walkin' round Chinatown

ummm i didn't intend on that title to sound rhymy like that but it is what it is. 

so, guys. i've recently decided that i'm going to start learning how to properly use my dslr. i've never really taken the time to figure out it's functions because photography can be heavy monetarily so i've always just pushed it aside. but i really love photography. if i'm ever at a museum, i'm more drawn to photographs than paintings or sculptures. also, i feel like photography is just more real. 

with that said, you'll likely start to see posts of random photo sessions as i learn to properly use a dslr. hopefully the pictures will get better and better but i'm not making any promises here. also, my camera is cheap and i don't own lenses so i've got to work with what i've got. lucky for me i'll have some opportunities to borrow lenses from somebody who has actually invested in the hobby. also lucky for me that he trusts me to handle his equipment. i really do hope i get better at it. remember when i showed you all of my favorite snapshots? just imagine if i took those photos with a decent camera and some know how. they'd be so so much better. 

so today i took a stroll around Chinatown in SF and snapped some pictures with my cheapo camera. i've found that for every 100 pictures i take, i'm bound to like maaaaybe two or so. i don't particularly love these photos below but they're the best of the bunch, so here you go! (and some are just cultural references that aren't great photos)

all of the lights

there are always a ton of people at the park in Chinatown and people end up leaving stuff behind all over the place. this magazine or whatever looked like it'd been there for a while.

focused on the panels rather than the people on this one

i took this just to show the culture of immigrant Chinese. the older generation goes to the park on a daily basis. they bring little seats or stools to sit on and lay out some cardboard to play cards, checkers, chess or other games. yeeeaaahh gambling is prevalent in the Chinese culture. 

where a ton of people wish to have their wedding banquet. i don't know if i've ever been up there but apparently it's sort of a big deal. 

dried salted fish. looks gross and creepy but i grew up with it so......yeah

i wouldn't recommend it to anybody who isn't really adventurous food-wise

well isn't this a shitty picture! the sun was shining directly in it's direction so it washed out the top portion of this pic. apparently you can fix this using a gradient filter, but i don't have one of those. and i didn't feel like waiting another 45 minutes for the sun to lower.

this mural holds near and dear to my heart because the man on the bottom left looks exactly like my grandfather who's passed. it's not likely that whoever painted this mural had a photo of my grandpa to paint from, but who knows. anyhow, anytime i pass this it makes me think of him, so i hope that they never ever paint over it.

fortune cookie factory!! less a factory, more like a one woman show. 

you see these imitation jade rings all over the place in Chinatown

i also took a few pictures with my phone just because i instagram good food....

a fresh, warm, unfolded fortune cookie. i could eat like 10,000 of these in one sitting. 

i like southern style fried chicken, but NOTHING beats these chicken drumettes from New Golden Daisy. i shit you not, these are theeee best version of fried chicken ever in life. 

i took this in the car while sitting in traffic. 

sooo you're telling me it's almost nighttime and it's only 5pm??