Hey Doc

(Haight-Ashbury District)
Can't remember when was the last time I visited there but things looked different now. Like this pair of legs sticking out of the window.

Can't believe how tall the weeds has grown on this blog.

Street photography is always the hardest especially after the 9/11. People are afraid of evil intention when seeing someone with a camera at a public area. Holding a huge DSLR camera with a huge lens is guarantied to raise some eyebrow. Stealthy is the trick. Leica rangefinder camera is best known for this purpose. But not many amature photographers can afford the high price of owning one.
Lately, Olympus and Panasonic came out with their micro four third (m4/3rd) camera to serve just this market. They are smaller then the DSLR (less the mirror and the viewfinder) but with a larger and better sensor then the compact point-and-shoot cameras. Will I get one of those cameras? After reading few reviewer's comment of this new breeds, I am convinced that there is still room to grow to become perfect.


(Sam Wo restaurant, San Francisco Chinatown)
This restaurant is at the same location for as long as I can remember. They are well known not for their excellent food nor the fancy decor, in fact, its old and stick dirty and the food is just OK. They are well known because of Edsel, the insulting waiter. He told the customer what to order and what not in a rather rude ways, somehow this did not turn people off but became his own style. I read that he was last seen around 2002. Other waiters tried to imitate his character but its just not the same. Now Edsel is gone but Sam Wo remains.


(An older gentlemen carefully selecting his cucumber)
Stockton street seems always busy with people doing their daily shopping for fresh ingredient to cook for their meal. Fresh vegetables, live fish are abundant. There used to be stores selling live chickens but later was banned for the reason of "animal cruelty" by the animal rights group because of their lousy "living condition".


(Helper arranging fresh vegetables for display)


("Where can I find the good deal of the day?")

(California red abalone)
Once again, it is Mike's annual north coast ab dab on Labor Day weekend. It goes back to many moons ago when a group of diving friends got together thinking it was a fun thing to do to hunt for abalone. For people living on the coast of California, abalone is known to be the delicacy from the sea. Combine the good eating food and the challenge of taking it underwater, trips to the north coast became the pilgrimage each year during the abalone season. Red abalone is the only specie can be harvested legally by none-commercial divers during the seven months of a year. Ab dab is good friends, good food and good times. Our group of friends had grown in size with years. Kids started to show up, then they grow bigger and older. Their kids starts to show up.



For more pictures, follow this link

(Stop 'N' Save)
On my way to get my morning coffee at Peet's. Its nice to get away from Taiwan's Summer humid heat for awhile. Its a busy sky above San Jose, tell by the number of contrails.