I am frankly surprised at the difference in temperature between San Francisco and Oaxaca City. Not logically… mind you, but relationally. When we arrived in Mexico, it seemed pleasant and not much different than California. Maybe a little warmer, but I was still comfortable wearing jeans and a t-shirt during the day, with a jacket at night. But now that I am back in the States, I find myself craving the delicious, warm sun. So when I came across this photo of a radiant heater taken on Alcatraz Island last year, it seemed amply appropriate for today.

Now don’t get me wrong, I understand that there are places in the world so cold that pipes are freezing and entire commerce systems are closed, but in my neck of the woods… cold means I have to actually put on a jacket outside—and that is precisely why I choose to live here.

So enjoy today’s snapshot texture and stay warm out there!

Figured I would expand on yesterday’s post with another shot from the garden.

The day was frigid-cold, and the wind was bustling and icy. Ill prepared for the climate, but determined to use this single opportunity to take in as much scenery as possible, I found myself seeking shelter among the sculpture garden’s many massive residents. These wavy steel plates, planted on-end, caught my eye. And as the sun set, the shadows cast by the surrounding trees were just magnificent.

Took me a few shots to get just the right crop and head positioning… but I really like the results. Here’s another from the series:

I absolutely love the elongated shadows flittering across the flat-pack gravel and up onto the rusty steel wave. It felt almost as if the trees were welcoming us to their group, allowing our participation in their sunset festivities.

Had the wonderful opportunity last night to attend Arthur Ganson’s talk at September’s Long Now lecture. He spoke about machines and art and the process of creation. Beginning by asking us to forget everything he says—continuing on explaining that the intricate, mechanical sculptures he builds are as much about what the viewer brings to the experience, as they are about the individual components. Which seems more just about the general human condition. People bringing their own life knowledge to every encounter and trying their best to unravel the meaning of interaction with others—a wonderfully complex series of algorithms running on this giant computer we call a planet.

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It has been a long, inner battle whether I should caption or explain for my photography. Years ago, I started posting Flickr photos with minimal or absent descriptions. But, recently it seems the discourse is necessary—if not to explain the meaning behind a particular image, but as an expression within itself.

I don’t remember exactly where this snapshot was taken. Quite possibly an art exhibit at the de Young… but clearly that is not the point. Within the context of my experience from last night, it transformed into some sort of mechanical, Earth-gear. And as I was leaving the lecture last night, this image stuck with me. As often the case… the photo chose me.

Thank you for entertaining my daily ramblings, and I hope you’re able to forget them in that same breath of time.

Spent the weekend chilling out and doing a tremendous amount of nothing. Within that nothing: got a chance to see a life-sized, historic, camera obscura; scored a last-chance to view the Fragile Planet planetarium show (before they switch over to the new reel); stopped by the opening ceremonies of the Independent Artists Week; popped in to see some political theatre in the park courtesy of the San Francisco Mime Troupe; ate a delicious brunch by the ocean with friends; finally saw District 9 on the big screen; and achieved a general opportunity to just relax!

…hmm, that certainly doesn’t sound like doing nothing, does it?

I guess even in doing nothing, it’s still possible accomplish a lot!? HA! And there is never a dull moment when you live in a city with so much to do! (Although sure-as-heck felt like nothing—sleeping though most of Sunday).

Can’t exactly remember where I took this shot (maybe it’s in the EXIF data?), but I love the literal interpretation of “the grass is greener on the other side” metaphor. I doubt growing two different grasses together was planned, but what a happy accident it became!

The printer is running out of ink and churns out color-washed pastels…

The CD player skips perfectly on beat as the laser violently tracks and re-tracks over a scratch in the last song of your favorite plastic disc, rendering the rock opera a momentarily electronic glitch…

The iPhone conveniently shreds the image of your grandmother, as you attempt to capture that single most perfect moment that will never happen again.

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Technological errors do happen.
And sometimes they are absolutely gorgeous.

But, I must have looked like a fool—rushing around my old office screaming “don’t touch it… I’ll take care of it”—just to save a single, color, Hewlett-Packard toner-explosion art print that was resting on the edge of the machine. It was like some sort of Hopi sand painting, just waiting for the impermanence of life to blow it away. But I got it. Captured forever in the small window of my digital camera as a personal treasure.

And that is how it happens.

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The snapshot above was taken graciously by my old iPhone. I say “by” my phone, because (without warning)—under precisely unknown circumstances—it would take chunks of the image and throw it around to the other side. It helped that I hacked into it a few times to enhance it’s utility, but that wasn’t why it happened. In fact there are plenty of these cubism examples all over Flickr …along with many other different experiments that you could try at home too!

The image was just a documentation of some amazing purple light reflected onto the ceiling through the combination of a neon cat sculpture and the built-in hall lamp. Which I suppose is a technology fail of it’s own. Two different types of gases, broadcasting light together and combined to form this radical haze… while my iPhone had it’s own take on the situation.

Double beauty fail.

San Francisco is very excited to have it’s Academy of Sciences back, and especially stoked on the new building. People come from all over to see it, and most weekends the place is packed beyond reason. Which is amazing for a natural sciences museum, but not so awesome for us card-carrying members.

In response—and to garner a little added street cred—the museum also hosts weekly NightLife openings, where they keep the museum open late on Thursdays and feature music, lectures, cocktails, and mingling for a 21+ crowd.

This photo was taken downstairs in the aquarium on one such night. I was awestruck at how well the architects conceived of the complete underground aquatic setup. The walls are all this shimmery blue/purple as you see above, and they project explanatory text in waves over top. The effect is stunning, and (along with hands-on exhibits and the fish tanks themselves) immediately immerses visitors into the realm of fishes.

The Cal Academy is definitely worth a visit, and if you can’t quite make it through the daytime crowds, seriously think about popping in for a lively evening instead.