Month: September 2007

Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

— John Lennon

So lately I’ve been thinking alot about John Lennon. I’m not sure why exactly except for maybe the fact that I’ve always seen him as a such creative genius and I think that where his genius shined most was when he had love and collaboration. And lately especially I’ve really been interested in the idea of photographic collaboration. Lennon’s collaboration with Paul McCartney is legendary, of course, and then his follow up collaboration with Yoko Ono and the celebration of love as fuel for the creative process is just a beautiful thing in my book. He certainly was and is famous both then and now.

And so while I was out there shooting the How Berkeley Can You Be parade today, I was thinking, damn, I wish I was John Lennon. But then I thought a little bit more about it for a bit. And, well, first off, depending upon which God you might believe in, and take your pick from about a dozen or so of the popular ones, there’s a good chance that John Lennon is suffering in some sort of eternal hell right now. And well, even if you don’t believe in a God, still, John Lennon wasn’t out there taking photos of the How Berkeley Can You Be parade today now was he?

And so one of the things that I decided today was that it is better to be alive with a digital SLR than famous and dead. No matter how creative you were back in the good old days when you were still alive.

Here’s a link to a set of 20 or so of my shots from today’s parade. I’ll be adding more to this set through my archive in the weeks ahead.

1507 Park St
(between Santa Clara Ave & Times Way)
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 522-8108

Just got back from Ole’s Waffle House in Alameda on Park Street. I’ve long admired the beautiful neon sign that adorns the outside of Ole’s, but had never actually eaten there before this morning.

After eating there this morning I have to say that Ole’s is definitely one of the best spots for breakfast in the Bay Area. The waffles especially were delicious and the service was fast and enthusiastic. On top of it all, the prices were very reasonable. I got the waffle special which included a waffle, egg, and two strips of bacon for $6. It’s kind of a no frills American breakfast cafe thing, but if that’s your thing, then by all means check it out.

One of the things that I especially like about Ole’s is that it is open early. It opens at 5:30 a.m. on weekdays and 6:00 a.m. on weekends. It is also a very large restuarant with ample seating. Lots of people took their kids there, they seemed to have plenty of high chairs. William, my son, wanted to sit at the counter instead of a table so we did, but there were ample available tables when we arrived at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Even with a large seating though Ole’s does fill up a bit later in the morning and when we left at 8:30 a.m. or so there was a line waiting outside. This line would definitely be worth the wait though.

More on Ole’s from Mr. Breakfast and Yelp.

Oh and if you want to see what the excellent neon sign at Ole’s looks like both in the day and at night click through on the photo above and then hover over it.

Photowalking.org ? Marin Headlands Photowalk

Mark your calendar for another SF Photowalk on October 9th. This time we’ll be hitting the Marin Headlands. There is a great sunset there, along with great abandoned old military bunkers and one of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge at night around.

More details to follow.

Trevor Carpenter, who runs the photowalking.org site will be up for this one as well.

Photo by dbcohen.

Zooomr | How To Order Moo Cards From Zooomr

My pal Prophead has a great post out on how to order Moo card for your Zooomr stream.

Come on out and join us for a night exploring graffiti art and graffiti photography next Friday night, October 5th in Oakland.

The evening will start out with a free showing of the one hour documentary Piece by Piece in the garden at the Oakland Museum of California. There is also some great art to shoot there in that garden as well. Arrive early to shoot the art and get a good lawn seat for the film.

More on the film from it’s website:

“Take a journey into San Francisco’s mysterious graffiti underground. Witness the birth of the movement as told by the people that lived it. Piece by Piece puts you alongside the graffiti writers, police, and local San Franciscans affected by this misunderstood art form. Documenting the last 20 years of creation and destruction, you’ll hear the stories and adventures depicting this elaborate movement for the first time in history.”

There will be a Q&A; after the film.

Once the Q&A; is done we will head out from there to shoot some graffiti sites in Oakland. Bring your camera, tripod, flashlight, colored gels, and whatever else you’d like to bring for photographing graffiti at night. Photowalks are for everyone so even if you don’t have a SLR feel free to come out and hang out for a night dedicated to graffiti as art and photographing graffiti.

I’ve started a little set of my own of graffiti art and murals here. To see what is probably the best set around of East Bay graffiti art, check out Funk and Jazz’s East Bay graffiti set here. GypsyRock also has great Bay Area graffiti shots here.

Upcoming.org event page here.

Just saw a note on Pownce from my friend Daniel Burka about an insanely cool site devoted to collecting Star Wars figures. It’s the largest collection of these figures online that I’ve ever seen and a really well designed site. Check it out!

My friend Dave Sifry is organizing a Photowalk this Saturday in New York City if you happen to live in or be in the Big Apple.

From Dave:

Come join me and a bunch of folks who are getting together this Saturday for a photowalk across the Brookyn Bridge from Brooklyn into Manhattan, and the continued with lunch, and a stroll around the lower east side. Saturday looks to be a beautiful day (current forecast says Sunny, Highs of 75 degrees) so I’m sure we’ll have a great time and get lots of great photos.

Details (including RSVP): http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/269765

Where: We’re meeting at the walkway entrance is next to the Federal Court Building in Brooklyn. There are stairs on Cadman Plaza East and Prospect Street or a ramp entrance on Johnson and Adams Streets. You can get there by subway: take the A train to High Street. Give me a call at 415 846-0232 if you’re lost or are wandering around.

When: 10AM on Satuday September 29th. We’ll grab some lunch afterwards when we get to the Manhattan side, so all in all the walk will probably end around 2PM.

What to bring: Bring yourself, and whatever you like to record the moment – camera, video camera, or your friendly instamatic! All experience levels are a-ok, from beginner to expert pro.

The Ford Galaxie 500 might be my favorite car to shoot. I can’t walk by one without shooting it. I’ve shot this one before. It lives in South Park here in San Francisco and I’ve seen in there for the past two years or so. It gets moved from time to time but it always seems to be there.

The other cool thing about the Galaxie 500 is that there is a great band named after the car.

A bunch of us shot this car on Tuesday night when we went out for our South Beach photowalk. To see more shots from our photowalk click through on the Photowalk092507 tag.