Last night’s show and daily cred…

Last night’s Pure Plastic opening was enlightening; looking at photos taken with a $20 plastic camera makes you realize that the art is created behind the eyepiece, not in the camera or the film. The exhibit runs until January 31st so if you missed the opening, go by and take a look.

Two LOMO-SF members had photos on display, you can check out their other works at http://www.peculiarplanet.com and at http://www.wluo.org. There were quite a few LOMOs snapping away at the show, I’ll try to get mine developed this week and post some pictures.

The SF Photo Centerhosted the opening and is hosting the exhibit until January 31. The center is run by the San Francisco parks and recreation department - they offer photo classes, a great dark room, and exhibit space. The print room was enormous compared to the dinky little print room that I used at Laney College - there had to be 40 enlargers and 7 or 8 chemistry sinks, with lots of elbow room. Mark and I engaged in a photomacho contest - taking pictures in a dark room with a LOMO and seeing whose shutter finger could hold out the longest. I gave up after a minute and a half - besides, I was balancing the camera on the rounded edge of a sink and the camera slipped, ruining the shot.

Laney’s print room was a long narrow room with two rows of sinks in the middle of the room and 16 enlargers along the walls. One old safelite in the corner had to illuminate the whole room, so picking the enlarger station nearest the safelight was a good idea if you wanted to see what you were doing. Timing is critical on prints, so having a timer handy is crucial. Laney had one standard wall clock on either wall, and I remember squinting at the clock trying to see exactly where the big hand was for multi-minute exposures.

The SF Photo center has a safelite clock visible from anywhere in the room; that minor detail would have made printing so much easier!

I’m seeing more and more pictures of a grounded fishing boat named the “Point Reyes” out in, of all places, Point Reyes. It’s somewhat conspicuous, but by the number of pictures of this boat I’ve seen out there, I think I need to get a little more off the beaten track when taking pictures - or at least try for a different perspective!

I like Declan McCullagh’s version the most.

Just when I was getting my camera habit under control, Will had to bring along his Zorki 4 rangefinder with a turret viewfinder. It’s a nice looking camera with a solid, classic feel. I miss shooting with a rangefinder; they’re quiet, discreet, and seem to inspire a different kind of photography. Instead of worrying about matrix metering and multiple exposure modes, I can use Sunny 16 rules when shooting outside and concentrate on composition. With print film, there’s a lot of latitude to be had, so if you’re off a stop, it doesn’t really matter — as long as you overexpose.

I should find the time to adjust the meter on my Canonet QL 17 GIII. It’s got a better lens than most Soviet rangefinders, it’s smaller, and has a great feel. Then again, Will’s camera had a pretty cool-looking 35mm Jupiter-12 lens, which is supposed to be one of the better Soviet copies - and something my Canonet can’t match…

3 years ago, I was working for a start-up music portal, coming home late after a long-ish commute and getting take-out most nights of the week. Today, I got my son fed and down for a quick nap. While he was down, I jumped in the shower, shaved and dressed. I went into the kitchen, found a pound and a half of stew meat and peas in the freezer, a turnip, 2 carrots and an onion in the refrigerator, white potatoes in the pantry, and tossed them into the crockpot. In 8 hours, the house will smell wonderful and dinner will be ready, with 10 minutes work, tops. Add a loaf of crusty sourdough bread and a nice chianti and dinner is served. It’ll be even better in a day or two, when the juices get a chance to really mingle.

Working out of your house rules. Not commuting rules even more. I used to spend at least 2 1/2 hours each day getting to and from work, time that is worth way more than money these days.