~~~ Finding things I musn't do, to do ~~~ ***Photography Post*** This weekend, the local analog photography group had a meetup at a local coffee house. I was looking forward to it and packed up my medium-format rangefinder into my smallest Domke bag, and headed out. I ran into some aquaintances that I'd met before, and we talked about places we've been, and would like to go. We sipped hot coffee and tea, and had a generally nice time. Eventually, the shop got overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who came to this event... clearly there were about double the amount of photographers to chairs. In my older age, I get a little uncomfortable when the quarters get too tight. I excused myself, and went out for some air, and took a few shots up and down the street. Eventually, I gave my wife the "nod" that it was time to leave. I felt bad leaving early, but I really just wanted to have a more relaxed Sunday morning. Everyone was nice, I just needed a mental breather. ***Where to? My wife asked me if I wanted to run home, decompress a bit and then head out to a little beach town to photograph. I heartily agreed. For some reason, I wasn't in an analog-photography mood anyway. I wanted to grab my digital camera, and shoot that instead. I replaced the analog camera with my digital, and grabbed a spare battery.... ready for adventure. The beach town we ended up in, we'd been to a hundred times. My closest friends used to play music on the midway all summer long, until the venue shuddered a few years ago. ***The off season First of all, I love going to the beach on the off-season. It's got a very liminal-space feeling, seeing all the same places but with no people milling around. The day was roughly 41F and winds were in the 20mph range, so not a warm day, by any definition. I stepped onto the midway, camera over my shoulder and started looking around. My eyes were immediately drawn to the shuttered bar where my friends used to play. Peeking through the glass, the venue looked like it had been abandoned in the middle of a function. There were still glasses with drinks in them sitting on the tables! Time, and salt-air hasn't been kind to the club. Once-meticulously maintained, the rails and staircases are covered in oxidation. I snapped a photo of the venue for myself. It's an odd feeling standing outside a place that once welcomed you - as you played for an at-capacity crowd, is now chained off with "No Tresspassing" Signs all around. ***Rounding the corner We walked behind the club, and into a large parking area that had been - as long as I recall - gated off. Now we were behind the bar, and a whole row of other clubs restaurants and arcades that were completely vacant and abandoned. The weekend had brought some very high winds, and the door for one of the buildings had been blown down (the "keep out" sign with it.) Of course, I had to walk inside to see what I could see. The entire roof was gone, and the building appeared to be what was left of a restaurant. There was a glass window reading: "Calzones". I framed up as many shots as I could, and picked out details in the space. The once-vibrant red, white and blue-painted walls are now dingy, faded and peeling. This place was clearly someone's dream, many years ago. A calzone shop overlooking the ocean... now a blown out shell, ready for demolition. Making way for more overpriced real-estate no doubt. *** Further down the mid-way A little further down the way was a low-ceilinged open air pavillion. From a distance, it appeared to be a large stage. As I got closer, I realized that the floor was thick steel plates. I looked up at the ceiling, and it was oxidezed metal. This place was an old bumper-car platform. The metal ceiling provided the current for the electric buggys to drive around. The harsh weather, and the lack of maintenance has made this childhood favorite attraction look like a scene from a horror film. The steel floor panels are a deep red-brown, and several panels are even missing. I stood inside the pavillion, and took a shot. Without the bumper-cars, the distance between the floor and the ceiling seems to close off at the ends. In my photo in particular, the contrast between the bright blue sky outside and the dark interior is stark. It evokes a feeling of being somewhere you were not meant to see. *** No good deed... or something like that... ~~~ Obligatory tech content So, I've been unable to fully excise myself from Big Tech. My photography friends are there, as well as my music friends. We still use the Blue F to book events, and photography - being a visual medium - is better viewed as JPGs, and not UTF-8 encoded text. Anyway, I got home, and triaged the images from my memory card, and shared my favorites of the day. My favorite usual-suspects made their comments, and we talked about when we can finally get back together and shoot together again, and have some beers. Then I received a comment that made me feel a way that I'm having trouble putting into words... ***The ICK I guess "the ick" is about the best way I can put it... Someone that I don't know well **AT ALL** but asked to "friend" me at a music-gig decided to comment on my photographs. To be fair, the comments were not unfriendly, and I'm certain the person had the best of intentions... it just hit me a particular way. The Comment was simply: "Where did you go? ---(referring to the weekly music event I typically attend)--- We missed you!" See nothing bad, right? This stupid comment made me feel the weight of this algorithm-saturated "social" monster that permeates everything we do, and everywhere you go. So many of us have gotten sp used to putting every little thing we do on "the socials" that we don't even think twice about people asking our whereabouts. I dunno, maybe I'm too sensitive... maybe not enough. I'm also aware that I probably write too much, myself here on the gopherspace. Either way, I"ll keep going here on Port 70, and continue to distance myself from the algorithms as much as possible. As always, Be Excellent To Each Other! ___________.__ __ __ __________.__ \__ ___/| |__ _____ / \ / \ ____ _____ \____ /| | | | | | \\__ \\ \/\/ // __ \\__ \ / / | | | | | Y \/ __ \\ /\ ___/ / __ \_/ /_ | |__ |____| |___| (____ /\__/\ / \___ >____ /_______ \|____/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/