first things first...

So let’s get this over with straight away. As the wedding ceremony is beginning, I place on camera around my neck to pick up another – so I think – but instead hear this great bang – don’t know how to convey the sound of reinforced plastic hitting a hardwood floor – and an oh shit as she is beginning to walk toward the priest.

Needless to say right now I am a bit nervous as at first the only problem seemed to be the back and me having to force it. I then – a few rolls later when I had some time – checked the rangefinder focus and found it was a bit off. I am hoping that the discrepancy is less than the depth of field.

The wedding was rife with trouble as later on the other photographer had her bag taken – her bag with all the film from the weekend in it.

The day started off well, Carol’s legs aching a bit from the hills as we headed out to the Gallery Café for coffee.

I had found it the last time I was here when the people I was staying with would sleep the morning away making me a nervous ansty wreck. They slept so heavily and so long that I could leave the place and do a nice wander before they stirred.

This was great as I was up before the city was and could make a decent amount of work without people getting in the way. One such walk was up from the Mission District through Chinatown and Nob Hill where even in winter it was warm enough to sit out and have a quiet café au lait before seeing if they were stirring yet.

The place was easy enough to find as it was on the cable car line. I was tempted to check e-mail as being San Fran there were terminals but luckily this place was as backward as me and I forgot how to open applications on OS9.

Like having to write postcards even though people have to decipher my scribbles. The idea of the choice of card the message and then the stamp works for me – although here just north of Silicon Valley while I have seen a lot of postal workers, I have yet to see a post office. Post cards weigh less than a power book.
Ah but I seems that technology always wins as trying first find a post office then queue up to buy stamps had me leaving it.

Then a walk along the cable car line to the bay to get in the prerequisites – a view of the golden gate a scoff at Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghiradelli square and a look out for another place to have coffee while making a bay area formal snaps.

I admit it is a fall back position but I do like to see how people demarcate their property especially in tight situations. I also wanted to see what a real art school looked like so I kept discretely looking for S.F.A.I.

I didn’t want to see the wharf the end of the cable car lines etc. I want to walk the row of seedy motor inns along Lombard Street on the way to the bridge. I want to walk Columbus Avenue as it is a diagonal and passes City Lights – don’t care much for Kerouac Way as these places seem rife for me. But I do know that surprises come everywhere and new shocks me into thinking.

Made some messy snaps along the bay, some Mondrian like images in Fort Mason. Before heading back to get ready for the wedding.

The walk to the wedding was the most frustrating so far. Segregating the wedding snaps from mine not wanting them to get confused, I had to walk without making snaps – a pity as we were early and Fillmore Street was my type of haunting ground.