Golden Gate Park

For my final project in photojournalism, we have to do what is called a photo story. Over the course of 6 weeks, or the equivalent of 16 hours, we have to shoot either a person, a place, or a topic, and have a finished product of 12-20 pictures that tell a story. I was struggling with what I wanted to do, because I wanted to do something really different that no one was doing, and also something that I was interested in and would enjoy shooting. She showed us a bunch of examples of stories people have done in the past...a firehouse and following firemen, the Burning Man festival, an animal shelter, someone recovering from a stroke, someone dying from cancer, etc.

My initial thoughts were along the lines of something in the medical field...following a nurse or following a paramedic/EMT. This failed, due to patient confidentiality and problems with access. Then I thought about shooting behind the scenes at a winery in Napa, also shot down. Equestrian center? Too far away.

Running out of time, I decided to just go with Golden Gate Park. I was not thrilled about it because it did not sound very interesting and kind of felt like a cop out. But I started researching a bit, looking into all the events happening weekly as well as the different activities available, and it turns out it is a really interesting place!! I have only shot a few days so far, but it is a really fun place to explore and shoot and I am happy with my decision.

On the weekends it gets packed with families picnicking, bikers, rollerbladers, and all different kinds of people and activities. I was there on Sunday, and it was a gorgeous day. Monica tagged along, here is a picture of us in front of the Conservatory of Flowers. At the end of the semester I will have my final photo story up on Flickr.

My camera and lens used that day: roughly $1000
Monica's Polaroid camera: $40
This one exposure: $1.60
Price/gallon for my gas to drive to GG park: $3.98
Sunny day in SF that I can get out and enjoy: PRICELESS!!!!!!!! :)

everyone is 21! (except me)

Well it seems that we are just celebrating birthdays left and right!! 4 friends have already turned 21, and there are about 5 in April. CRAZY!!! It has been a ton of fun celebrating, but equally as exhausting and pricey (dinner, presents, etc.) We celebrated Monica's a couple weeks ago, having a party for her and then going out to dinner for sushi.

Me and the bday girl

Everyone together for Moni's dinner

The following weekend, Brittany rented a limo for her birthday, we had dinner in SF and just went out around the city. It was really fun, and something different to do! We got dropped off at 11, so we went to our friends' St. Patrick's Day party afterward.

Kelly, Kasey, Brittany & I, with Britt's
boyfriend and friends from the East Bay

Rockin' the green for St. Patty's day...
Chelsey, Julie, Kasey, Chelsea

Fridays are my days off...with no work and no school. I got really lucky and it was a super nice day, and I wanted to take advantage of it. When we were in New York, April took us to this little cafe called Think cafe. It was such a cool little place with really high ceilings, hard wood floors, plenty of places to sit including a bar, comfy couches and armchairs, big tables, booths, work from local artists on the walls, amazing coffee, staff with a lot of character, yummy sandwiches, bagels and soups, good music, and always flooded with NYU students since it is in the heart of their campus. It got me thinking that living in city like San Francisco, there has got to be some cool places like that where I could hang out, study, and meet new people. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy Starbuck's and Peet's coffee, mainly because it is convenient, reliable, and they know how to make good coffee. But I want a place with more character...somewhere unique that I would actually enjoy being for study time.

So yesterday I tried a new place in the inner sunset called the Beanery. My vanilla latte was excellent, the staff was friendly, but there were only about 6 small tables inside and 4 outside. It is tiny and not really a place I could hang out with friends, but it was perfect for the "me" time I hoped for. I sat outside and soaked up the sun while I wrote some letters to people. After that Monica and I went shopping for a bit on Haight, then hung out at home. Last night we all went dancing which was really fun, but I feel like an old woman now because we went to bed at 5 so I am still sleepy, not to mention the fact that it looks like I need a walker with how much I am limping. Maybe dancing isn't the best activity for someone with bad knees? Hmm..

But that aside, it was a really fun day with absolutely no stress.
(Post about NY coming soon.)

I love my girls.