Argentina - Buenos Aires

Worth a couple of days at most unless you have local friends to show you around. Lovely tree-lined streets, European architecture. No real "must-see"s, though Recoleta Cemetery is cool and there is an awesome graffiti tour. Unbearably hot and humid in the summer months.

Argentina 2014 - The Plan

"Photography is my memory. I have chosen photography to prove that I exist"

I found this quote from a photographer a while back and it really resonated with me. I had considered writing lengthy posts about each place that I went during my three-week trip to Argentina, but decided I would rather let my photos tell the story instead.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think that is a gross underestimation. Truthfully, I don't think I have the words to do justice to some of the sights I have seen. Though my pictures are not comprehensive enough or of high enough quality to truly encapsulate then whole experience, they certainly do a much better job than I could do in writing.

The plan is to create a post of pictures with minimal captions for each place I went. It might take a while for me to work through all of the shots I've taken to find and process the best ones, but I'll try to get it done as quickly as possible.

A Loss

My grandma fast passed away last night. She was just a couple weeks away from turning 89. From what I understand, the end came quickly and wasn't painful.

She liked to wear broaches pinned to her jacket and to drink tea. I often thought she fancied herself similar to the queen of england.

She was the first person I travelled overseas with. We spent two weeks touring England and Wales back when I was in high school.

She always made sure ribs were on the menu at least one night whenever I was around. She knew they were my favorite and hers were particularly delicious.

She once cleaned and cooked live fish the we caught off the pier. She had said she would and kept her word, though she clearly expected that they'd show up dead like fish from the supermarket.

She would use words that nobody else knew when we played scrabble or quiddler. We regularly protested, but the dictionary always proved her right.

She was my friend on Facebook and once scolded me for dropping an f-bomb in my status. She also continued to send me handwritten letters despite knowing how to email.

Her life had more wonderful snippets and stories than I could possibly write down. She will be greatly missed.

I haven't seen my grandma in over five years and was planning on going to the cottage next summer just to see how she was doing. I wish I hadn't waited so long. Don't forget to tell the people who matter to you how much you love them every chance that you get.

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Week Fifty: In That Moment

I stepped out of a reception for student leaders to take this shot. The view just got better and better every time I caught a glimpse out the window as the sunset until it reached the point where I had to excuse myself, grab my camera, and step outside.

I love love love sunsets, but they are tricky to shoot. It's always hard to know when they're at their best and, once the moment passes, they can drop off so quickly. I invariably find myself with a ton of shots and have to dig through them to find the very best of the bunch. This was the last of the series I took and I wonder if I wouldn't have been better off giving it a minute or two more, just long enough for the blues to darken up a bit without losing the boldness of the oranges at the bottom. I probably could have messed around with the colors in Lightroom to get the effect, but I like trying to keep my photos true to what my eyes really saw.

[ 49 / 52 ]

Week Forty-Nine: Ol' Blue Eyes

North Berkeley is home to a lot of cats. It's hard to tell how many of them are strays and how many are just being let run around by their owners. In any case, my roommates Andrew and Shawna have started naming their favorite ones. They dubbed this little fellow Frank because he was like Ol' Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra. On top of being a long hair, he's also a chubby little guy and has no collar or tags. He was munching on some grass when I came across him, so it's hard to tell if someone is keeping him well fed or if he's just doing a great job manicuring people's lawns. Either way, he was super friendly and just chilled out while I fired off a bunch of shots. I look forward to the next time our paths cross.

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Week Forty-Eight: A Splash of Red

The Vintners Market is a wonderful event that happens at Fort Mason in San Francisco twice a year where winemakers from all over California come to show off their stuff. Though a ticket will run you $50-ish, all of the winemakers offer free tastings, which makes for a boozy four hours. You hop from table to table, chatting up the people and trying all kinds of wines. Most of the wines are solid (as long as you aren't a fancy pants wine snob) and everyone is more than happy to sell you a bottle on the spot if you really like something you try.

This particular wine was an impulse (read: intoxicated?) purchase that I'm quite pleased with. It wasn't cheap but it will be a wonderful bottle to bust out when a special occasion comes up. It's also a lovely bottle, so I'm more than happy to have it sitting in my room in the meantime!

[ 47 /52 ]

Week Forty-Seven: Some Things Last Longer

Right around the time I first started actually thinking about what I wore, my grandma starting giving away a lot of my grandpa's old clothes to the grandchildren. He had Parkinson's, which caused him to lose a lot of weight, so most of them didn't fit him anymore.

My grandpa was a doctor back in the days when doctors wore suits and was always a well dressed man, so there were a lot of great pieces in his closet. Many of them were the first truly high quality clothes I ever owned and I remember wearing his old Hugo Boss shirts and silk socks, feeling like I was dressed to the nines. I loved that feeling and I think my experience with his clothes was really influential to the relationship I have with clothing today.

One of my favorite items that came from my grandpa was a red jacket from Ralph Lauren. Nearly ten years later, I still wear it fairly regularly in the colder months. I can only imagine how long he owned it before me, but that it is still in great shape and doesn't look at all dated is a testament to both its quality and timelessness. It has been more than six years since my grandpa passed away, but it still reminds me of him. I hope it will be around to continue reminding me for many more years to come.