we’ve all been there.

this is my dear friend brigid (a san ho) with her gorgeous, adorable lil’ girl elliott skye. she was born on christmas eve! elliott is brimming with personality and is a real thing of marvel, already armed with a million different facial expressions. i look forward to my auntie training with my first “niece.” she is so amazing.

i know i’m overdue for an update when i can’t even remember what my last post was about.

lots of photography things have happened, so i’ll debrief here. everything’s been thrilling and enriching, but i’m not getting my hopes up. “photographers” are a dime a dozen, and anything good that’s come my way is 95% luck and guanxi. so far, i’ve been dang lucky. i’m having a great time, and that’s key.

en route, the air canada magazine contacted me asking if they could use a photo of mine of dottie’s for a piece they were doing for SF. yes, of course! pretty random, but there’s an example of why it pays to tag the hell outta your pictures on flickr. that’s how they found it. the funny thing is that it’s a totally random, useless photo.

i guess a couple of my photos made it into the april issue of food & wine? in an article about gastropubs (magnolia). i’ll have to hunt down a copy. to clarify, they used photos i had taken for magnolia gastropub awhile ago. it’s not like they hired me to shoot for them, though ultimately that’d be my dream!

and then i woke up this morning i found an email from jeff adachi — our public defender and passionate filmmaker — asking if he could use my photos for his film’s (you don’t know jack: the jack soo story) website.

i also recently bought a domain! jenntakespictures.com
all it does is take you directly to my flickr portfolio page. chintzy but practical. it’s the best i can do at the moment, and anything’s better than giving people a cumbersome, lengthy link to work with.

not a big deal, but for a small fry like me these little things can make or break my day. okay, so on to the recap:

i splurged and purchased a bigtime beautiful lens (60mm 2.8), thanks to all my wonderful friends (and ringleader peggy) for getting me a GC to looking glass in berkeley. this pup’s been especially good for portraits, and i haven’t even taken it for a macro spin yet.

in february i shot for SF Beer Week. dave mclean, the kind owner of magnolia and alembic (both of which i’ve previously photographed), asked me to take pictures so i jumped at the opportunity. i documented nine events, each one a little different. i met many sweet, passionate people (the craft brewing community is not unlike the comics community), and cultivated a deeper appreciation for the craft. i was TERRIFIED with nervousness the first night, fumbled like an idiot poseur, but quickly dropped the whiny little bitch act and acclimated. another bonus was that i had to rent some gear, and that in itself was a big step. learning how to operate a speed light (though very crudely) was nice.

these guys were at a 21st amendment event. i overheard them speaking mandarin and found out that two were from taiwan, and one from china. i enjoyed meeting them.

there was a slight sabbatical from eater sf’s “gatekeeper” series, but it returned with a spotlight on bar tartine’s lovely, hospitable xelina.

afterwards i ate there and awkwardly took some general shots during the peak of their brunch hour.

and then, just this past weekend, i suddenly threw myself into the fire and signed up to be a volunteer photographer for SFIAAFF, thanks to gracious photog albert chau for offering me a chance. it all transpired on friday afternoon. i was hella stressed and didn’t feel adequate, but despite my baggage i thoroughly LOVED the experience! it’s a perfect fit for me — i’ve been a film fest groupie ever since working at the museum, so it makes sense. going year after year after year, you get a strong sense of community, and being able to capture the energy on camera is a pleasurable thing.

the highlight must’ve been seeing older generation asian american folks like these, and being able to photograph them. they were so plucky and cheerful, just having a jolly ol’ time with each other. tugged on my heart strings.

here’s our public defender at his post-screening reception

kiyoshi kurosawa

joan chen

well, that’s it for now. fingers crossed for onwards and upwards…

most if not all of you have already seen wired’s photojournalistic piece on comic store employees. ryan was the first to point it out, and i’ve noticed it’s picking up steam all over the internets. of course, as a former comic store employee, it hits home, and as a comics geek, i love it. conceptually it’s great, but two things (a minor grievance and a statement)

1) WHERE IS COMIC RELIEF?! i’m grateful that the bay area got some love with the presence of dr. comics & mr. games and amazing fantasy in the feature, but seriously, where’s comic relief? it’s a bay area institution, not to mention a real anchor and mainstay in the overall comics community all over the country. i wonder if it didn’t make the cut?

2) if there is a follow up edition, i want to shoot for it. i would really LOVE it, and i think my photos would pass muster. should i write the editors or something and make a pitch? what do you guys think? how do i get their attention?

sigh. that is all.

i called my dad twice last night, no answer. this morning, he calls at like, 630am. i’m too sleepy to pick up. i get to work, sit through meeting, do things, then check my phone. NINE MISSED CALLS FROM DAD. of course i panic, fearing something happened to my grandma. i call him immediately. the conversation goes something like this:

me: dad why did you call me 10 times today? is everything okay?!

D: i was worried about you! you called me twice last night and this morning i kept calling

me: what do you mean, why were you worried? it wasn’t a big deal i just called last night cuz i had a question to ask.

D: well, i thought something happen to you. i thought you died! you didn’t answer phone.

me: /breakout laughter/ why would you think i died?

D: allergies are very bad right now, your allergies are bad. and you have asthma, and sometimes…asthma…can make you go to heaven.

hahahahaha

and bonus, here’s a quaint txt msg from my mom (who is on the road):

we are in the middle no where thanks for you girls nice gift GPS we are feeling more secure and safe

followed by another text:

we safe arrive to desert spring now *:-D

by william hundley. he’s a photographer who does interesting things with fabrics and people jumping beneath them, so that the end result looks like ghosts, but with whimsy. you probably saw his work already a year ago when boing boing wrote about it. i’m posting this photo just cuz it has a lovely impact on me. i love burgers, i love dogs. and i ESPECIALLY love wonderful, warm animal expressions. steve buscemi, anyone? for some reason, this photo reminds me of mike.

DUDE. the reno nugget rib cook off. man. that’ll be an epic blog post. stay tuned. so much crazy fun. peg’s pix — replete with bon mot captions — can be seen here.

tea time at the asian art museum’s MATCHA is this thursday, so come one, come all. only $5 for tons of tea and filling people watching. paul weller’s playing at the fillmore the same night. tempted. what time do you think he’d take the stage?

for now, just some random eye candy (for me) in no particular order:

a desert island fruit. golden kiwi. sweeter and creamier than its fuzzy green testicular cousin. with a hint of pear. delish. kiwis are good for you. my friend’s elderly mom eats one every day, and she’s a plucky healthy lady. kiwis are also called “chinese gooseberries.” i had to throw that in there.

FINALLY tried universal cafe. crossed that one off my list. didn’t disappoint. braised beef brisket hash with poached egg, salsa verde, sour cream (or was it creme fraiche?), and perfectly roasted taters. the chunks of meat were juicy and flavorful. definitely will go back. quaint atmosphere. the clientele is very SF, but not in an obnoxious way.

another conquest i can jettison from the list: dynamo donut out in the mission. i think it’s a husband and wife operation, tiny and charming with soul. they peddle “gourmet donuts” and yes they’re quite delicious. $2.50 a pop may seem pricey for a donut, but consider these quality nuggets of sinful sweetness. i wanted to try their banana caramel (win-win combo), but alas, we got chocolate star anise (rich and dense), vanilla bean glaze (more airy), and orange ginger (they only had three flavors). it’s a cute walk up structure too. lots of caffeinated beverage options.

the corner of 18th and guerrero was a madhouse on labor day afternoon. it was kind of gross, but what kind of person would i be (i know i’m misanthropic) to shudder at happy shiny people (including dirty hipsters) enjoying good food and the nourishing sunshine? crestfallen that they were out of the banana cream pie (an all time jyin favorite), i got the bread pudding, topped off with caramel-y bananas. perfect custardy fuel for the bike ride home.

oh yes. the last thing the internets needs is another banal rant about slow food nation. i went to the marketplace on friday. ambivalence. however, i did pay an outrageous $6 for these little pups. thank god they were delicious though, and supposedly regional to the south. perfect buttery biscuits sandwiching velveting shavings of succulent ham. with a side of fresh preserves. expensive, but worth it. never heard of or tried ham biscuits, so a first for me. disappointing? the let’s be frank $7 hot dog. nuh uh.

ain’t no party like a ham hock party.

over the wknd, i also managed to knock off two photo assignments for eater. bar jules and range. it felt productive. ps – i think i’m going blind in my right eye.

salt house is one of my favorite restaurants. i fell in love with it the moment i stepped foot inside the former press warehouse. i marveled at the industrial beams, simple-but-stylish light bulbs, mustard leather chairs, and other smart decorative touches. i even fell in love with the melt-in-your-mouth poutine. it strikes a lovely balance between space, decor, ambiance, and food. so i was pretty stoked when i found out i’d be photographing it for eater sf’s gatekeepers.

this was one of my favorite assignments. beautiful hostess, beautiful restaurant. it was pretty much the perfect experience. great example of what can happen when you have a down-to-earth friendly subject, sumptuous lighting, and a wickedly powerful camera. all the elements were in place. i was quite pleased with the way the photos turned out that day. if you’re a friend on flickr and actually give a crap (i wouldn’t), you can see them here. here’s the actual post.