Hello, faithful readers… and welcome to the final hours before winter vacation. You see, I am packing up and shipping out to warmer regions far-flung—a Christmas present to myself of sorts. Going to do a little bit of sight-seeing and a whole lot of nothing. So, in honor of the trip, I am posting this noble giraffe.

The snapshot was taken at California Academy of Sciences in the main lobby. I was frankly taken aback by how tall this little guy was. At 6′2″ I am not a shorty by any means, but to get this view, I had to hold my camera up as high as I could (no zoom on the iPhone) and push the button. And still, he gazes down on me as if I were but a bug.

I wonder if they ever get afraid of heights?

Nevertheless, that about does it for me today. Gotta get packed and ready to fly. But in the meantime, what are y’all planning to do for the new years? Anything exciting? Leave ‘em in the comments section below!

I clearly prefer a photographic world without the presence of people. There is something about an empty plaza, or a blank hallway or a quiet vista that speaks so loudly to me. It’s not that I don’t like people (quite the contrary infact), but rather that I like the challenge of taking subject-free pictures in places that are otherwise bustling with activity.

Nevertheless, I do have a few choice ‘people’ shots—and today’s snapshot is one of them. The brothers Bradshaw! My younger brother and I lead very different lives, in very different places. We continue to learn from each other’s mistakes and successes, and stay surprisingly close despite the distance. But one thing is for certain… we know how to have a good time when we get together! And this is one of my favorite shots from a recent visit: muggin’ for the camera at the local Funglass Shack (wearing wacky sunglasses with matching expressions)!

Halloween has never been my favorite holiday.

My typical line goes something like: “well as a graphic designer, I spend every day being ‘creative’, so why would I want to spend all my free time crafting a costume?”

“Because it’s fun,” they respond.

And they are right. In fact, there are plenty of opportunities in this fine city, which allow us to let our inner idiot out. However, after living in San Francisco for a spell, and being fairly active in the nightlife scene… you really get a better picture for the amateur-hour that major holiday’s become.

So this year, I am going to take a break from the usual club scene, and get in touch with my roots. A few small house party with some close friends, a Star Wars-themed afro-beat concert, and the Dia De Los Muertos parade.

This is not to say it will be easy to avoid the chaos… searching the listings I come up with over 100 official, themed events happening in the 7-mile square city limits alone. We will see how the Bay Bridge closure might affect traffic in our dear city, but I doubt it will have much affect—‘witch’ granted, is great for commerce and local businesses… but this resident wants nothing of it.

The above snapshot was taken in the Mission, where some enterprising artist decided to go semi-permanant on his mural—with the help of some vinyl stickers. The skull theme really plays into this weekend, so I figured we could take a departure from our regularly scheduled graffiti Friday, and dress up the site a little.

Har har… Happy Hella’wean!

It’s always an awkward situation, walking into the bathroom and find some great photographic composition. You carefully whip it out, cautiously aim, and squeeze. Then the stall next door bursts open and a redneck cowboys glares over at you… People tend to get shy when you pull out a camera in that privatest of places.

This snapshot was taken in some grungy bathroom—the alien lightface had enough personality to glow, without even turning on the halogens. Love the forehead graffiti, and that yellow wall patina. This evil protector from a distant galaxy, just happened to land in my next of the woods for a snapshot moment.

It’s a short week people, so TGIF… and make sure you get outside!