Posts tagged "leica"

Lower Polk, SF

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 sign of the times.

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.

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

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

Count the rubber duckies.

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

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.

Music for the Soul

I was having a horrible day in August 2020, feeling shut in and defeated. There was no Covid-19 vaccine yet, and we had been sheltering in place in our tiny studio apartment for around 6 months by that time. Going out for a walk with my camera was something that helped me find the little joys of life.

I hadn't used my Leica in a while, and this was one of the moments that brought a smile to my face. I'm glad I managed to stand there and hear them play for a few minutes. It lifted my spirits. I'm also glad that I have a photograph to remind me of that time.

Photograph taken on a Leica M3 with 50mm Summilux, Kodacolor 200.

Roadtrips and Chicken Rice Balls

In my last year of university I started dating a person who lived 250 miles away from me. It was my first serious relationship, and my last long(ish) distance one.

Before we found a living arrangement (that involved me moving to her city), we met sometimes in the middle. Luckily, her country was full of fun towns and cities with delicious food, so I didn't mind.

That relationship eventually fizzled out after several years, but I got from it: Cookie, a deep love for that country, and many years of happy food and travel memories.

A black and white photo taken in Melaka around 2007. Probably with a Leica M3 and 50mm Summilux, unsure which film stock (I'm guessing it's Tri-X).

Touching Grass: Taroko Gorge, Taiwan

Taiwan's Taroko Gorge near Hualien is a place of great beauty.

I spent a fun day here in 2006 with my family, with my Leica M3 and some black and white film (I am guessing it is Tri-X 400, which would have been what I was using a lot back then).

I don't photograph nature or landscapes very much, so am very out of my depth here, but I do like the way these photos turned out. Taiwan is a place of great natural beauty, and I don't feel like I've seen enough of it even though I've been many times. (I haven't had enough of the food either, which is in my opinion one of the best in the world.)

In 2023, I am far more into being outdoors in nature than I was at the time. I will take more photos of the Californian outdoors shortly.

Taroko Gorge from the top.

Water enters the gorge from the Liwu river.

Photos taken on Leica M3, 50mm Summilux, probably Tri-X 400, probably processed at Ruby Photo in Singapore

Santa Baby (Film Version)

Happy holidays! We're having weather here in San Francisco, which is a bit of an event. My plan for the next couple of weeks is to stay inside. This city is not made for weather, since we so rarely have any.

The best thing that happened to me over Christmas 2022 is that I started shooting film again.

Funny story: I was so mad at how my last few rolls of film turned out that I stopped using my film cameras for a few years. Turns out I have poor eyesight in my right eye, and I can't really focus rangefinders very well. I'm getting that fixed. So thank you, rangefinder focus, for letting me know to check my eyesight.

Some Santa-related photos from the last couple of weeks. I think this was Kodacolor 200, but I can never remember.

A Santa figurine inside a Thai dessert and coffee shop in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood.

A Santa figurine reading a book outside a bar in San Francisco's Polk Street.

A Santa blow up outside a club in San Francisco.

Photos shot on Leica M3 with 50mm Summilux, processed by Underdog Film Lab in Oakland, then lightly edited for color and contrast in Photoshop.