Wednesday, August 4, 2010: Celebrating Civil Union in CA

Given the overturning of Prop 8... Meghan and I decided to go to Hillcrest to share in the merriment. We ended up at a drag show at Moe's. I had a blast.

As far as photography goes.... I broke my manual mode/focus rule for the first time since I began this project. The lighting in the club was so low/dim that I decided to go back in to auto mode/focus and I must say the results were fabulous... (as were the entertainers!) Although I was using auto mode/focus, I must admit I showed extreme mastery of my camera functions/use of the little light I had/drama/composition etc. I could never have pulled off such shots with such dim lighting a month ago, so I am proud of myself even out of manual mode/focus. Here are the results!
"singing I didn't know I was looking for love until I found you..." So dramatic... so good! 80s-metallic-HOT! Put on such a great show everytime she hit the stage! I have great video of her belting out this song too!
Random guy... I kinda think he was looking for an audition :x, but here he is dancing it up at intermission. CHER! Singing TLC's Red Light Special! Super-HOT go-go dancer! I need that Mod Squad dress in my life ASAP!

All in all... I am very proud of the portraits I was able to get in such low lighting and proud to be part of Hillcrest's civil rights celebration. Another good day to be a photographer!

Goal 14: Capture the Street Scene

Street photography is how I first learned to use a camera. I cruised the Drag in Austin day after day, night after night, trying to get the hang of things and trying out new techniques. It's no surprise then that I first thought of going to the streets to practice before going after the big goals (volunteering, formal shoots, etc.) Especially because I live in downtown San Diego, the streets I frequent everyday are a great place to start working on my documentary & portraiture skills. Homelessness is obviously a good social issue to cover, as is socio-economic inequality, gender roles, teen parenthood, etc.

Although I know exactly what street photography is (yes, it's completely self explanatory--don't over think it), I never knew people actually referred to it as "street photography" until I started doing research for this blog. I never thought of it as an actual genre. Nonetheless, I know it quite well, it's a favorite of mine and I am eager to put some of my research on the subject into practice.

So, I am amending my original 13 goals to include #14 - Put together a set of [awesome] street photos (about 20 photos) and work on getting them into Hardcore Street Photography's pool on Flickr.

I am heading the the library now to get some photography books. Hoping to find some good stuff--excited!