Free Parking

I didn’t eat here, but this sign has two things I enjoy.  Indian cuisine and free parking.  Free parking isn’t all that easy to find in Pasadena sometimes.  For the sake of ease though, I’ll pay a few bucks to park in a garage.  It isn’t all that expensive.  Not compared to other places in the LA area.  They’re talking about installing new street meters that are electronic and take credit cards.  This is the good news.  The bad news is that these newfangled electronic dealies will also inflate their prices based on peak parking times throughout the day.  Jherks.

Ivy Wall

Yet another Holga picture I enjoyed.  I took this one as insurance because I knew I had double exposed the other wall of ivy.  I’m glad I did because I think this turned out pretty nicely.  It also looks good in black and white; too bad I shot it in color.  Maybe someday I’ll share the converted version.  For now, here it is in color, as nature intended.



Also, don't forget to check out my 365 project on Flickr. I think YESTERDAY'S picture is pretty sweet!

Accidental Art

One interesting feature of film cameras is their ability to make cool double exposures with absolutely no effort on the part of the photographer.  Just take a picture, and then take another picture.  In fact, it takes more effort to not make a double exposure than to take one.  With that being said, let’s just pretend that I did this on purpose, and didn’t forget to advance the film in my camera.  I created art!

Sure, you could do this in photoshop, but who wants to do that?  Lame.  I don't edit film pictures; it's policy.

I took this/these (and the first Holga picture I shared) at the Gamble House in Pasadena.  It’s a kind of house that is famous for its architecture, kind of like a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright.  I later learned that it was Doc Brown’s house in Back to the Future.  Pretty cool.

HOLGA!!

Now this is a momentous occasion.  My first real life FILM photograph!  Not only film, but medium format film!  How cool!

Many thanks to my friend Hannah, who (strongly would be an understatement) pushed my decision to try it out.  I’m so glad I did!  I bought a Holga, which is a “toy” camera known for interesting results based on its cheap build quality.  Interesting = art, so here we go folks.  I have a feeling this is the start of something.  That something being me shooting a ton of film and going way overboard.  I don’t generally like doing things half way, so Hasselblad here I come!  (… if I like film as much as I feel I will).  Also expect me to become a film camera snob.  “Pfft, you still shoot digital?” you’ll hear me say.  OK, maybe that's just a tiny bit too far.  Anyway, enjoy my FILM photos.  I know I do.

Heavenly Archer

After seeing Clash of the Titans (in 3D) last week I figured it was time to go ahead and post this picture.  I took it at the Huntington Gardens, and after a little research, I found out this is a statue of the Roman goddess Diana.  The statue is called Diana of the Chase, as she is a hunter.  Although she is a Roman goddess, she has a Greek equivalent, who is Artemis (she is not specifically called out in Clash of the Titans 3D, however her fellow gods are).  As she is a goddess and not human she can’t be instigating violence against the gods, but if she was a human and shooting up at the gods, it would probably be bad news for her.  

If you’ve seen the original Clash of the Titans, or the remake (which can be seen in 3D), you know that picking a fight with the Greek gods is a pretty terrible idea.  They’re gods after all, and have all kinds of powers and can crush puny humans pretty easily.  You would also know this is a bad idea if you’ve read anything about Greek mythology; if you can’t read though, you should see Clash of the Titans (in 3D) to learn that messing with gods is a bad idea.

Exif information
Model	Canon EOS 20D
Original date	2010:01:17 12:17 AM
Exposure time	1/250 sec
Focal length	21mm
F-Stop	f/8
ISO speed	ISO-100
Exposure Bias	0

*This post sponsored in part by RealD*

Uno Mas From The Huntington

I showed you the outside of one of the pagoda's at the Huntington Gardens on Tuesday so today I’m showing you the inside.  This is looking straight up towards the ceiling of the Pagoda.  There isn’t a whole lot else to say about this photo.  There was a small old Chinese lady looking at me funny when I took this picture though.  I wondered at the time if she thought I was disrespecting her in some way.

I like the patterns in this picture.  You don’t see extravagance in ceilings enough these days.

Exif information
Model	Canon EOS 20D
Original date	2010:01:17 11:05
Exposure time	1/6 sec
Focal length	10mm
F-Stop	f/8
ISO speed	ISO-400
Exposure Bias	0

Huntington's Pagoda

My Dad and Stepmom came to visit me in LA last month and among other things, we visited the Huntington Botanical Gardens near Pasadena.  It is a pretty cool place and interesting because of the broad range of gardens.  It has twelve different types of gardens; everything from a Japanese garden to a Chinese garden!  Seriously, it ranges from desert gardens to jungle gardens, and all sorts of gardens in between.

This picture is from the Chinese garden, which is one of the largest classical Chinese gardens outside of China.  This traditionally styled Chinese Pagoda is the Pavilion of the Three Friends, which refers to the ‘three friends of winter’ in Chinese culture.  These three friends are bamboo, pine, and plum blossoms.

It was cloudy that day, so the fact that some blue came through in the clouds is pretty cool.  There are a few things I like about this picture (hence me taking it), but I’ll let you all decide what your favorite parts are on your own.

Exif information
Model	Canon EOS 20D
Original date	2010:01:17 11:01
Exposure time	1/200 sec
Focal length	22mm
F-Stop	f/8
ISO speed	ISO-100
Exposure Bias	0