Tonight was exiting as one of my friends and mentors premiered one of her projects here in San Francisco. It was also my first time going to a Photography Gallery. As an amateur photographer going to this event was extremely humbling and encouraging, the Gallery was packed with talent which humbled me in knowing I have a lot to learn, but it also gave me the ideas to work on and build specific photo projects. Looking around and looking at all the great pictures gives me something to dream about, to one day hope that I’ll be able to show my work in a gallery. The Gallery hosted and showed my friend Stella, artist John Mann and Anthony Marchetti, combined they formed a theme of Geography. Stella showed her “Family Spaces” series displaying her still life shots, Anthony Marchetti showed his “Apartment For Rent” series displaying a unique twist of empty apartments before their available for “Rent” and John Mann displayed his “Folded in Place” shots using pieces of maps in abstract ways. These three photographers all showed their unique individual series, combined to show a great story of “Geography.”
The experience going to my first Gallery Showing is one that I will never forget! Being able to support other photographers give me the hope that one day I’ll be in their shoes; celebrating, showing and being proud of the work I have accomplished. One of the biggest things I have learned from art is being able to inspire others. Looking around at the gallery tonight, looking at Stella’s friends showing their support, showing how proud they are of her, looking at other photographers examine each shot, describing what they like and the joy of accomplishment is something that will push me everyday to learn, try, fail and hopefully succeed. This feeling is something like a drug; an addiction of wanting it every minute of every day, having it and wanting it again, to never being content with just 1.
The gallery will be held at the Rayko Gallery until 1/18/10 so if you’re in the City come in and support these artists and expose yourself to some unique “Places.”
425 Third Street
San Francisco, Ca 94107
Mon: Closed
Tues-Thurs: 10:00am-10:00pm
Fri-Sun: 10:00am-8:00pm
-ML
As a sports fan I have gone to many different events, but for the most part, I tend to watch the more common American sports like Baseball, Football and Basketball. For the past couple of years and since becoming an avid Golfer, I’ve grown to love PGA events. In regards to attending these sporting events I tend to spend my money on an event I want to go and that I’m accustomed to.
Tonight for the first time, I was lucky enough to watch my first professional NHL Hockey game. One of my Best friends got a job with the San Jose Sharks a couple of months ago and invited my wife and I to watch tonight’s game. The match was between the San Jose Sharks and the Dallas Stars. Being a sports fan and living in the Bay Area, I do have some basic knowledge of the sport; I’ve never really gotten into it and was pleasantly surprised how I felt when I walked into the arena and when the puck dropped for the first time. I can recall this feeling just like the first time I watched Joe Montana at my first Football game, Mark McGuire at my first Baseball game and more recently watching Phil Mickelson/Tiger Woods for the first time. I knew some of the better-known players on the Sharks and had general knowledge on how the sport is played, so I wasn’t totally lost. As the game went on and the two teams battled for the win, they got into some heated fistfights and played super fast. During all this action I looked over to my wife and noticed how much fun she was having. The one great thing about Hockey that has over all other sports is the fast non-stop pace that keeps every spectator on the edge of their seats.
The game itself had two scores for both teams and was pushed into Overtime when a winner couldn’t be declared at the end of regulation. Overtime was intense as both teams tried to end the game with a score; both teams couldn’t close the game, which resulted into an Overtime Shootout. During the Shootout both teams were given 3 chances to score 1 on 1 with the opposing teams goalie. As exciting as the game already was, the Overtime Shootout ended in a 1-1 tie and was pushed to an even more heart pounding sudden death Shootout where each team takes turns 1 on 1 until a team scores and the other team couldn’t answer back. Unfortunately this Shoot out last 7 rounds and resulted with Dallas scoring and San Jose not being able to answer back.
As you can see not being a Hockey fan I was able to get into the game with Passion. As much as I didn’t know a lot about Hockey or the Sharks I was able to appreciate the nature of the game and root for a hometown team. My wife who rarely watches sports let alone get into it, absolutely loved the match and can’t wait to go back. I’m very appreciated how much it means to be able to take my wife to a sporting event where she stands up more than me cheers as loud as me. Tonight, even for the 2 ½ hours I was at the game, I’m very happy to be considered a fan of HOCKEY. THANKS K!
-ML
One of my favorite weeks of the entire year! Depending on what day of the week Thanksgiving falls on, the celebration always starts with my younger brothers birthday. My younger brother by 4 years was born on 11/23 and even though I have other siblings, my younger brother is my one true blood brother. (My other siblings are ½ brothers/sisters) which makes his bday unique. Following my brother’s birthday is one of few people who have made me who I am today and that’s my Grandmother. My Grandmother’s birthday is on 11/25 and I’m proud to say that she is 95 this year and still going strong. The next important date is of course Thanksgiving. My Family and I have made a strong commitment to gather as a family and be thankful every year. Also, as I have developed great friendships it’s also fun to have two friends that one has a birthday the week before my brothers 11/18 and one a day after my grandmothers 11/26. Lets just say that my two friends love to play golf and with their birthdays surrounding my normal vacation days, I get a lot of golf in.
A little background on how my family and I spend the Thanksgiving week. Depending if my grandmother or my brother’s birthday doesn’t fall on thanksgiving, we probably have two gathering, one on their birthday with more immediate family and thanksgiving with the whole family and friends. During the Bday we have the general cake and singing, but always end up ordering a ton of food. We do this because we know that a lot of cooking has to be done for Thanksgiving and its nice to have convenient comfort food before the cooking begins. One tradition that started a couple of years ago and has taken off with my family is the family POKER game. We try to keep things small, not wagering more than $5, playing tournament style and making sure payouts a generous. Yet competition can get very intense, but the joy of family company always supersedes. On occasions like this year where my grandmothers bday came before Thanksgiving, it felt as thanksgiving came early and lasted for 2 days.
On thanksgiving, my close family and I start early and begin the day watching the NFL tradition game. Once a majority of the family and outside friends makes it in, and before the EATING begins, we always start with a prayer. I’ve been raised Catholic and have been to a ton of prayers and church sessions, but every year when my Auntie begins the prayer, it reminds me of everyone that is no longer with me, people who are less fortunate and to realize how lucky I am for the life I have.
When it comes to food, I love the food at my families Thanksgiving meal, we have all the traditional food: LARGE TURKEY, stuffing, potatoes and pumpkin pie. But with all that and being Filipino, my family adds our favorite homeland food: Lumpia, Crab, Tilapia and a lot of Filipino deserts.
But just like every family get together after the food, desert and the food coma resides: the POKER begins. Now to keep things in a family perspective we play one game as a family to have fun and get loose. Our second game is always for a little more money and a family bracelet that has engraved CHAMPION. This game has the feel of something you would see on ESPN or reruns of the WSOP. The fun thing about trying to be the winner is not the money or even the bracelet, but it’s the fact that the winner can brag about their victory for an entire year. 10-12 hours later after 3rd and 4th servings after the THANKSGIVING POKER CHAMPION has been announced, the sad part begins. Time is winding down and family who don’t live in the area knows that it might be a while before they see each other again. For me its extremely sad because it marks another moment where I’m getting older and my family is changing. Its extremely hard because I know that my grandmother is taking off to go back home to Las Vegas.
All in all, every year during my Thanksgiving week, I have friends bdays, golf, families bdays and of course Thanksgiving itself it makes me feel like this is what holidays and especially families should be about. As this Thanksgiving Holiday is celebrated by millions of Americans across the world, it has given me the opportunity to thank the people closest too me and show them how much I appreciate them.
-ML
Today, I woke up watching the news as usually to hear the tragic incident on the new Bay Bridge S curve that claim its first life. At 3:30am a 56 years old Hayward truck drive delivering Pears to a local grocery store going a little over the speed limit crashed into the sidewall and his big rig fell over 200 feet to Yerba Buena Island.
Watching the news and looking at the carnage left from the crash, got me thinking about the work and the progress Caltrans has done to improve the bridge. I have read that their has been over 40 crashes in the short time the S curve has been put in. This does not include today’s incident or the incident that included a beam snapping off and crashing into 3 drivers. Its hard for me to believe that Caltrans or Bay bridge engineers were not aware of the problems the S design can cause. It makes me sick that Caltrans, the City of SF, or even the State of CA does not step in and take action in changing this section immediately or accelerating a new portion of the bridge to avoid more crashes and the loss of more lives. I understand that it takes time planning and money to rebuild a new bridge, but shouldn’t Caltrans and the engineers have planned better to replace a highly dysfunctional section of the bridge? Shouldn’t engineer’s plan/design a better section than a S curve that would lead to so many accidents? Shouldn’t they have planned for the human element? Human error may have been the cause of this incident or may be the cause of the 40 or so auto accidents, but shouldn’t these engineers and Bay Bridge officials done more research to see what a accident ratio or the possibilities of fatalities due to excessive speed? It’s hard for me to believe that these engineers and officials were naive to believe that everyone would abide by a 40mph speed limit when they’re use to driving 60mph during rush hour.
In today’s society of spending cash for absurd items, it amazes me that officials have not decided to speed up the process of completing the new bridge. It makes me wonder if we have put a dollar sign on the cost of life. How many more accidents will it cost, how many more lives must be lost, until Caltrans, the Cities of the Bay Area or the State of CA decide its time to make this bridge right!
-ML
EVERY PHOTOGRAPHERS NIGHTMARELast week the city of San Francisco was given a treat from the PGA and 24 of the top golfers in the world, as the Presidents Cup tournament was held at the public course of Harding Park. As a passionate golfer I was extremely excited for the Presidents Cup. The Presidents cup is a 4-day golf tournament that is held every two years, alternating locations from the US and places around the world other than Europe. The competitors are 12 of the top US golfers and 12 of the worlds best golfers excluding the US and Europe. Over 4 days these 24 golfers compete against each other representing their countries in 3 various match types. These types are 4-ball (each 2 man team takes turns hitting the ball), Best ball (each player plays their own ball, but only the top score from each hole from each team is recorded) and Single match play (1 on 1 best of 18, whoever has the best score per hole wins that hole). The winning team is not given any prize money as the winning side is give prize money to donate to their favorite charities.
My wife and I were one of the lucky 35,000 people to watch the sold out tournament. My wife and I came out to watch on Friday as the US team and International team were broken down to 6 matches of 4-ball with each winning team earning 1 point for their side, 17.5 points over 4 days declares the winning team.
On the Friday that we went, the first set of matches started at 10:55 am so we decided to get to the course at 9:30 so we can experience the ambiance of all the pre-game festivities, watching the players warm up, taking pictures from the vendors, hitting up the merchandise tent and watching the opening ceremonies for that day. As a golfer my favorite two golfers are Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods so I was extremely happy that the first match was with Phil and the Last match was with Tiger. These two matches were roughly about an hour and half apart so it gave me plenty of time to follow and watch Phil hit some great shots and give me enough time to head back to the first hole to watch Tiger start his day.
Throughout the day its amazing to hear the ROARS from the various sections of the course as these Pros gave Fans the show we’ve been waiting for. One moment I was watching Phil hit his shot from the Fairway and the next I’m turning my head as I can hear cheers from across the course wondering what was going on. I was also lucky to be a part of the Cheering side as a couple of amazing shots happen right in front of me and along with a hundred or so people yell in excitement. Being able to watch these players play for their country and the aura they bring as they walk on the course is something that’s hard to explain, the magical feeling knowing someone special and something special is about to happen give goose-bumps.
The long exciting day ended with the US team earning 3 ½ points to the International team earning 2 ½. My wife has never gone to watch a golf tournament so running from hole to hole watching some of the best golfers for 5+ hours was very tiring. Towards the end of the day we were lucky to find a great spot in the bleachers that surrounded 5 sections of the golf course and provided us with a screen showing action throughout the course. My wife was able to take some catnaps as we waited for golfers to get closer to finishing up their matches. At the end we jet across a couple more hole to watch matches finish up, before ending our day.
All in all the Golf world and the City of San Francisco was given an opportunity to watch an incredible tournament between two teams of players where every other week are alone in their sport where 99% of the time they loose. The Presidents cup is a unique tournament where individuals are given the opportunity to play for their country, come together as a unit and share with the world their God given skills in atmosphere where everyone wins.
-ML
I just posted a bunch of pictures to my Flickr account and emailed my family and friends to take a look at them. I started to think to myself on how my own pictures look or how I felt the first time I saw them. It’s a special feeling that’s hard to describe putting out your work and knowing that you can be proud of what you have accomplished.
I’ve been studying the world of Photography for a little over a year (2008) and for the most part still feel new and overwhelmed to all the different aspects that I still haven’t learned. It’s nice to know that I’m starting to look at the world thru a “different perspective.”
A friend of mine was looking at my pictures and wanted to know who my influences were and what type of styles I like to shoot. I never really gave it much thought and now thinking about it, it’s kinda fun thinking about why I shoot the way I do.
I would like to say that I’ve always been interested in Photography, but never really thought it would be possible and economical in the film era. Now that there has been an explosion on the digital front it has open the world for amateurs like myself to learn Photography and find a new way to express themselves.
Currently, I like to shoot in two different types: one being “Still Life” and the other “Landscape.” I definitely try to take other types of shots, like “Macro” and “Portraits”, but I haven’t done the research or haven’t experimented enough to actually enjoy it.
In terms of influences, one of my big influences for “Still Life” shots is Stella Kalaw. I’ve been lucky to have her as a teacher and as a teacher she has shown me the basics and has been patient with me in my learning process as I annoy her with my daily photo questions. On top of being a tremendous help and a great teacher, Stella Kalaw’s website is a great website that has shown me that you don’t have to look too far to find great shots. A lot of her work captivates the simplicity of daily life and brings out beauty in places where you normally wouldn’t look.
For my “Landscape” shots my big influence is San Francisco’s own Ansel Adams. I’ve been interested in his pictures for as long as I can remember. I currently love going out to as many different locations as I can with a Wide-Angle and trying to create as many Landscape shots as I can. Even though I’m nowhere close, a lot of my landscape photos are trying to imitate some of the pictures that I have seen. I haven’t had a lot of success with black/white pictures, but looking at Ansel’s pictures always encourages me to use black/white filters and use them with different subjects.
Another influence in my world that I recommend to any photographer is to participate in buying photo magazines and showing pictures online. I love going into Borders or Barnes and Nobles and picking up the latest DSLR USER or DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHER magazines and reading through what other amateurs are doing and looking at their pictures with their settings. Unfortunately these two magazines are both UK based and cost $10 in the U.S., but I still believe that these magazines are well worth it and are perfect for amateurs trying to get ideas and info on how to shoot shots.
While living in the digital world, I feel that inspirations are always out there. Looking at places like magazines, books and exploring photos online is a great, but going out talking with other photographers and learning from others is the best inspiration an amateur can find.
As I expand on my abilities as a photographer, discover new artist and techniques, I won’t forget how I started, my inspirations and everyone that has encouraged me and teach me to become a better photographer today.
-ML
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