photo outings

Went to Yosemite on Monday. Left at 1:30am, and got back at 10:30pm. Got to the park around dawn, to see if I could get some interesting light. Turns out most of the juicy vistas face east, so the lighting was about as bad as I could get for photography.

Still, it's worth it just to be stunned by all the amazing scenery. It was my fourth time, but still unbelievable. The waterfalls are huge this year because of all the snow and floods. Hetch Hetchy looks like the lake at the end of Fellowship of the Ring. Who needs New Zealand?

One bonus of getting to the park entrance at 4:45am is there's no one at the gate. They do check when you exit the park though, so if you want to save twenty bucks next time you visit, just enter and leave at 4:45am. Me — I got a parks pass instead. Plan to go back on Friday, if summer decides to finally show. They're still plowing Tioga Road.

Yesterday, went to Mission Dolores and SFMOMA.

Was disappointed to learn that the cemetery scene in Vertigo was not actually shot at the Mission, although I think the preceding arrival and interior shots were (gotta watch it again). The basilica next door makes the Mission look tiny. Not exactly grand, but nice for its size. Really, though, it was just an excuse to stop by Pancho Villa Taqueria for lunch.

SFMOMA's got a great photography exhibit on now. Basically, it's a greatest hits show from their photograph collection. And they have a very nice collection, especially of 19th Century stuff. Especially popular was a panoramic set of large prints taken in 1870 by Eadweard Muybridge from the top of Mark Hopkins' mansion on Nob Hill. Since San Francisco hasn't changed too much, the three-masted sailing ships in the docks are a trip. Makes me want to get a view camera and crank out some glass negatives.

They've got one recent painting left of Robert Bechtle. The painting is interesting in that he's gone back to his late Sixties' photorealism, this time a suburban street corner in Alameda. The difference is now the paintings take on the artifacts of digital cameras, specifically, high-end cameraphones. Chromatic noise, oversharpening leading to aliased telephone lines, and a wide angle.

In another exhibit, they have Marilyn Minter's latest stuff. I haven't followed her work before, but I like what I saw. This too is photorealism, except her paintings are based on fashion shoots gone awry. Smudged makeup, dirty feet, sweat, and pubes. But super glossy, ultra-saturated, mucho bling-bling. Love it.