentmere Pan 400. Self developed in Ilfosol 3 (1+9) for 7 minutes, and scanned with Plustek 8200i.

    • Scenes from a Lifetime Ago

      Published on Invalid DateTime

      In 2007, I moved to the United Arab Emirates for my first full time job out of college. I was working at a publisher that specialized in trade magazines. I worked mainly on travel titles, as a deputy editor and also staff photographer. It was a pretty good life (tax-free, high salaries, lots of adventure).

      It was not a long term place for me to be in because, well, I'm queer. My long term partner at the time lived in London: it was reasonably easy to go see her, and we also fancied meeting 'in the middle' (Istanbul was a fave).

      It was an incredibly lonely time. While I met some lovely people, Dubai and I didn't quite get along. I had some wonderful memories of the people and places I got to see, and it was a launch pad for me to go to all of the other places in that region that I adore. I got to see places like Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, pretty much because they were there, and I could get there for a hundred bucks or less (Middle Eastern budget airlines were my best friends).

      It was a weird time. When I got there, Dubai (and many global economies) were booming. A few months later, once we got into 2008, it became a ghost town in some parts. Some of those countries I visited regularly soon plunged into civil war and other turmoil. I hope that I can visit Syria and Yemen again one day in better times. It's awful what's happened to those societies and countries. Truly the most remarkable countries I've been to in so many ways.

      I had a reasonably charmed life as a privileged Dubai expat with a powerful passport who got to travel anywhere on the weekends (which were Friday and Saturday!). It was just as easy to get to Europe as it was to get to South Asia, and also to the countries in the region, and I rode that wave for the whole time I was there. Outside of my day job as a staff photographer, I was also writing and taking photos for an assortment of travel magazines and newspapers in India, Singapore, Thailand and the Middle East. When the financial crisis came all of that work dried up, which is also partly why I stopped working in the field.

      Still, I got to see so much and do so much, all at the age of 22.

      a digital photograph of a time lapse scene of Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai with lots of construction and lights

      I lived and worked in one of the newer parts of Dubai near Media City that were still under active construction. It was a weird time. There was no train then, and sometimes literally no roads to cycle on. In hindsight, I should have lived in the old city, which I much preferred for culture and food and people. That part of Dubai was, at that time, very alienating if you were not the right type of expat.

      a digital photograph of a night sky in a desert

      I tagged along on a camping trip to Oman one weekend with a bunch of architects. It was beautiful, but I don't know if I'll recommend peeing in the desert for women (it steams your butt).

      a digital photograph of a few camels in the desert

      I LOVE CAMELS. Always have, always will.

      a digital black and white photograph of some South Asian workers waiting to board a bus in Dubai

      Dubai, like Singapore, is a cleaned city: cleaned by other people. Also built by other people. The reliance of these city states on foreign labor, especially from South Asia, and the propensity to severely mistreat them with poor labor practices and living conditions, is appalling. Being there opened my eyes to similar practices back home in Singapore and Malaysia. Later, I would work in migrant worker advocacy in those countries.

      I am glad I did what I did at the time, but that's probably not a life choice I would make again. In my 30s, I am less accepting of living in environments where I cannot be openly gay, or be able to advocate politically in that space. However, that experience showed me a slice of the world that I deeply love, and also helped to imbue a certain amount of cultural understanding about some of the challenges in that region. When you know a place beyond the politics, and have met, dined with, and lived with the people, it's hard to see them as just passive figures in newspaper reports.

      All photos taken on Canon 350D. Or 50D? One of those.

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