a breakthrough in the construction work

So, onto the breakthrough, the big idea, what have you: I realized I’ve been showing too much with the construction pictures. I had this impulse to get it all in, to show the whole, giant job site, as if that was the way to convey the scale of it. Unfortunately, none of those pictures really worked. There was something missing, and the compositions were never good enough. Then, last week, I was looking at Peter Turnley’s book on paris, French Kiss, and realized that the compositions shouldn’t be perfect, and that you can’t show everything. You have to cut some of it out.

So, today, on the way home, I walked to the bus (moderately foolish, what with my leg still recovering, but I managed). I went past the construction that I like the best, and a subject that had been confounding me for weeks, before my accident. Suddenly, I was able to see it, and made some good pictures.

I’ve long believed that in film, it’s better to suggest than to show; the viewer’s imagination is better at pushing its own buttons, the ones for fear and awe and the sublime. I haven’t, up till now, figured out that that idea applies equally to my own work. I feel dumb for not realizing it sooner, but also relieved: there is still time to make some pictures.

Also: I’ve been shooting with the new lens and I have to say I really like it. Good depth of field in daylight, and just beautifully sharp. I didn’t know what I was missing.

ubud continued

So, second day in Ubud, we did considerably more walking. Markets, some temples, lots of tourists. The first three pictures are what most of the town was like. Stores selling things to tourists. There were some shops on the outside of town that sold statuary and furniture, but I’m not convinced those weren’t also for export. We walked, we drank beer, we walked some more. Didn’t buy anything but food and potables (potent and otherwise).

Despite all that, there were glimpses of real beauty; the way the statues were all dressed, the little offerings left out everywhere, the old buildings poking through and around the new. The fifty foot high god with bow and arrow at the big crossroads in town was lit at night, a beacon. I’m not sure I’d seen a lotus in bloom before. On balance, a good day. Also, I believe this was also the day I discovered Pocari Sweat, which is a Gatorade analogue. It only comes in one flavor, but it’s not bad. Especially when you’ve been walking for a bazillion hours.

(Sorry to folks on slow connections, but I really didn’t want to edit these down any further.)

the ongoing construction project (and a sunset)

I think I’ve mentioned it here before a couple times. I’m doing a series of pictures of the construction site around the new transbay terminal. I also thought I should break up the monotony of beautiful island photos. The mood and the scene really has something working there, but I think it’ll fall flat unless I get more photos of the people doing the work. The real meat of photographic legwork is getting access and gaining trust. That and schlepping gear. I’ve got a lot of that still to do.

bali part 3

Like I said in the last post, our second destination in Bali was the town of Ubud. We picked an AirBnB based on reviews and price, and hoped for the best. The first picture is the access to the house; it was down a trail through the rice fields outside of town. I knew rice was a grass, but I’d never seen it up close. When it’s not ready for harvest, it looks like any other grass (botanists, please don’t correct me; I don’t care). So, a few hundred yards from the road, and a little hard to find. That said, once there out hosts were just great. We dropped our things and headed into town for lunch.

The town, at least at first glance, seemed entirely given over to the tourist trade. I’ve been places that were in the early stages of that transformation, with a few more art galleries and hotels than seems strictly necessisary. Ubud was several stages more advanced. The early starters in the area, yoga studios, hippie cafes, and the like, had become deeply entrenched institutions, and all of the shops except the grocery store were for tourists only. I mean, there were no signs that said so, but the prices and the people in them said so. The endless touts trying to sell a taxi ride also said so.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. That day, we just went and had lunch and walked around a little. Drank beers back at the room. Talked to the other guests, and tried to plan our next day. There were a bunch of temples, and some markets that sounded interesting. With that vague outline of a plan in place, we went to bed.