Photo credit: Raul Keally

I've caught a glimpse of this alley between Townsend St. and Bluxome St. on occasion and have wanted to take some photos of the graffiti.  Today I made my way down Townsend to check it out before heading to develop my film.  The shots that I grabbed were actually taken with a roll of very old Kodak color 35MM film.  I was actually surprised that the pictures came out.  The graffiti art in this alley is actually pretty incredible - some very talented artists used the entire side of two buildings for several pieces.  Photos can be seen here.

Since the weather was so incredible today I decided to head down to Adolph Gasser to rent a lens for my Canon EOS Rebel G SLR so I could venture out and grab some photos.  One area that I've been wanting to go for some time is to the vacant and condemned warehouses located along 3rd street on your way towards Hunters Point.  I actually took some great shots with 35MM BW film but for some reason when it came time to develop the film, the roll was blank.  I did however take two rolls of color film and was actually surprised that one of them turned out since it was at least 5 years old.  Photos can be found here.

Photo credit: rkeally

Rachel and I participated in our very first Valentine's Day Pillow Fight flash mob event last night in Justin Herman Plaza and it was definitely a genuine SF-only type experience.  The Pillow Fight Club web site details rules around the event along with video from 2009.  Not only were we surprised by the turnout, with people coming from all over the Bay Area but there were still people pillow fighting three hours after the event started at 6:00 PM.

Both Rachel and I decided to document the event with video and photos rather than join the masses in swinging pillows. Rachel positioned herself above the crowd, standing on stairs to shoot video from the flip cam.  I roamed the crowd and grabbed a bunch of great shots.  After about an hour of watching people of all ages and sobriety levels vent their possible Valentine's frustration or happiness, we decided to leave the chaos and grab dinner at La Mar Cebicheria.  

What was hilarious is after spending a couple of hours eating dinner and enjoying beverages at the bar at La Mar, we made our way towards the Embarcadero Muni station and were surprised to see pillow fighters still at it.  Justin Herman Plaza was littered by every type of pillow filling you can imagine and discarded pillows littered the streets and plaza like dead soldiers.

Next year - Rachel and I will come equipped with pillows, breathing masks and goggles to take part in the event.

Every year the San Francisco Giants host a FanFest event to give fans a chance to purchase season and single game tickets, take self-guided tours of the ballpark and get a close-up view of their favorite Giants players.  This was my first FanFest and I decided to go after my photo field trip to Treasure Island was cancelled.  Admission is free and even though it was raining off and on today, a ton of fans showed up.

My goal was to get a few baseballs signed by players and decided to get in a very long line.  After about an hour and a half of waiting I was told that based on the pace of the line, it was likely that I and those behind me were most likely not going to be able to get an autograph by closing time (3:00 PM).

So even though the only autograph I saw today was my own on a receipt for baseballs - I still had a fun time seeing the Giants locker room and dugout up close.  I grabbed a few photos that can be seen on flickr.

I went on my very first photowalk this past Saturday with Caliber SF and I met some great local photogs. Frank Chu was even representing and actually made it easier to keep the group of about 30-40 photographers together because of his patented sign (with Laughing Squid logo on the backside).

What's great is looking at the photowalk Flickr feed and seeing all the different styles and viewpoints taken by everyone.  Since I'm just starting to learn the capabilities of my digital SLR, I was hoping to glean some tips and tricks by some in the group but unfortunately didn't have the opportunity.  What I did do was force myself to shoot fully manual to start adapting to shutter and f stop settings.

The above shot was taken on Montgomery street as we walked through the financial district.  It's hard not to shoot the Transamerica building since it seems to be a camera magnet - so I tried to do something a little different.

This Saturday will be my next scheduled outing with a group of photographers as three Photo 51 classes from City College of San Francisco descend on Treasure Island for our very fist field trip.  Steven Raskin, the photography department chair as well as several instructors and student aids will be on-hand to answer what will surely be a ton of questions.  Really looking forward to it.

By the way, yesterday I was given a tour of the photography department facilities at City College and was pretty impressed.  The computer labs are furnished with Macs running Adobe CS4 and Lightroom. There is a large developing room with about 20 enlargers and the department allows students to reserve and take out various photo equipment.  So far, I'm really enjoying the program at City College. 

Watching the pictures and videos stream in via Twitter and on Television of the aftermath of the 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti this past Tuesday at 4:53 PM has been very sobering.  After seeing several ReTweets claiming that an immediate donation of $10 could be given to the Red Cross simply by sending a text message, I decided to participate.  Taken straight from the Red Cross web site you can "text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief for Haiti".  You should receive several follow-up text messages after your initial text confirming a $10 charge to your mobile phone and opt-in request to receive future messages from Red Cross International.

The devastation in Haiti is something that is just hard for me to comprehend given that I've never experienced such a catastrophe, which this situation in Haiti truly is.  The feeling I have now is similar to what I felt during Hurricane Katrina in that I physically want to donate my time an energy to helping the victims.  After a little research tonight I learned that those that wish to volunteer in-person during disaster relief efforts are not able to assist unless they have some sort of disaster relief experience.  The Center for International Disaster Information web site is where one would go to fill out an application for relief assignment.  Details on what types of experience and expertise is listed for those that are interested (ex. medicine, communications logistics, water/sanitation engineering).

Twitter has played yet another important role in this International event that has set off a windfall of relief efforts from the U.S., China, Canada, France, Germany and even the Dominican Republic which has been known to have strained relations with Haiti.  Similar to the voice that Twitter gave to Iranians during the protested election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June of last year - Twitter is now helping to mobilize relief efforts in Haiti.  Twitter is known by most for being part of the "social media" fabric today but what I see more is a new communications tool that has the ability to mobilize a very large audience very quickly like no other medium ever has.  Twitter is a powerful platform that is incredibly useful for quickly tapping the consensus of a large interactive community to effect real change.

Twitter takes advantage of what is the fragmentation in media (all forms) and offers one singular communication platform.  Twitter is free, easy to access, uncluttered and immediate.  Of course,  Twitter is starting to see a growing legion of Spam artists, etc.. but the good thing is that users have control over who they follow.

Not to lose sight of the disaster facing the people in Haiti, I find it fascinating how news and information now makes its way to people.  For all the questions that remain about what Twitter may become - it has already provided an invaluable service to people across the World. 

Although it seems like the donation page is currently down, you can donate money to the relief effort in Haiti through Red Cross.  

This is the first movie I’ve seen in a very long time that has gotten me excited enough to want to go back and watch it a second time.  Although the first weekend ticket sales may have been lower than expected – I’ll go out on a limb and say that this movie will shatter prior sales records and take its place in history as the highest revenue-generating film of all time.   Watching Avatar in 3D is more than watching a quality movie by a director who knows what he’s doing, it’s like jumping on a new ride at an amusement park that delivers at every turn.  I found myself saying ‘wow’ out loud in the movie theater while encountering animals, insects and landscapes that were completely believable in a CG world.  The 3D effects in this film, the story, acting and newly created world of Pandora provides for a great experience that anyone should appreciate.  I imagine that many guys will do just what I did and go home to grab their wife (or girlfriend) and head out to watch this movie a second time.  It seems like there has been a tidal wave of positive feedback on Twitter which is always a good sign for a movie – often signaling financial success.   Rachel and I will be checking the IMAX 3D version this Saturday!  Update: As of January 7th, Avatar moved up to the #2 spot for highest grossing movie of all time worldwide.

Next Wednesday I'll be registering for the Spring 2010 semester at City College of San Francisco which starts in January.  I'll be taking Photography courses exclusively to fulfill an Associate of Science degree (14 classes) in Photography.  I'm pretty excited since Photography is something I'm very passionate about and I would like to master the full functionality of my camera and improve the quality of my photos.  I'm going for evening courses so that I can work and go to school at the same time.  Rachel is excited as well since she will be able to participate in some of my course work.  For those that don't know, the Public Affairs work that Rachel has done for the Coast Guard has given her the opportunity to work with amazing camera equipment and software to edit photos for placement in Coast Guard publications.  Be on the lookout for some great photos next year!

I had a great time this past weekend attending my high school's 20 year reunion festivities.  I went to high school at Monte Vista in Danville, CA and did not attend my 10 year reunion.  It was great to see people after 20 years and catch-up.  The planning committee did a great job and hats off to Bryan Hansen and team as well as James Qutami for putting together the video.  I wish there was more time to catch-up with old friends but at least I got emails and contact info from those that I had lost touch with.  One of the things I realized this past weekend is that social networking sites like Facebook have really brought people together that may have otherwise lost touch with one another like no other platform or service has ever done.  Facebook is kind of like a living reunion allowing people to find long lost friends from childhood.  It's a good thing.  Check out the pics here.

The last couple weeks have been pretty tough due to the passing of my stepfather Paul Anthony Makarczyk.  The day of his funeral service (Oct 17, 2009) I prepared some words of rememberance in the event that that one of Paul's brothers (Carl or Tony) were unable to give them.  As it turned out, both Carl and Tony delivered their eulogies and I thought each did a great job being very sincere and thoughtful given the circumstances.  To be honest, the day Paul's funeral service was held was the toughest day for not only me but for my brother and mother.  I don't think I would have been able to stand up and deliver words of rememberance given how emotional I was.

I thought I would include here what I planned on delivering that day:

On behalf of my mother and brother, I would like to thank friends, family and neighbors for all your support and for coming today to celebrate Paul’s life.

Knowing Paul, he wouldn’t want us sitting around today shedding tears over his death but instead raising a glass and enjoying some food in the company of friends and family.

Paul was a good husband to my mother and stepfather to my brother and I.   I learned valuable life lessons from Paul that have undoubtedly contributed to the success and happiness that I now have in my life.

He taught me the meaning of hard work – whether it was by watching him head to work early in the morning for weeks at a time or the fact that he rarely and possibly never called in sick to work.  He taught me the importance of financial responsibility.

Wherever you were in the house you knew where Paul was because of his heavy step or his joyful laugh or his cheering on a good play in football.  And speaking of football, I believe that my passion for football comes from Paul and all those Sundays my brother and I spent watching 49er games and cheering them on. I can still hear the lawn mower or weed eater or the sound of sheers trimming the bushes as Paul tended to the yard.  He worked so hard on his yard – I think it was something he enjoyed and took pride in.

Paul spoke his mind freely and would never beat around the bush.  Sometimes around the dinner table during a pause in conversation he would say…”You know….” And what he said next would either be something that required you to cover the ears of the youngest child at the table or make you sit back in your chair to soak up his honest and down-to-earth wisdom.

Underneath the tough exterior of a man that would brave sub-freezing temperatures on oil tankers sailing the Pacific Ocean was a man that was very kind-hearted and generous.  He had a love for animals.  He would constantly keep the birdhouse outside the living room window filled with birdseed and sit back to watch the quail, blue jays and a countless number of other birds feeding.

He was spontaneous – whether it was jumping in the car with my mom to take a road trip to destinations throughout California or going out one afternoon only to come back with a brand new car to surprise my mom.  Paul and my mother took several trips from Russia to Peru and New York to Seattle.

The one story I wanted to share was when my mother and Paul bought me my first bike.  It was back in elementary school and I needed a bike to get to school.  One Christmas I was happy to discover a large rectangular box and after opening was even more pleased to find a shiny new bicycle.   It was a blue bike with a banana seat and big winged handlebars.  Now, we could have gone out to buy a bicycle lock at any bike store – but no, Paul decided he was going to make me a bike lock.  He took the thickest chain you could imagine that seemed to weigh 15 pounds – I still have no idea where he got it, but it could have been from our magic garage, which seemed to have every tool and material MacGyver would need to save the Earth.  Paul took a heavy piece of canvas and stitched it around the chain to prevent my bike from getting scratched when I locked it.  He then got a huge padlock – a Master lock with a big key.  To this day, I remember how heavy that lock was to transport 7 blocks to school and all the stares I got from the kids when I locked up my bike.  It was like I was securing a Ferrari or Lamborghini.  I also remember how reassured that lock made me feel knowing that there was no way anyone was going to steal my bike.

I think Paul accomplished what he set out to do – which was to work very hard and be respected in a career that could give him everything he needed to provide for himself and his friends and family.  Paul was a generous provider and I think will always be remembered for what he gave all of us.