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In Bangalore, there are dogs everywhere. I was there in Spring of 2010, and it was already 35C (95F) during the day. By the time it’s hot out, most of the dogs are taking naps in the shade, under cars or trees, basically anywhere that’s not super hot. I don’t blame them.

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One of the things I found charming about Bangalore was the signage. There were so many hand-pained signs, on wood panels and on the sides of buildings. I came across this sign for John Panter on a long walk. I wasn’t sure what it meant. Who is John Panter? I guess if I wanted to find out, I’d just follow the arrow.

Taken with a Widelux F7, on Arista Premium 400 (-1).

This is my first published scan produced with VueScan. I decided that since my old Epson’s scanner software doesn’t work on Lion, and I hate the built-in scanning software, I decided to take the plunge and try VueScan. So far I’m happy with it.

as a tourist in bangalore, if you want to do some shopping you end up at brigade road. it’s a dense commercial area that is home to a plethora of outlets, shops, stalls, and street vendors. you will be yelled after and followed by people peddling their wares, offering to be your rickshaw driver for the day, take you to the best sites (bangalore palace, cubbon park, etc). i loved walking up and down, but found it tiring after a while.

this was my first time in more than a week that i’d heard spoken languages other than arabic, kannada, and other local dialects. i found it slightly comforting that i wasn’t the *only* foreigner around. i saw americans and europeans i secretly labeled as “pale ones” to myself, although outside of a few glances and knods, never interacted substantially with them. there were a lot of people i couldn’t quite place — indian complexion with asian features. maybe sri lankan?

i know so little about the world.

visiting a foreign country where your native language is spoken but not indigenous is an interesting experience. it’s like lending a someone a camera .. the mechanics of its use are the same but the product are different. you know what it’s capable of, but the resulting product brings a few surprises. this is how i felt about english in bangalore.

i found this land ownership sign along outer ring road, where my company’s office is located. these signs were everywhere. a few things about this particular sign struck me. first was the contrast between the english words and the indian name. second was the land on which this sign is posted. like most unused plots of land here, it’s mostly flat and very dusty, the front edge has piles of trash, and the rear usually is home to squatters. people live in these concrete brick boxes or even tents.

the reddish-brown color of the dirt here became the underlying color of everything – my the buildings and signs, the air i breathed, my shoes, and my clothes. southern india certainly has a certain color palette of its own.

i was also crazy hot while i was there. mid- to upper-nineties every day. for three weeks. i was so glad i packed mostly shorts.

(click the image for a larger version)

the auto-rickshaw, so abundant they merit their own wikipedia page. these are little three-wheeled cabs just large enough for two adult passengers. they’re the easiest way to get around if you have a short trip in mind.

usually you bargain with the driver. most travel sites recommend not getting in a cab unless the meter is used. you can see in this picture the red sign on the meter is still up, i had negotiated a flat rate for this trip. the drivers will say almost anything to not use the meter, including stating that the meter is inaccurate, they can’t make change, your trip is taking them too far out of the main area, etc. if you decide on a flat rate you negotiate that as well, and hope you aren’t being ripped off. and by “ripped off” i mean down to the rupee. and when all this is over, you realize you’ve just spend a lot of time arguing over one u.s. dollar‘s worth of money, or less.

one day, i was standing in a small group of rickshaw drivers trying to figure out which one knew where i wanted to go. i wanted a specific intersection near the bangalore palace grounds. they knew the area, but not the roads. the usual thing to do is to go as far or as close as you can, and ask someone there for directions. oddly, at any hour of the day there seems to be someone around who can point you (or your driver) in the right direction. anyways, i was standing with a group of drivers when a stranger walked up, and in clear english asked me if i needed help negotiating. he talked to them in kanneda (the local dialect) and decided that my 300 rupees was far, considering how far i was going. this ~35 minute trip was going to cost me just over $6. i had already brought the price down from the originally stated Rs 500.

i hate to negotiate, but after a few rounds you get used to it.. especially if you get a feel for how things really are and know what you’ve paid in the past.

the road to the left in this picture is actually the service road, a parallel road used to enter/exit, merge, and access the local businesses.

in the united states, this would be considered a two lane road. when traffic is heavy in bangalore, this road would carry vehicles 3, 4, or maybe 5 vehicles across depending on their width. the roads are ruled by large busses and trucks, then any space is filled in by cars, followed by auto-rickshaws, any remaining space filled by two-wheeled motorbikes. vehicles are like water that flow through the streets like a canal.

photo was shot on kodak portra 160vc +1 1/2, with a widelux f7. click for larger version.

a project at work evolved into a three week business trip to india so i could setup new infrastructure and do some hands-on training with my colleagues there. i just returned to the u.s. this past weekend and i’m still suffering from jetlag, but slowly things are returning to normal for me.

india was pretty crazy. i spent most of my time on the outskirts of bangalore, karnataka, the “silicon valley of india”. it was an amazing mix of third world country and modern technology. some of my commutes to work included cows on the street, women carrying large baskets full of wares on their head, ox-pulled carts, corporate logo backpacks and RFID badges.

of course, just before this trip my borrowed camera developed a light leak. so i borrowed another, which happened to have some exposure problems (i’m soooo glad i tested it before i left!). so i travelled to india with my iphone, two malfunctioning canon ae-1 cameras, and my widelux f7.

i tracked down a small camera repair shop and had both canons serviced. the leaking body sounds a lot better but i wasn’t able to address the leaks. the other body also sounds better now, but still needs work. so i shrugged it off and proceeded to shoot with just my iphone and my widelux for three weeks. not quite what i was expecting.. but i can’t complain.

this picture exemplifies my experience in bangalore: construction, laptop bags, dusty roads, and cows.

in may of 2009, our friend jonathan decided to plan a trip to yosemite to hike up half dome. the time finally came around and six of us took a friday off and camped in the north pines campsite and eventually made our way up.

i’d never actually been to yosemite before and it had been a long time since i’d done any proper camping. it was so fun, and the park was amazingly beautiful in every way. on our first night, galen grilled up some steaks and veggie packets and corn. we had a large delicious meal before packing it up and going to bed early.

the next day we woke up at 6:30am and had another sizeable meal, and headed off on a 4-5 hour hike to the half dome site.

i won’t try to trivialize the hike. thousands of people do it every year. you start at a high elevation, and you go higher (a gain of 4800ft). you hike through the woods, up over two waterfalls, and up large rock steps for hours. then you can see the half dome site.  that means you must again climb the last very steep rock steps up to the rock face. at that point, you need to make a go-or-no-go decision to actually scale the rock face.

at the base of the rock face there is a pile of gloves. you put on a fairly well matched pair because you will be slowly ascending the rock using cables that have been installed on the rock. it’s slow, because people are taking their time, or taking a break, or panicking and turning around and descending. it can take 20-25 minutes to get up there if you decide to go up the “outside” of the cables, or over an hour if you decide to stay within the cables like most folks.

once you are up the rock face, you are at the top of yosemite national park, 8842ft elevation. you have a panoramic view of the valley, and a chance to relax with everybody else who has made it to the top. i was so exhausted and breathing such thin air, that i was wheezing at first until i relaxed a bit. at several points along the hike, i didn’t think i could make it and was formulating back-out plans in my head. i’m so glad i pushed forth and went all the way. in light of foot/hip problems i’ve been dealing with over the past couple years, i feel very accomplished having done this.

at the top of half dome, you are cooling off from the breeze and taking in one of the most amazing sights i have personally seen. the bad news is, you have another 5 hours to hike back and are racing to get back to your camp site before it gets dark. i paused along the way back, wondering how the hell did i go *up* all of this??

hiking half dome was quite awesome and i’m so glad i did it.

notes:

• 2 litres of water is not enough for this hike. filtering fresh water to replenish your store should be done
• eating a granny smith apple on the way down was AMAZING
• if i were doing it again, i would start the hike much earlier and before sunrise.
• having a good flashlight is essential for the trip back

all images were shot on arista premium 400 at iso 6400, developed in rodinal 1+50 for 45 minutes. shot with a widelux f7.

discarded chair in a chinatown alleyway, oakland, california.

this alley was a treasure trove of great objects, light, and graffiti. i found some similar alleys in san francisco’s chinatown, some locations i hope to use for portraits in the future. i think my current desire is to go there with my 8×10 and a subject or two.