Old Time Charm

There's something charming about those old-timey photos taken in film or instant film that just can't be replicated by Photoshop or digital lense filters.... Upon stumbling across several film photography blogs (here and here are two favs), I've fallen in love with analog photos, and I was eager to try it out myself. After  hours of late night googling, I finally decided to go with a Pentax k1000 that I picked up off of Amazon for $120. Now that I look back, I know I could have gotten a better deal, but I really wanted a camera that was guaranteed to work. 

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach when I first saw the camera... all those knobs and numbers were not a familiar sight, having only touched a digital point and shoot all my life. This camera is completely manual, meaning that I had a lot of research to do. But don't worry, after going through several Youtube videos, I found the Pentax to be very simple to handle - even easier to handle than most digital cameras. There really is only three things to pay attention to - aperture, shutter speed, and ISO - and once you have those down, it's all about adjusting those knobs to make the light meter needle hit the middle. Super simple! It was so satisfying firing my first shot and turning the lever to reload the film. Being able to hear the ticks of the mechanisms and the crank of the lever is oddly gratifying. Now what I didn't realize was how expensive it can be to shoot in film. At minimum it costs about $10 to develop 24 exposures, and even buying film can rack up a big sum. The unexpected benefit of all this is the amount of thought that has to be put in taking one photo because an exposure = $$$.

The expensiveness of shooting in film is especially felt when shooting with the discontinued Polaroids that take only discontinued films. Although I found a Polaroid Onestep 600 at Goodwill for $5, the film itself cost me $30 for 8 exposures. I used Impossible Project's PX 680 film. If you want the original Polaroid film, it can run up to $100 for 10 exposures, since it's been discontinued. I can only hope that the price of this film drops soon; in the mean time I'm hunting for a Polaroid SX-70 so that I can take better pics with what little film I can buy.

Nevertheless I am extremely pleased with this camera! Sitting down at SF's Ferry Building for a break, I took the chance to load the film all the while praying that the clunky thing might work. Right when I clicked the cartridge in, it whirred to life and spat out a darkslide. Feeling ecstatic and lucky, I rushed outside of the building and snapped a shot off of the pier, then quickly emptied out my small leather purse and stuck the photo in. I was careful not to jostle it around while heading off to the Bart station. After thirty minutes, I dared to peek into my makeshift darkroom, and was crestfallen to see that the image was streaked in blue. But really, Impossible Project should change their instructions, as it took a full hour for the image to come out properly instead of the purported 30-40 minute wait time.  Seeing the saturated colors and slight vignetting on the final picture made me stupidly happy, even if the shot is over-exposed.

I also visited the Lomography shop near Union Square. The cameras are really cute, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to shell out $250 for a Lomo LC-A. For now I will stick to hunting the aisles of Goodwill.

Dismal Urban Excursions

I love gloomy weather - I thrive in it - so I was feeling chipper while SF was overcast. Plus the fog is great for shooting in 400 iso, though I'm sure I looked like a tourist x2 lugging around my digital Olympus and my film Pentax. Well it was a sad day for SF Giants fans, many of whom I saw pouring out of the stadium looking miserable and heading for the nearest bar. I'm not proud to say that I'm completely ignorant of the baseball world, but I'm glad that I could enjoy the dismal weather without defeat on my mind.

Missed an exit, crossed the Bay Bridge, and ended up on the decrepit and empty Treasure Island. Eh, at least we got a good view of the city line.

Ferry Building is always a favorite stop. Macaroni and Cheese from Cowgirl Creamery, Lotus Root Salad with Miso Sauce, and Tofu Chicken Patty with Radish for today's lunch.

At a vacated pier, we spotted a fantastic place to take pictures of the shore (those pics are on my Pentax and I will post them soon as they are developed). We also saw people doing some rudimentary fishing... I think this one is for dinner.

Cheerio climbing the green steps leading to Coit Tower. For a ten year-old, she's still enthusiastic as ever. People keep calling her "cute puppy", but in dog years she's old enough to be your granny.

  Refueling for the drive back... the hills of SF were a difficult climb!

Cardinal Cacti

A cute gem of a garden hidden away on campus, the Arizona Cactus Garden. Full of succulents, blooming cacti, and giant dinosaur-age plants, this treasure trove has few visitors, due to it's distance away from the main quad. Some cacti here are over two hundred years old, planted by Jane Stanford herself.

 Some Rodin sculptures from the Sculpture Garden...

The CCSR building is quite haunting on a Saturday.

Help!

This is a period of time where it's great, yet horrible to be a high school senior. The good? College decisions are out. The bad? College decisions are out. While it's a relief to be done with months of anxious waiting and praying and dreaming, the aftermath can be just as excruciating as that wait period. Just in a different way.

I suppose I should feel flattered by the bombardment of questions thrown at me when people find out which college I've been accepted to... but if anything, I feel cornered, self-conscious, and I find myself  turning to self-deprecation in order to appear humble when people express their wonderment.

"You got into ______ University? Oh my god you must be so smart!"

"Oh haha, no, I was just very, very lucky"

How does one respond to such statements without appearing big-headed? Agreeing would turn people away in annoyance, while bowing your head and waving off the matter by claiming that it was luck might convince them that perhaps you did get in by wishing on stars and therefore dismiss you. My final solution to these questions (as they are frequent, expected, and predictable) is to answer them as truthfully as possible,trying not to appear egotistical or feeling the need to disown my merit.

Ah well, 'tis the tiny, college-crazed society we live in, though I hope that these questions and judgments passed won't continue for much longer.The Beatles have nothing to do with this post, I just started to listen to them a lot again. I like the simplicity of their songs - it takes me away from all the superficial hype around colleges and admissions.


There is a life beyond getting into a good college, though being constantly pelted with questions and judged by which school one is attending may obfuscate that. Good luck with the rest of the semester, seniors.