Tag Archives: Canon

Alone at Candlestick Park

24 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, Remembering Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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I enjoyed my solitude at Candlestick Park. I arrived a couple of hours before the SF Giants would play ball and go exploring. I probably explored every nook and cranny at the Stick. There is not a single person in this photograph.

Solitude allowed me to examine the architecture and design of this great sports stadium. I would walk up and down each row. I would climb to the top and make my way down. It’s too bad digital cameras did not exist at this time. If I had a digital camera, I would have shot even more pictures.

We all need some time to examine without distractions. I would roam around the stadium searching for interesting shots. I found my creativity and love for stadium art. I applied my lessons from art college about photography as I was shooting. This was my time of discovery to find out my identity as a photographer.

In these quiet moments, I concentrated to shoot Candlestick Park with a different perspective than an ordinary sports arena. It was my goal to present Candlestick Park from all angles and to “show it off”. My photography marked my beginnings as a photographer. I was in my “happy place” when I was shooting photos at the Stick.

When I shot photos at Candlestick Park, I never thought one day it would be gone. I’m so glad I have these photographs which represent my beginning passions as a photographer.  These photos allow to remember the person I was to compare with the person I am today. It is a reminder of where I was and how I hopefully progressed.

My Lessons learned –

  • Seek your place for solitude to grow and reflect
  • Who am I today versus who was I once upon a time – Look at your old pictures to remind yourself who you were. Hope you can be proud of who you are today.

Photos are good reminders!

 

Picture Perfect Day at Candlestick Park for SF Giants Game

23 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, Remembering Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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It was a great game with a full house on Fuji Photo Day at Candlestick Park on Saturday, May 14, 1988. The Giants defeated the Mets 3-2 with Mike Krukow getting the win. The weather was fantastic this day with sunshine and a light breeze.

I took this picture so long ago that there were no digital cameras at the time. I used a Canon 35mm camera and shot with Kodachrome transparency film and scanned it. I am glad the image and colors held up over the years on the 35mm transparency.

Candlestick Park was almost like a another home for me to hang out in. It was the first stadium where I could easily go and watch the SF Giants play ball. I did not have to plan way in advance (as I have to do now) to attend a baseball game. I could just walk up to the stadium and buy a ticket.

Candlestick Park welcomed all of us to be a part of the games whether the SF Giants or the 49ers. We all felt comfortable attending games with our family and friends. Yes, the stadium was not perfect and became a little worn and old looking as time progressed. But it was a place where we could relax and enjoy a sports event.

Did you ever go and visit somebody’s home where you did feel comfortable? Or maybe you encounter new people and they make you uncomfortable for some reason? They could be not very friendly, or their personality does not fit with ours.

It is an amicable trait when you meet someone who is genuinely makes you feel at ease and relaxed. This is a good characteristic we each could strive to have.

How can we make others relaxed and at ease?

  • Be relaxed and don’t exhibit stress
  • Smile so others will smile
  • Ask a few questions but listen more
  • Be genuinely interested and empathic to others

Candlestick Park was a the stadium where we could practice these things with each other while having fun watching baseball or football. It helped us relaxed. It made us smile. It allowed us to talk or be quiet. It allowed us to have a good time with our family and friends.

Can we make others comfortable just as Candlestick Park made us comfortable?

Photos remind us of our old feelings!

Fastest Hunk o’ Junk in the Galaxy! Millennium Falcon for Star Wars IV – VI

16 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by in Millennium Falcon, Millennium Falcon Movie Model, Star Wars, The Tech Museum of Innovation

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Here are more photographs from my visit to the San Jose Tech Innovation Museum during the Star Wars exhibition.

I love the Millennium Falcon ship. This was my favorite part of the exhibition. The actual size of the model was larger than I expected. There are several models of the ship. There were smaller models used for certain scenes. The display lighting for the Millennium Falcon was good for shooting these photographs. Unfortunately, there was a display case that creates unwanted reflections in the pictures. But of course, the case was there to protect the model. Everyone would want to touch the model which could cause damage.

It is interesting to note the Millennium Falcon, Rebel Blockage Runner, and the Imperial Star Destroyer were all displayed at different locations at the exhibit. Unfortunately, I could not take pictures of the models together.  The models are roughly the same size as per the description in the above picture. They just filmed the models away at different distances to give the illusion of different sizes.

Do you remember Lando’s quote in reference to the Millennium Falcon?

“You know, that ship’s saved my life quite a few times? She’s the fastest hunk o’ junk in the galaxy!”

See above Hans Solo’s quote about the Millennium Falcon?

“She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts.”

Here’s another one of Hans’ quotes about this ship.

“You’ve never heard of the Millennium Falcon? It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs!”

So even though, this ship may not have had a polished finish or maybe even the latest technology, it was able to perform quickly and efficiently. It still could race thru and get its crew to their destination and win the important battles.

Luke Skywalker’s initial reaction to seeing the ship was “What a piece of junk!”. Why was the Millennium Falcon able to perform? Well, thanks to the expertise of Lando Calrissian, Hans Solo, Chewbacca, and Rey’s special modifications to the ship, it was able to exceed expectations for speed and maneuverability.

Even in “The Force Awakens, Rey said “That one is garbage” when she first saw the Millennium Falcon. When the other ship they ran to blew up, she exclaims “The garbage will do”.

So appearances can be deceptive.

Be careful not to judge that all Junk is actually Junk!

Interiors can be better than the Exterior – Understand the inside and outside of people and objects

Photographs Teach Great Lessons! Keep photographs to teach!

Candlestick Park Red Chair Flare

08 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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This Candlestick Park Red Chairs photograph was shot in the later afternoon before a night game. These chairs are the best memorabilia to remember the Stick! Maybe one day my wife will allow me to own an actual chair. I did buy an orange seat to use as a background for shooting my photo products.

Notice the light flare on the upper right corner. As per 2nd previous post where I mention about most of the time, a photographer will avoid this light flare in a picture. Well this is an example where I wanted the flare to show the light rays over the rows of chairs. The flare also reflects a nice glow on the bright red chairs.

A photograph should show off the best features of the subject. This light accentuates and highlights the good attributes for these chairs at the Stick. The natural flare also gave a great glow to these classic red stadium chairs.

Natural lighting is an important ingredient for a good picture.

My mother-in-law (who is only 99 years old) has a habit of wanting to save money and close the lights. If she gets up in the middle of the night, she will not turn on the light. She already does not have perfect sight, and light will illumine her path to prevent an accident. I have tried to help by putting night and motion lights to help her.

Just like my mother-in-law – we forget how important light is and how much we need it.

Practice shooting pictures with different degrees of natural lighting to see the reflection, flare, and glow in your results.

As always – my photos are not altered via software to give the “glow”.

Get the glow on in your photos!

 

 

SF Giants Opening Night at Candlestick Park Against the LA Dodgers

07 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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The fans were getting ready for the SF Giants Opening night game on April 15, 1991. This was before the game started as the stadium crew were getting ready for the pregame fireworks show.

It is always fun to attend a SF Giants Opening game. I cannot say I attended an opening game every year. But it is an exciting time to anticipate the beginning of a new season and the possibilities of victory.

This game was particularly exciting since it was against the Dodgers. You can see in the  photo how the seats were filling up with hopeful fans. Unfortunately, the SF Giants did not get a win that night.

Despite the outcome of the game, fans remember the good times they spent together with family and friends watching either baseball or football.

Even though, there were many games when the SF Giants did not do well, somehow we do not talk as much about the defeats. Instead we reminisce about the relationships we built as we spent time together at the Stick.

Candlestick Park taught us the importance of spending time together to create good memories. We get too busy with work, chores, and just life.

Prioritize to find a way to spend time with those you deem important. Don’t allow our excuses to prevent gathering with friends and family. Find a way to build stronger relationships in 2020.

Photos Inspire me to remember my good memories at Candlestick Park!

Destress with Photos!

 

Setting Sun at SF Giants Batting Practice at Candlestick Park

05 Sunday Jan 2020

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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I arrived early to attend an evening SF Giants Game at Candlestick Park. It was nice to go earlier to watch batting practice in the late afternoon and relax by shooting photos at the Stick.

Notice the late afternoon sun created a flare at the upper portion of this photo. This occurs with sun’s light and reflection from the camera’s lens. We often would want to minimize this effect to not obstruct your photograph. Or you could use this effect to accentuate an aspect of your picture.

I took this photograph about 25 years ago. Today we can buy lenses that can help minimize the sun’s flare in our photographs.

Light is always important when we take pictures. But we need to be aware of the effects of the sun with the surroundings of the picture as well as the reflection from our lenses.

Just as we need good lighting and reduction of flare to get a good clear picture, we need “good lighting” to see ourselves.

I am thankful to celebrate a new year and am looking forward to continuing my quest to achieve my goals. It is hard to look at ourselves to see the reality of our strengths and weaknesses. Reality is sometimes hard to face. We can be blind to our personal reality especially in seeing our weaknesses.

I hope I can get “good lighting” from my personal reflections as well as from family and friends to have a good look at my life’s reality. I hope to reduce the “flare”effect, so I can see reality to improve in 2020!

Here’s wishing you a great 2020! My Candlestick Park photographs have always been a great inspiration to me in so many ways. Hope you can find photos to inspire and reveal reality in your life.

 

Night SF Giants game at Candlestick Park in 1988

13 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, Remembering Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants, Sports Photography

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The SF Giants played the Montreal Expos (Now the Washington Nationals) in 1988 at Candlestick Park. I took this picture from the back of the lower reserved area behind home plate.

We can see this was not a good year for the SF Giants, since we can see the upper deck and center field seats are empty. Often times there were lots of empty seats during the weeknight games.

Notice also the red glow due to the incandescent lighting over the people in front of me in the photograph.  This lighting accentuates the vintage appearance to this photograph.

The fans who are willing to attend a weeknight game are special and important. It shows their desire to be faithful to their team even when the SF Giants were not performing well. These fans are willing to be an encouragement to the players who are stressed about their ability to score to get a winning game.

It is a good lesson about loyalty to a family, spouse, friend or any association entity group. How faithful are we to stick with someone thru good and bad times. When our relationships get difficult, are we willing to endure and find resolutions to situations. Often times, we prefer an easy way out and leave to avoid difficult times. We need to be available to those who are important to our life. Do your loved ones know they can count on you when they are in need? Do we find ways to serve and help even when we are not asked specifically.

I have been a loyal SF Giants fans since my days of shooting pictures at the Stick. I was depressed in their bad years. I was super excited when they achieved their great triumphs and victories. Their championship wins were even more exciting since I (like many other fans) waited patiently many years.

Whether you are a faithful SF Giants fan like me is not as important as answering the following question — Are you as loyal and faithful to take care of the important people in your life?

Learn Lessons from Pictures!

 

 

 

Glorious Afternoon before Game 4 of the NLCS at Candlestick Park

11 Wednesday Dec 2019

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, Remembering Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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Being at Candlestick Park in the afternoon was a treat when there was sunshine and not fog. There was excitement in the air, since we were waiting for Game 4 of National League Championship Series with the SF Giants playing. We can see the fans are slowly filling up the stadium

I love the striped fields with the plaid pattern behind home plate. I noticed that this pattern is much less pronounced at Oracle Park. It would be cool if the Grounds Crew spelled out SF Giants on the field at Oracle Park for a special occasion.

Do you ever imagine crazy ideas and dismiss them thinking they are dumb. As I was writing this post and imagining field patterns at Candlestick Park, I was realizing how we need to relax and spend time daydreaming ideas. Do we allow ourselves the luxury to dream?

When I started roaming around the Stick, I never dreamed this stadium would be gone one day. I had the best time of my life looking for my art before watching the SF Giants play baseball. I never imagined that I would even share my photographs in any way like I am doing today.

My attitude is not always very optimistic. I do not like being disappointed, which is why I am more cautious with my dreaming. We do need to “let it go” and dream. I’m sure there are many successful individuals who were not afraid to dream and “go for it”. This is a lesson I am trying to learn.

If you have seen any other interesting field patterns, please share with me.

Hope this photograph encourages you to dream your own “Field of Dreams” and let your imagine go wild!

Find your inspiration in a photo!

Upper Box Looking Down at the Luxury Box Windows and Field at Candlestick Park

08 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, Remembering Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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I took some pictures back in the late 1980’s with my 35mm Canon film camera. I used high speed Kodak 35mm T-Max 3200 black and white film. This type of film produces fairly big grain in the pictures. I processed the film myself in my darkroom. I no longer have the darkroom, but scanned the negatives with my Epson flatbed scanner.

I took this picture from the Upper Box section down the first base line at Candlestick Park during batting practice at a SF Giants game. It was cool to see the reflection of the playing field on the top windows of the Luxury Box section just below.

Using window or other objects which show a reflection add another dimension to ones photographs. Span a perspective scene to see what you can shoot to add an interesting view. Look for any shiny surface where you can catch an interesting reflection.

Reflections remind me about how we look at own reflections to see either our flaws or attributes. Often we are more concerned with our flaws instead of our good features. A reflection can show off a scene favorably.

So can we be less critical about our reflection and appreciate who we are?

#PhotosInspire

 

From the Upper Deck to Being on the Field during Fuji Photo Day at Candlestick Park

05 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, Remembering Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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Fuji Photo Day was one of my favorite promotions the SF Giants had at Candlestick Park. These pictures were taken back on Saturday, May 14, 1988, when the Giants played the Mets. This was back in the days when there were no digital cameras, and I shot with 35mm color film.

These pictures provide 3 levels of perspective of the field at Candlestick Park – looking from the top, overview behind home plate, and directly looking at the grass.

One of the things I loved about the Fuji Photo Days was being allowed to walk on the field. When we are allowed to be on the field at Oracle Park, I love to walk on a well groomed baseball field. I get really excited to be on the SF Giants playing field. Whenever I had an opportunity to walk on the field at Candlestick or Oracle Park, I touched the grass with my hands. It was also nice to sit on the grass to feel the softness of world class natural turf.

We can learn how to approach personal problems from the 3 levels as seen in these photos.

  1. View a problem from a broader perspective. Analyze the total effect of a problem.
  2. Narrow down to see various effects of a problem.
  3. Get up close to see one part of the problem

Let me translate this approach.

When I was mugged while shooting the demolition of Candlestick Park, I experienced anger, frustration, and bitterness.

  1. So I examined my past to see where my problem originated to get the broader perspective. These feelings originated from childhood bullying experiences.
  2. The effects of the problem continue to haunt me when I feel I am treated unjustly.
  3. Getting up close to find a solution revolves on my desire to replace the anger with peace via prayer and surrender.

Candlestick Park is not just a baseball stadium. It continues to show me life solutions are possible when we examine ourselves at all levels.

Find photos to inspire!