San Diego 2021 Pt. 2

This entry has been sitting in my drafts for months and I finally got around to finishing it. The last few weeks have been crazy trying to meet project deadlines at airports I've never worked at before. Lots and lots of late nights, but I can finally see the light.

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My second roll from San Diego was shot on Fuji 400h with the same gloomy condition as the Kodak Gold roll. When I got my scans back from the lab, I was surprised by the cyan cast all the shots had. I'd be lying if I said I didn't hate it. I've shot 400h before, and it did not look like this.

I knew 400h tends to be on the cooler side. I asked some friends who scan their own film if it was my shooting settings or environment that caused it. They agreed that the cyan was a little much. Apparently, it's up to the experience of the lab technician. I decided to do a comparison experiment and sent the processed film to the main lab I use.

Check out the comparison shots below. Honestly, some shots I preferred are from the first lab, and others, the second.

Neighborhood Nostalgia

I said goodbye to a small corner of LA that was my home for 5 years.

I took these pictures in October 2020 to try Fujifilm 400h for the first time. I finished the roll and it ended up sitting in a box for a few months. By the time I sent them out and got them back from the lab I was already in the transition of moving. Scanning through my shots I realized my day-to-day views would be a lot different.

Nostalgia hit hard looking back at my shots on film. These views are from the sidewalks I used every day to chase my dreams in LA, and the ones that lead me home to a place that was my own. A little corner with 5 years worth of memories.

Ventura Summer, Winter Reflections

Film snapshots of home. Taken at the 'height' of the pandemic, at least what we thought would be the peak.

I took these photos in March 2020. Quarantine measures were just beginning and not as strict, or at least people didn't take it seriously - which obviously shows in these snapshots. I got weird looks for wearing a mask at the beach, and we ended up staying only a few minutes. Just enough time to snap these pictures since everyone had varying definitions of 6-foot separation.

It's December as I write this and reflect. The cases are rising - worse than what they predicted it would be in March. More and more people I know test positive. Ironically, fewer people seem to care - even the ones affected with the virus. It's disheartening to see people disregard quarantine measures for ...personal gain? I don't even know or understand that mindset. It's made me look at people differently. It's been hard not to cast judgment when essential workers are doing the MOST for their communities, and the general public can't seem to understand the ramifications of their actions.

The human race as a whole is selfish and flawed. 2020 really brought out and highlighted all the nasty.

Praying 2021 sheds a different light. More forgiveness. More consciousness of others, and less of self.