Late last October I was all set to regularly venture out with my new mirrorless and rangefinder cameras (and new leg) and get back into photography, rejoin local society in a way that was difficult before (with the bad leg), mingle, that sort of thing. But soon after, in early November, something happened that left me ashamed of, and mortified by, oh I don't know, about half the population of my country (US), more or less. So I didn't.
But moping on my couch replaying old video games for the dozenth time wasn't really solving anything.
So, a couple nights ago, near the end of an unseasonably chilly, Friday night, after being up with the telescopes through the wee hours, I had some energy left and decided to finally get out of the house and take some pictures. And what better place to start over once again than Balboa Park.
I showered, got dressed, and packed up my rangefinder and a couple lenses. I wore a warm leather jacket and a leather cowboy hat (the hat idea was recommended by my dermatologist), anticipating a chilly day. By the time I got to the park, I had missed golden hour, but it was still just early enough to find a parking space on a Saturday morning.
Figure 1. Moreton Bay Fig tree, mid-morning. This tree was planted as a small tree in 1914 in preparation for Balboa Park's 1915 Panama-California Exposition.
After taking a few shots of the fig tree, I decided to hike over to the other side of the Cabrillo Bridge, on the opposite side of the park. There was a vantage point I had in mind for a photo.
To my surprise during that trek, I realized that what was a chilly night was quickly becoming an unseasonably warm and sunny day. I'm talkin' tank-top, sandals, and shorts weather. And here I am lugging around my camera gear and bundled up in my warm clothes. Oh, well, too late to stop now, I thought.
The new leg is a godsend, but I do still have a significant limp. And the three months of nearly idle atrophy on the couch doesn't help matters. The walk across the park wasn't as easy as I had expected. So in addition to the warm weather surprise, I mostly realized how out of shape I am. Nevertheless, I pressed on.
Eventually I reached the other side of the bridge where an unpaved, dirt trail-head started. I hiked down the trail a few tens of meters to find disappointment: the vantage point I was counting on for the photo was obstructed by overgrowth.
I wasn't about to let some thicket of trees and weeds stop me. I've come this far. Off the trail and into the brush I ventured.
I crouched under some branches and weaved my way through some bushes and poop (human -- not recommended), and eventually pushed my way through to a partial view of the Cabrillo Bridge and California Tower.
Figure 2. Cabrillo Bridge and California Tower. Late-morning.
The vantage point for the shot wasn't what I was hoping for. Not just because of the poop; it doesn't really do the bridge justice. Next time I'll try some different vantage points possibly at different times of the day.
I zigzaged back through the weeds and poop, back under the low branches and climbed up the steep hill to the road.
On the way up I noticed a marked increase in pedestrian traffic on the road above. This is normal, given the time of day. I was quite winded by that point, being so out of shape.
Now mind you, I've barely stepped foot into the sunlight in months (astronomy hours and all) so my pale skin was as pasty as pasty gets. My white beard was getting pretty mangy. I haven't had a haircut in nearly forever; it just hangs long and scraggly. The warm jacket and leather cowboy hat didn't help with the heat; sweat was oozing down my brow, holding onto leaves and prickles from the brush. Also there were bags under my eyes due to not sleeping the night before.
So when I suddenly crawled up and out of the bushes onto the sidewalk like some sort of undead Lemmy, I can tell you that I got some serious looks. As I hobbled back to the main section of the park, people stayed out of my way, often crossing to the other side of the road. ...Which is great!
The first thing I did was limp back to my car to drop off my jacket. Parking was all full-up by that point. My traversing the lot and not leaving with my car peeved a few drivers who were playing the parking game.
Second order of business was to find some water. Dehydration was kicking in. Sitting at a restaurant's bar I drank some coffee and after the fifth glass of water I felt much better. It gave me some time to cool off, casually chimp the photos I took earlier, and make plans for what's next. The servers were quite nice but I think they felt sorry for me. Just as I was leaving I overheard a couple of them talking about me. "The guy in the hat looks like he's had a rough day, huh," one smirked. The other replied, "I think he looks kinda punk."
That was the nicest compliment I've overheard in years.
Next up was the newly renovated Botanical Building. This building had been under construction/renovation for what must have been about 3 years. They finally finished the phase 1 of the project, and it's reopened to the public.
Figure 3. Botanical Building. Mid-day. Built in 1915, this building recently completed renovations.
By the way, that pond in the picture is the Lilly Pond: The same pond as in the pictures I posted back in July (e.g., post 2061), but from the opposite direction. The July post photos were taken from the white bridge facing south. This photo here is from the other side facing north.
I kinda wanted to head inside the Botanical Building, but I decided to save that for another day.
Instead I paid a relaxing first visit to the Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA), which also happens to be in Balboa Park. (
https://mopa.org)
Then I headed back to the parking lot (a.k.a., carpark). On the way back, there was somebody else's car that looked kind of interesting, parallel parked on the street.
Figure 4. Somebody else's car. Mid-day.
I've never been much of a car person. I've always said I'd rather have a fast computer rather than a fast car. Still, some cars are pretty photogenic. So there's that.
Figure 5. Torus shaped objects. Mid-day.
That wraps it up for this outing. I purchased an annual pass for all the museums in Balboa Park, so I'm sure I'll be back before long.
