Crimson heart

Red is a color full of power, passion and life. It is used to grab people's attention as in the red traffic light or a red stripe on the curb to indicate that parking is prohibited.
Red is a lucky color in the Chinese culture as well. Playing with this theme and combining it with the upcoming Valentines Day results in this picture at left.

Flower child

I decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather today to wander through the city of San Francisco.

The statue of Mercury (at left) was resting on California street, which is my favorite street because it is very steep and provides excellent views of San Francisco. Someone had the brilliant idea of placing little pink flowers in his left hand. The whole scene was just asking to be photographed, so I obliged.

Wide angle

Welcome to my atelier/library/gym/all purpose room!

I wanted to test out my wide-angle lens today. It's pretty cool because it can capture so much of an interior space.

Colors

Although it has stopped raining, umbrellas still make very colorful subjects. The colors teal and purple are featured at left.

One website that tells you your personal color based on your birthdate is Colorstrology. Try it out, it can be fun.

Raindrops

Curiously it suddenly stopped raining when I snapped this shot in GGP.

I made a stop at the AIDS Memorial Grove as well. As a part of our community project for Beta Alpha Psi, I recall assisting with gardening work on the weekends.

From above

This photo was taken from a lounge. I like how the red line leads the viewer's eye to the people standing at the crosswalk. The man especially catches the eye because he's standing on a yellow square.

Weatherwise we finally received a respite from the rain today, so I was able to go shoot some pics after Italian. Awesome!

It was funny. As I walked around, I noticed so many other photographers roaming the streets with serious cameras around their necks.

Wet wet wet

I took the MUNI out to downtown today. The passengers were packed like sardines in the bus, which naturally arrived behind schedule.

Such situations cause me to wax poetic about the public transportation systems in Europe. For starters the network is very extensive in Germany at least. It connects large cities and even the tiniest medieval towns in the countryside. City slickers could hop on a train and be in another metropolis in no time. That's what I miss the most about Europe.

Perhaps that is why I find myself drawn to the Ferry Building - because it has a European flair about it. Here above you see a picture of the Ferry Building taken while I was balancing a camera bag on my shoulder, an umbrella in my left hand and a camera in my right.

Something smells fishy around here

Oh look! There's a fish in a pot. No wonder!

Politics as usual

I caught a Democratic presidential candidate debate on CNN the other night between the three frontrunners - Clinton, Obama & Edwards.

It was quite interesting to see them verbally defend themselves against attacks. Being lawyers probably helped all of them in this regard.

I noticed Edwards was struggling to get some words in edgewise between Clinton and Obama. By the way, below is a funny video of Edwards on David Letterman. Pay attention to part where Letterman asks to mess up Edwards' hair!

Blooms

Experimented with a black backdrop today. Also tested out a new Photoshop trick I learned today from a Photojojo tutorial.

It's pretty cold today and actually rained yesterday, so my desire to venture out on a photo shoot has diminished. Once the temperatures improve, I intend to get out there to capture the city's nooks and crannies with my camera.

Memento

Valentine's Day is coming up, hence the heart-shaped mementos featured above.

By the way, a film tip for those of you who like a bit of mystery, comedy and romance all in one film, watch Hitchcock's "Rebecca". This was his only film that won an Oscar. It's about a naive young woman who falls in love with an moody wealthy man whose first wife Rebecca has died mysteriously. The plot revolves around the protagonist's search for the truth behind Rebecca's death.

I've been watching films from the 1940's and 1960's lately and noticed how timelessly dressed all of the characters are.

San Francisco's Botanical Gardens

Welcome to SF's Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park. Admission is free! Please do not feed the squirrels, skateboard, step on the plants, pluck any plants, play ball, bring dogs, ride scooters or ride bicycles here as the sign below so clearly shows. (Aside: I wonder who designs these little icons.)

It was a bit windy today, but otherwise skies were blue and weather was nice.

Buon giorno

Today I had my first Conversational Italian class at City College. The time and location were ideal. It was a pretty full classroom with 29 students. We introduced ourselves in Italian, learned to count and were taught simple grammar rules.

The teacher hails originally from Lucca, Italy and shares funny stories about the Italians and the Italian culture. She commented that Americans like Italy because the Italians are generally so laid back, however Americans may have a different opinion if they actually had to live there.

The students in the class were very diverse. Most of them truly wanted to be there to learn the language and a select few needed to take the class for credit. As in every class you have the show-offs and know-it-alls who don't even belong in the class because they are too advanced. For example, there was a student behind me who was conjugating the verb "to be" aloud to himself before the teacher even got to it.

As part of the lesson we also watched a video that was made in the 70's. One funny scene had a woman asking for a phone in a restaurant. It was probably supposed to be a type of cell phone, but it was larger than a brick and looked really bulky next to her ear.

Below is a picture of the classroom from the back and also a picture of coat hooks.

All for one and one for all!

Happy Friday everyone!
I'm continuing with the shoe theme today. (Aside: I really like the warm crimson colored background for the black shoes.)
Each of these shoes were purchased at different points in my life and carry their own stories. The shoes with the tan interior are the oldest, but also most comfortable. I picked up the flats with the bow and patent leather tips at a shoe store in Frankfurt, while the newest and tallest pair were bought in San Francisco upon my return.

What stories do your shoes tell?

It's show time!

It's funny where inspiration can hit. Most of the time it's when you least expect it, are relaxed and doing your own thing.
Today for example, I felt like playing with saturation in Photoshop, killer heels and pearls.
Here you see the results.

Busy as a bee

A letter I have been yearning for has finally arrived! This kicked off a chain of events which included opening boxes containing a GPS device and a mounting device. Now I've got to figure out how to customize this thing.

BTW, in the picture above my bookcase is basking in the rays of the afternoon sun.

Tea time

I had dim sum* for lunch today in Chinatown. It's kind of greasy, but indulging once in a while should be fine. Just for the record, I don't like chicken feet. Instead, one of my favorite dishes is the dim sum wrapped in dried bean curd. Be sure to drink plenty of hot tea to wash it all down.




*Here's a dim sum guide http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/gourmet/dimsum/dimsum.jsp

How to be an artiste

To be an artiste, first learn the language.
Here's a made up example - "This image explores the creative potential that resides in each of us." In plain terms, it's a picture of colored pencils on a sketch pad.

Sundaying

Aloha!

Yep, I'm still keeping up with my blog and a picture-a-day initiative in case anyone is wondering. :-) But I will be honest. Finding something to take a picture of and trying to be creative every day are gargantuan tasks!
However, since it is Sunday, a day meant for lazing about and sleeping in, I will leave you to contemplate this picture of a waterfall I captured in Golden Gate Park. May it bring you inner peace.

Simple

The weather in San Francisco finally cleared up today and the sun also made an appearance, so I spontaneously decided to venture out to test my camera. Armed with my trusty black Manhattan Portage shoulder bag, the camera, and the book "Walking San Francisco", I set out to "see" the familiar streets of SF in a new light.

I spent most of my time strolling the Embarcadero where extremely nice waterfront promenades, complete with bench seating and hanging flower baskets are accessible to the public 24 hours a day. You can soak up some rays here if you don't mind the wind.

Being at the Ferry Building, I could not resist peeking inside at the charming shops and specialty stores. Everything about the Ferry Building screams "Organic!", "High-end!", "Do I really need this or is it just packaged attractively and smell really good?" All facetiousness aside, it is quite a nice market that I would highly recommend to locals and tourists alike. To find out more, click the following link http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/
(Tip: For organic pastries that taste just right and natural (i.e. not sickeningly sweet) try Frog Hollow Farm)

As I was walking along, with a camera around my neck, and book in hand, a funny thing happened. In fact, it happened twice. I was asked if I needed directions. Me - a native San Franciscan! Apparently the Scottish flag patch on my black bag sent the message that I might possibly be from that land. A second time, I was standing at an intersection thumbing through the book when I was approached with an offer of help. Both times I graciously declined and thanked the people. They may be wondering nonetheless what this strange person is doing exploring and taking photos of her own city. Horrors! Only tourists do that!

By following the walk recommended in the book, I actually was led to a new little corner I had never seen before. With nice clean wooden benches, a small stream and plenty of trees, this public space was an extension of Levi Strauss Plaza. This goes to show - you learn something new everyday!

Taking stock of my excursion, it's clear to me that I need to pay attention to the available lighting much more when I am taking pictures and learn to adjust my camera settings accordingly. Also I've learned that I look like a tourist! It's quite fun. You should do it sometime as well.

Fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables extend your life span according to many scientific studies. Here's a picture of leafy green veggies we're having for tonight's dinner.

Floating

One of the rubber duckies shown above is sharp, but the other isn't. I've still got to learn how to make everything in focus using my new camera. Both of these rubber ducks were brought over from Germany.

Rear view

Figuratively speaking, rear view mirrors play an important role in our lives. Looking back forces us to contemplate highlights in our lives or wrong turns, both of which help us improve on our next journey.

Maybe a wrong turn led to a dead-end or forced us to reevaluate the route we chose. Or maybe a "wrong" turn wasn't all that wrong because it led us to a place with a nice view.

Have you looked in the rear view mirror lately?

New arrival!

My much anticipated new arrival (Canon digital SLR) was delivered yesterday evening at an impressive shipping weight of approximately 5 lbs. Here I am cradling it in my hands and testing out its capabilities.

There is still much I need to learn about how to be a good photographer and make the most of all the bells and whistles built into this little bundle of joy. With the trusty guidebook at my fingertips and a helpful photo forum online, I hope to unravel the secrets of photography. ;-)

Surprises

Life is full of little surprises when you least expect it. Some are nice and some are not so nice.

For instance, someone happened to view my website www.glendychangallery.com by accident, liked it and communicated this back to me. (Very nice!)

On the other hand, I had to take the bus halfway around the city today to pick up some textbooks because of a lack of disclosure in an email confirmation I received. (A pain!) Relatively speaking though, that was merely a small annoyance to be soon forgotten. As the closing song in Life of Brian recommends, we should "always look on the bright side of life." Start by checking out the beauty in this orange colored bell pepper!

Quality time in Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park showed some signs of the storm today as I power-walked my way through the park. Here you can see a detail of a light post with pine needles and pine cones strewn haphazardly by the whims of the wind. Despite an overcast sky and saturated rain clouds that threatened to release its burden any second, bicyclists, joggers, dog walkers, baby stroller pushers, power walkers, rollerbladers, skateboaders, exhibitionists and that guy who plays the didgeridoo every Sunday were not deterred.

Black and white

Just finished watching the silent, black and white film "Metropolis" directed by Fritz Lang in 1926. My thoughts? I liked Lang's other film "M" better. The music in Metropolis at times did not really match the mood or action of the film.

Regardless, it was still interesting to note how the silent actors had really dramatic eyes that stand out due to make up. Plus, they had to carry most of the film based on their movements alone.

Sturm und Drang

The weather's been wreaking havoc in the San Francisco Bay Area today. The wind howls and the rain pounds the house and windows. Take a look at this picture of a garden fence blown over by the wind.

SFgate, the online presence of the San Francisco chronicle highlighted the storm's impact here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/04/MN87U9H6F.DTL&feed=rss.news

My favorite is the one about closing down the zoo to prevent potential animal escape! At least the streets will be hosed down after this. SF streets are notorious for certain unsavory smells.

When the munchies hit...

... raid the snack pantry. Hopefully it will be well stocked. Mine was running low, hence the trip to Trader Joe's. (It rhymes!)

Trader Joe's is an alternative grocery store with heavy branch concentration on the west and east coasts of the United States. Today's pictures show the huge salty snack aisle and a drink display.

Sunrise - San Francisco style

Apparently I will need to vary the themes of the pictures I take, otherwise it will be a drag for anyone who follows this thing. This was a tip from someone who also did a 365 pictures a day thing. Here's a link if you're interested in starting a project like this as well

http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/

Today's theme is waking up early in the morning to catch dramatic skies like this one here. The two best times to take pictures are at the crack of dawn or at dusk. One non-photo related advantage of waking up early is to be able to fit in a workout prior to the start of the work day. Drag yourself out of bed early one day and you may just learn to like it!

It's a beautiful day

This being the very first day of the new year, I thought I would take a picture of something bursting with new life, like these fresh green tendrils here.

This is a tendril of the chayote plant, which is also known in Asian cultures as the closed palm squash because it is said to resemble the closed palms of Buddha.