Bosca Dubh
mostly shadows and linesFogtown #1
Fogtown, I’m down and out on your streets
Oh I would run if I only had a place to run to
FogtownMichelle Shocked, Fogtown
Featured on the Daily Dickinson site.
San Francisco was a colder, damper, grittier place than I expected; it was more like a big version of Portland, Maine, than like San Diego and Palm Springs, my only previous California experiences. I liked it.
I was in conference sessions during the day, so I only slipped away at night and early in the morning (I never quite adjusted to West Coast time, and got precious little sleep) to see what the city had to offer. One of my favorite outings was to North Beach for a City Lights pilgrimage and a Chinatown supper; it was a foggy night, and I think I captured a few nice San Francisco fog scenes.
I brought only one camera with me–the Yashica GL rangefinder. It’s a nice, compact, solid traveler–it was my mother’s camera for documenting our family life throughout the ’70s and ’80s–and a dream to use in low light. Having just one camera to choose from was an interesting challenge–equivalent to formalist poetry in a way. And the Yashica is an especially honest camera; what the naked eye sees is pretty much what it sees, no zooming allowed. If you want to get a close up, you use your feet to get closer. Not a great camera for the Golden Gate Bridge or Alcatraz Island, it turns out, but nice for city streets.
Unrelated update: I don’t usually mention my publications until the paper is actually in my hands (or the pixels are on my monitor), but I’m pretty tickled about this one: Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #20 will include my story “The Oologist’s Cabinet”, an odd little tale of obsession and furniture and eggshells. LCRW is a “zine”, but it’s not just any “zine”–it’s Kelly Link and Gavin Grant’s ‘zine, a weirdly wonderful place for uncategorizable stuff. Place your order or pay a visit in June to one of the shops that has the good judgment to carry it (in Minneapolis, that means Dreamhaven); even if you’re disappointed with my story, you won’t be disappointed with the rest.
May 28th, 2007 at 8:36 am
very fine image. from the pub sign all the way up to the disappearing peak of the building. i’ve just picked up a Yashica RF as well. i’m still getting used to it, but if it produces images like this, i’ll be a happy camper. Big Congrats on your publication!
May 29th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Thanks, bea! I look forward to seeing what comes out of your Yashica–it’s a great little camera, and I’m sure your results will be stunning.
June 3rd, 2007 at 4:20 am
fantastic photograph. completely.