december sixth two thousand ten

Colours are what
keep me alive
colours are what
to hold in my head

colours are where my
my old meets new
colours are where my
my brain finds blue

november twenty-second two thousand ten

swirl. sniff. chug.

november twenty-first two thousand ten

front and center.

november twentieth two thousand ten

turning over a wet leaf.

november fourteenth two thousand ten

this weekend my lovely friend, tina, agreed to roam around the marina with me as I practiced taking pictures of human subjects. I'm pleased with the way the shots came out considering I gave her little direction (my fault), and this was the first time tina had served as an unprofessional model (not her fault.) 

it's definitely challenging as a photographer to be able to put your subject at ease, give useful direction to your subject, and quickly envision different ways to approach a shot. for these exact reasons I've typically stuck with taking still life photos. but, I can't turn down free models and good company. 

november third two thousand ten

despite my growing distaste for enormous crowds and well, people, I decided to take part in the Giants World Series Championship Parade because it is/was a historic event and I don't like being left out of things. I'm really glad I forced myself to go although the parade was extremely congested, the weather sweltering, and I couldn't see a damn thing due to my diminutive stature. the energy swirling within the city's civic center was contagious and one couldn't help but feel a part of something bigger than just the celebration of a sports team, a city, or a people. 

or maybe it was the weed.

october thirty-first two thousand ten

peanut butter baby time.

october seventeenth two thousand ten

mellow yellow.

october third two thousand ten

color me good.

september twenty-second two thousand ten

during my afternoon stroll in downtown san francisco, I happened upon a bustling shoe shine stand. not only did the gentlemen who ran this tight operation, wayne and bobby, shine the hell out of my beloved ankle boots but they graciously allowed me to take some pictures. despite the subservient undertones of cleaning a person's scuffed shoes (or in the equally awkward case of pedicures and feet), I enjoy watching the shoe shine man's hands dance around my shoe with the grace and restraint that only someone with well-earned experience can do. thank you to wayne and bobby. 

september twenty-first two thousand ten

take me to Chinatown (as sung to the tune of Funky Town). 

september eighteenth two thousand ten

read between the lines.

september thirteenth two thousand ten

time after time.

september twelfth two thousand ten

a day in the life of tonka.

september tenth two thousand ten

the beach. part two. 

september ninth two thousand ten

I can't remember anything about this picture. where it was taken. when it was taken. who I was with or if I was alone. the only thing I can recall is being struck by the way the light hit this unpretentious church pew.

while I don't practice any religion or following any spiritual dogma, I can sincerely appreciate the need for guidance in life; something or someone who helps cut through the darkness. 

for some, it is God. 

for me, it is bean and cheese burritos. 

september eighth two thousand ten

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving

september seventh two thousand ten

september sixth two thousand ten

in psychology, there is a term called essentialism; it is the view that for any specific entity or thing, there is a set of characteristics and/or properties that the entity of that kind must possess. for example, for a computer to be a computer it must have a keyboard, a screen, a hard drive, etc. 

I love that in photography, the idea of essentialism can be translated easily. one can take a picture of just one or two characteristics of something/someone while capturing its/their entire essence. it's clear that the pictures above were taken of a cat. and in terms of entity representation, each single photograph is greater than the sum of them all.