The Handkerchief Salesman

Photo: Raoul Minot

Talk about guts! A lot of would be photographers remark how they fear incurring the wrath of strangers on the street should they point the camera their way- a wayward glance, an uncouth comment... This guy risked it all every single time he pressed the shutter- and it cost him. Special ops agent? A goddamn department store, handkerchief salesman! 

A Most Unusual Day

I usually go to different neighborhoods in San Francisco on weekends to try and keep it fresh, and lately to get the hell outta dodge (my immediate downtown zombie ghost land). Hadn't taken a decent pic in a while, so this Saturday I decided to revisit a somewhat industrial section of town that has always been rather desolate, it definitely has a different feel than the rest of the town architecturally, and different is what I wanted... but I wasn't welcoming the fact that I'd really stand out walking about and be easy prey for any gang of thieves (be they ambulatory or vehicular) looking for a quick camera heist these days. I managed a sole image of a lost soul, and shortly thereafter, decided discretion the better part of valor before deciding once again to... get the hell outta dodge. 

Photo: © Stan Banos

But I digress... 

Because the most unusual part of the day occurred quite some time before I had even left home. Around eleven that morning, I heard a knock on my door, looked through the peephole to spot two uniforms- WTF? Have you seen your neighbor lately? Whoa! That question usually ends one way. "No, no I haven't- but I only see him like once a month, if that." A gentleman in his seventies who walks with a cane and I always made a point to say hello to. OK, thanks. An hour passes and I hear a bevy of voices outside my door followed by the sounds of things being moved about next door. I don't have to ask what's going on. An hour later I'm headed out and the stench fills my nostrils immediately upon opening the door, just before seeing the latex gloves strewn about the hallway. 

It had to have been a few weeks before anyone noticed. I sure hadn't, and I was right next door- eating and sleeping probably no more than ten feet from a dead guy (yeah, our units are that small); didn't know anything, didn't smell anything... Did just make out the radio or TV late into the night- just thought it a lonely old man accompanying himself to sleep. 

There's a health hazard seal on his door now, and I sincerely hope they clean the place out properly tomorrow ASAP! A bottle of Lysol can only do so much, and I'm fortunate, indeed, that none of it permeates my apt- except for a certain amount of nagging guilt. Should've bothered to get to know him better, asked if he needed help etc, etc- shoulda, woulda, coulda... 

I'm betting there'll probably be a next time to make amends somewhere down the line; and then one day, no doubt, my turn to stink up the hallway good...

NY Not So Confidential

Mermaid Parade 2023-  All Photos: © Stan Banos

I'm not claustrophobic, do not experience any fear of flying whatsoever- but any flight lasting over three hours is sheer, absolute fucking torture! I just get the heebie jeebies Big Time from then on- can't sleep, can't concentrate, can't sit still, can in no way be comfortable thereafter, period! And I'm not your average extra large American, nor am I a particularly envious person; keep your conspicuous items of consumption- you can have 'em all. Oh, but those First Class Mother Fucking airline seats- Jesus Fucking Lord!!! Wanna kill and maim everyone of those smug SOB's sprawled about oh so carefree and comfortable as I march back without recourse to my personal chamber of horrors... But I digress.

Mermaid Parade 2023- Coney Island

I must admit to having experienced some measure of culture shock returning to my NYC homeland this year! The Big Apple by all visible means seems to be thriving as ever: streets crowded with tourists and every measure of New Yorker hustling and bustling to make a dollar any which way they can, streets loud and alive with chatter, sirens and noises galore. In short, everything major cities used to look and sound like, so unlike the ghost town I inhabit today- storefronts vacant, downtown streets deserted, the homeless once ignored now the most dominant signs of remaining life. Having invested it's economy and very soul in Big Tech, San Francisco now suffers the consequences of entrusting its future to an entire generation whose allegiance is where they've always found it- right within the immediate vicinity of their laptop, the one true center of their reality. It's said one third (more like two thirds) of office space lies vacant downtown, restaurants and other supportive businesses are also shuttered and you're lucky to see a half dozen pedestrians ambling about on most downtown streets. Downtown San Francsico is nowhere near NYC in terms of acreage, but it once was mobbed nonetheless too...

Brooklyn 2023

East Village, 2023

So... it was good to see a living, thriving city again; although to be honest, it was also sheer madness! NY had become another entity as foreign as it was familiar when I decided to leave twenty some years ago, before I too devolved into some elderly NY street oddity. And although San Francisco is in its utter depths at present, I have no burning desire to permanently return to the land of my birth. I guess that's what's called a conundrum- not knowing where to spend my remaining "Golden Years" when I max out on SS at seventy- assuming I get there in the remaining two plus years... 

Long Island City 2023

Long Island City driveway

Long Island City driveway

Anyway, until that fateful date, we'll just have to keep wondering what will be torn down first and sold for scrap: The Vessel in NY- you can walk into its middle on the ground floor, but every set of stairs leading upward has been securely boarded up; or The Millenium Tower in San Francisco, which is still trying to right itself on the cheap, and getting all the more crooked with every passing day... 

Don't Sit On My Fucking Bike Bitch- Coney Island, 2023

Best graffiti seen in NYC- "Make Art, Get Rich- Ask Me How!"

Think Quick...

Photo: © Stan Banos

Catholicism has this particularly peculiar practice called "confession" where one proclaims your sins to a priest in a darkened booth, and he, representing The Almighty himself, then absolves you of said sins- until you show up the next time with a brand new batch of more, worse or same. I was standing in line waiting to go into the confessional once, maybe around fifth grade, desperately trying to figure out exactly what to proclaim I was guilty of. I finally, somewhat hesitantly, copped to having impure thoughts,* even though I wasn't quite sure exactly what the hell that entailed, just thought it sounded all encompassing enough, yet somehow, vaguely specific enough, so that the priest would accept it at face value without questioning further- questions concerning the details of which I would have absolutely no idea of... Fortunately, it worked, I think we both fully realized we were in a no win situation which could only get tragically, or at best comically worse should one enquire further. 

As a matter of protocol, priests are not allowed to divulge our transgressions to the authorities, not even if you're a serial killer, not even if you're a fellow priest buggering little boys. Wonder what the penance is for those two "Mortal" Sins? Gotta be a helluva lot more than the coupla Hail Mary's and Our Father's that my "Venial" Sins usually garnered. 

*DISCLAIMER: I do not by any means mean to imply that I originated that oft used pre/pubescent phrase, it was, as I now recall, the most ubiquitous of go to avoidance terms.

100% Not Staged! Not AI, Not CGI...

Can finally add "Wildlife Photography" to my repertoire.         Photo: © Stan Banos

As we all know, many a recent wildlife photo competition entry and winner have been found to have been somehow staged. Let me emphatically assure all viewers that this candid, in the wild photo has not in any way been staged, altered or manipulated on site, in camera, or via any form of digital processing. Furthermore, it has not been lured or coerced into appearing through gastronomic, financial or sexual compensation (particular emphasis on the latter).

Wildlife is making a small comeback in some areas of our world, particularly as they encroach upon urban environments. There's hardly a park in San Francisco that doesn't sport a Beware Coyote sign; nevertheless, I was recently taken aback spotting this rarely seen specimen in my neighborhood park- the iconic "deer in the headlights" gaze probably the end result of my in camera flash, after which it quickly rebounded to its natural state.

Actually...

4/22/2023 6pm PDT         Photo: © Stan Banos

Over the years, I've come to firmly believe in reincarnation, which was part of Judeo/Christian beliefs back in the day (way back in the day) before both religions became more commodified to suit their more earthly needs. FWIW- reincarnation is in complete and total harmony with Christ's "live forever" teachings.

My belief in reincarnation stems (in part) from NDE recountings, which are often slagged off by doctors and scientists alike as mere drug induced, oxygen depleted hallucinations- fair enough, until some patients also started recalling individual details that happened (during their quasi brain dead state) in the operating room by the surgeon and his crew as the former "float" overhead and watch said goings* while also experiencing some combination of a life review and a short introduction to the secrets of the universe (including the role of reincarnation), all in short order. Eventually, in this time relevant/irrelevant scenario, the person is persuaded to reunite with their broken bodies after first pleading to stay in the far better realm (a realm often inconsistent with their own religious or atheistic beliefs). The individual details differ but the basic scenario remains- we're here to experience, learn and thereby graduate to the next level. 

Religion is basically the politicalization of spiritualty (never a good thing), and our fledgling science is limited by its own arrogance and pitifully limited resources and technology- just look at the trauma inflicted on age old scientific theories by the Webb. We confidently stroll about thinking we got it all straight about our creator(s) and his, her, their ultimate plan- just ask any acolyte of any major religion (or cult), or just as confidently amble forward in our indomitable armor of science... despite not knowing what 96% of the physical universe is made of, or even where it is! Yeah, and you're calling me crazy...

*or you can choose to believe debunker Woerlee's swamp gas alternative facts!

$787,500,000.00

Of course, they could've avoided paying 1 penny- had they ANY proof Dominion lied.      Photo: © Stan Banos

The price of Fox’s “continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards,”
ie- they'll continue to lie their asses off (for fear of their viewers)...

Sometimes...

Photo: © S. Banos

You just adapt to the camera- actually, you always adapt to the camera. Guess what I'm really trying to say is that sometimes you not only change how you shoot to accommodate yourself to your new camera's quirks and advantages, sometimes you actually change what you're shooting because of it. I've rather unknowingly found myself taking advantage of the Q's FF sensor to shoot images featuring increased expanses of more dimly lit areas. The improved shadow detail is rendered in a richer, more pleasing manner that facilitates more nuanced lighting scenarios that previously went either without consideration or appreciation. 

That said, I was damn lucky to get these- right place, right time, nothing but coincidence. To think I could just walk about residential San Francisco (forgot just how beautiful so many parts of this city still are) and continue to find interesting sites kissed with just the right balance of light and shadow is far from realistic. But, at the very least, this has opened up both a new way and new time of seeing- and that is something to draw on for the remainder,,,

Photo: © S. Banos

Photo: © S. Banos

Photo: © S. Banos

Smile!

Happy Taco Tues... Thanksgiving!            Photo: © S. Banos

Don't know how many times I've said how I absolutely hate photos of people smiling and/or mugging for the camera, but every dog has its day and I just kinda like it for the silly snapshot that it is. It was taken on Halloween, the eve of my three week illness, and I had no idea that the thing that kept flopping on his head from side to side was supposed to be a taco, until I saw it on my monitor. But then, who knew Thanksgiving marked the beginning of the end of the dinosaurs?

That said...

Hope everyone reflects, takes stock and gives thanks in a life that is woefully short and made only shorter by all the things we humans purposely sabotage ourselves with: war, racism, greed... the whole sorry lot of human faults and frailties that plague the very nature of our being. And, not surprisingly, this holiday set aside to do just that has predictably mutated into one of gluttony and spending. Try as we might, the ideal somehow always devolves into the trivial, that realization being both the key for enlightenment, and the very basis for indoctrination, division and subjugation.

Good Riddance 2022!

How I felt early Fri-AM.          Photo: © S. Banos

As good as 2022 has been photographically, I coulda really done without this October and November. First, there was the plague of... bed bugs! Most likely courtesy of my next door neighbor who recently moved out- often were the times I wondered who could possibly survive in her place with the stench of rubbing alcohol seeping out into the hallway that would literally take my breath away in passing. Oh, that was a heaping, helping load full of fun- first the bites, then the denial, then more and more bites trying every which way to get rid of the damn things, and miserably, repeatedly failing. Fearing the very night itself, fearing for my own sanity... until I finally, finally concocted a working solution that mercifully worked and rid me of the little blood suckers (I refused to have everything I owned, including me, doused in pesticide). It's no small wonder that people have accidentally burned down their very homes trying in desperation to rid themselves of the evil little shits.

Then came... the health woes! Two trips to the ER, one in an ambulance, courtesy of a woefully inept health care service. If only life had bequeathed me such equal heights and peaks of absolute pleasure to match the severity of pain that so repeatedly savaged certain parts of my body. Last Friday (TMI Warning!), I was finally relieved of an appendage that was shoved into me with half a dozen thrusts that had me screaming bloody fucking murder each and every time (and that was far from the worst of it). I spent said morning just carelessly walking about practically giddy with joy just being able to do so, pain free and physically unencumbered. I even managed two keepers while doing so- and three the very next day! Not a bad antidote for vengeance and recovery.

And I would have been happy to leave it that... except that a good friend I've known since childhood just had the latest of a long series of his own health setbacks that have made mine look positively light hearted- and I don't say that casually. Hard to feel all upbeat and positive when someone you know has been dealt such harsh, repeated and life altering blows- accepting them without bitterness or complaint. Something I am well not accustomed to. I've just had periodic servings, some get the full course dealt them...

Post euphoric reality...     Photo: © S. Banos

Best-Laid Plans Of...

Photo: © Stan Banos

I was recently sitting and thinking, had a pretty damn good year photographically, definitely got my share of keepers. Yup, sure did. Then I started contemplating on my long term plan, good plan, solid plan- crank out the work till seventy when my SS gets to $2k, and then- just roll with the punches with the bit I got stashed... Golden! 

Only one small glitch- I can be as good and faithful to plan as can be, but... there's no guarantee in any of it. Only one fool has agreed to the terms- and that be me! Having just turned sixty seven, I've seen one too many friends and acquaintances fold in that five year stretch starting at sixty five. Goddamn Danger Zone Supreme! And it really don't matter how good your health is, how good you've been taking care of yourself- Nature's gonna do what nature's gonna do... and it don't give a flying monkey what you got planned! 

Last two weeks I got pretty damn ill, spent a good portion of it exploring new heights and levels of excruciating pain in areas of my body I had already thought could not possibly be surpassed! Had my health care service (Thrive Baby!) been half what it so proudly touts itself to be, I would have been back on my feet in ten days- Tops! Somewhere between the two trips to the ER (one in an ambulance), I got to seriously thinking on my Grand Master Plan. That little bit o' money ain't gonna do squat for quality of life if I can't get out and enjoy it! I mean, lord knows what's headed down the pike next time I get laid out- maybe the smart deal is to quit while the going's not yet quite gone... 

Blue Pill/Red Pill

Photo: © Stan Banos

Here We Go...

Photo: © Stan Banos   (Click to embiggen).

This Tuesday, America votes; and (as previously stated) many a MAGA extremist, election denier has now been legally ensconced to positions of oversight in the most crucial aspects of the voting process in key swing states throughout our country (and yet more to come with anticipated Republican victories). All this, while America reels from the gaping wound of having 40% of it's populace no longer bound by the common earthly realms of: science, history or any remotely verifiable fact... All the doing of one man, and one man alone- The Greatest Con Man Of The 21st Century! A man who does not have to prove one single thing he says for others to revere as dogma, and who is totally above question or consequence even as he openly denies and defies an ever increasing cavalcade of grievous criminalities. An unhinged, narcissist elite who has single-handedly galvanized a nationwide community of those even more unhinged (and formally recognized as such). He has not faded into the shadows as many had hoped, nor has his followers who he continues to incite- many well armed, and vowing to outdo the other to make an impression. 

Devolution...

Photo: © Stan Banos

Back in the day, me and whoever wrote the above would more than likely have been kindred spirits. 

Photo: © Stan Banos

Much has changed in the ensuing years however, revelations that exposed deeply sequestered facts and truths have been replaced with complete inanities based solely on personal belief systems. Too many people who don't trust the government simply absorb their (dis)information directly from the FOX, or sources even more radically farfetched- resulting in delusional belief systems that foster complete and utter insanities and culture wars...

Photo: © Stan Banos

Best Reason To Own A Cat

Photo: © Stan Banos

I'm gonna go wide of my lane into the land of complete speculation and put forth the possibility that perhaps the person meant to say "harmless," instead of... "useless." Of course, I may very well be wrong here. I have with my own eyes seen this ongoing trend towards an ever smaller variety of dogs which are more toys than actual... dogs. Perhaps, the sign is, in fact, more accurate than not...

A Day At The Fair

The most recent Folsom St. (Leather) Fair was probably the largest on record, least, seemed it to me- and I was happy to collect over a half dozen keepers. I usually poop out after two and a half hours but this time I hanged for a full four since the opportunities were there and it was probably the last time this year that I'd really be able to put my new, used Q through its paces- I even got to see my first self fellating contortionist for the effort.

Photo: © Stan Banos

Best thing I saw however, was the woman above who I first noticed across the street. Now, one can't exactly meander unto The Folsom St. Fair without having a good inkling of what it's about- that said, you can never quite prepare yourself for everything you're likely to and undoubtedly will see... But there she was, looking innocent as all hell, as if idly clutching the kewpie doll she had just won on the seaside boardwalk. I walked up, snapped the photo, and realizing the optics... she burst out into what would be a good long laugh for both of us!

Photo: © Stan Banos

Late in the afternoon and already tiring, I did a double take on the pink haired lady in chains- something was not quite right! Sure enough, it was one very convincing female Manga tour de force. 

Finally calling it a day, I headed for the nearest exit home only to come across... The Lady in Pink, which proved the best laugh of a most productive day.

Once editing of the remaining raw files is completed, I'll set about putting together an updated, magazine format edition of At The Fair. Maybe I'll even try sending it about to publishers, etc- this winter season's exercise in futility...

Photo: © Stan Banos

Looking Forward (at Pier 24)

Photos: Erica Deeman  (courtesy Pier 24)

Haven't been to a (really) good photo exhibit in quite some time. Looking Forward at Pier 24 in San Francisco has a bit of something for most anyone into photography. Quite frankly, I didn't much care for most of it, but the parts I did- Wow, just... WOW!

The first thing that caught my eye, I mean stopped me dead in my tracks if I'm being honest, was Erica Deeman's The Brown Series. Honestly, I don't think a series of portraits ever so affected me; nor has a grid presentation ever been so perfectly and effectively utilized! It stops you, holds you and demands your surrender. The square, uniform, almost monochromatic portraits are of Black/Brown men of all shades taken against tan backgrounds displayed on a brown wall in a darkened room* and the effect is both stunning and mesmerizing. "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" was never more true... This experience alone was worth the price of admission- if they charged one. Ain't too many museums worldwide charging well over $20 that hold anything, anywhere this good to look at, and contemplate...

*The room is darkened but the photos are well lit- unlike the current trend in so many museums/galleries.

Photo: Daniel Postaer

Then there was Daniel Postaer's Boomtown- large, dramatic, almost unworldly street photographs! The online reproductions don't do his work justice. There are street photographers, and there's this guy, with a cinematic view that just boggles with its: composition, drama, and timing. There's one shot bathed in the most gorgeous light of a guy caught midstep, approaching another man pausing to ponder existence itself that is nothing short of miraculous. Flawless, impeccable- choose whatever accolades you wish, the guy's just a step (or two) above what passes for superb. 

And some prints by Fred Herzog certainly rounded off the afternoon rather well. The print of the man with a bandaged hand was even better than I imagined in person, and the couple walking in front of the Army/Navy sign has to be one of the greatest photos in the history of photography...

Photo: Fred Herzog

Triptych

My first (and everyone should have one)! BTW- Gotta be honest here... as I was taking these, I kinda expected someone to come up and ask, "Excuse me, is that a Leica?" And of course, I would have to admit that it was, to which they would then reply, "Then, I'm afraid, we both know what the consequences are, sir." And clearly, I would have immediately sensed what he was inferring- I would have to surrender my Q on the spot. Obviously, this was GR 'snapshot' subject matter, and well beneath the purpose and dignity of any Leica to the manor born. Fortunately, this level of brand crime went unnoticed on this particular weekend stroll, but I'm fully aware of the risks I am willingly taking should I continue to pursue this behavior...

 

Photos: © Stan Banos

Lindsey's Gift

Photo: © Stan Banos

Republicans stick to the script- No matter what! And they do it together; they don't waver, they don't bicker (in public)- they stick to the goddamn script! And ya really gotta admire them for that. While Dems ineffectively argue among themselves, Repubs plot, execute, stay the course...

And that is why Lindsey's move is so freakishly... inexplicable. He just doubled down on the one item, probably the one and only item, that their base ain't all that down on. And... he did it without consulting with fellow leaders cronies!

It's not that Ol' Lindsey won't 180 whenever it suites him and party, if anything, it's his one guiding light- but this ain't that, and I just can't figure the plus side...

Return Of The Q

Living Large.             Photo: © Stan Banos

No, not the Hillary child sex, pizza parlor variety, not the JFK, Jr. reanimator type either, nope, not even this guy! Just the camera, the camera I've lusted for a good half dozen years. Had to wait that long just to get it at a somewhat reasonable price. And then I had to return the damn thing cause the sensor had a big ol' smudge on it like someone cleaned it while chomping away at their Big Mac. Fortunately, the store I bought it from in Japan is a reputable company- they accepted and paid for the return. And a few weeks later notified me they had another at the same price point- I bit again, and... no regrets. Truth is, it has a coupla slight dust marks (even after an official Leica sensor cleaning), but for half the MSRP, ya can only complain so much, and they disappear (when even visible) after some minor dodging/cloning; the rest of the camera seems to work flawlessly, and it's cosmetically quite clean. I've seen Q's in this condition sell for a full grand more- and without the Leica cleansing. Can only imagine- Caveat Emptor! 

Did I need it that bad? Not really, not at all. The GR punches way above its weight and does most everything quite well and beyond. But the viewfinder is nice for events (leather fair coming late Sept) and, well... it's just such a goddamn sexy beast!

It was either a week's vacation or the camera- I usually always vote the former, but I had already visited moms in NYC, as well as the estranged wife in Portland this year. So I figured I'd go for the legacy camera while I still had the bucks. If Fujifilm made a high quality 28mm equivalent that wasn't ginormous (and expensive), I'd be spending a week in LA, right about... now! Currently, I'm all dressed up with nowhere to go- but a few more vacations, will no doubt be had, provided I'm still walking these earthly parameters the following year(s).

Was really uncertain about the photo above, wasn't sure about the composition (even though I worked it best I could under the circumstances). Just seemed contorted, unbalanced, not completely... there, but it's really grown on me for whatever reason. Perhaps my indecision reflects my feelings about the content- conflicted. A nice young couple in their prime enjoying life to the fullest- or a spoiled, well to do duo treating the world as their oyster without the slightest care or regard for anyone or anything around them? Will never know (for sure)... 

I'm also conflicted about the graffiti in the second shot- a likely epithet. But on such a gorgeous day, complete with sailboat, azure sea and sky, it loses whatever negative connotation it may have and reverts to its original state, making for one nicely minimalist and complementary, short poem.

Photo: © Stan Banos