Some fresh shots from downtown SF, as seen on my LC-A. I love the relaxing FedEX driver, above, but I loved having a chance to watch a couple SFPD officers allow some kids to take photo-ops on their motorbikes. Adorbs!

I met Mark on the corner of 6th and Mission. It was a foggy day and for some reason I kept bumping into people with guitars during my stroll. I stopped Mark to talk about his mandolin and snap some shots of Mark before he disappeared into back into the fog.

I’m heading out to New York next week to teach a really cool “appsperiment” workshop at Adorama. I’ll cover basics of Decim8, Glitch Lab, and Filterstorm and show my tips and tricks for creating compelling glitch and experimental art on a mobile device. Sign up here.

Mon, May 20, 2013
5:30PM – 7:30PM
Registration deadline: May 19, 2013

Event location: The Adorama Building,
42 West 18th Street 5th Floor

Mark likes to keep an oven mitt on the head of his guitar to keep it from getting banged up while he walks around. Though he considers himself a shy guy, he admits that he sometimes enjoys the extra attention the oven mitt brings him. “This morning a little girl on the MUNI high-fived my guitar” he says with a smile.

I rode the Coast Starlight up to Stumptown Comics Fest to sell some zines. Spent most of my time shooting pics with my Sun&Cloud, but I also caught a few gems on my LC-A+.

You may have already noticed that I’m a fan of the Digital Harinezumi by Superheadz. It’s close to everything I could want in a casual street camera… but it’s a battery hog. The Harinezumi eats CR2 batteries for breakfast, and at $9 a pop, that’s not cheap. So I was stoked when I had a chance to order a Sun&Cloud rechargeable camera through my friends at Photobooth.

The Sun&Cloud is Superheadz newest model of “digital toy” cameras. It’s basically the same charmingly low res camera as the Zumi, but without the pricey batteries. I carried one with me to Portland last week and posted my thoughts below. But let’s start this off with some Sun&Cloud photos:

The Photos- I haven’t taken my S&C apart yet, but I’m certain this is basically the same “camera on a chip” that we found on the Harinezumi. It’s a 3 megapixel camera that yields security-camera-esque results. The new OS has way more color/filter options than the old school Zumi, but I still found myself sticking primarily to the Monochrome filter, which I think looks stunning with the camera’s low res imagery. It almost looks like a roll of Tri-X 35mm film. I should note that the ability to choose between low-res or high-res files is gone, which is a shame since I often preferred the look and quickness of shooting low-res images on my Zumi.

The Feel- By far the worst characteristic of the Sun&Cloud is it’s design. Unlike the Zumi, which fits easily into any pocket, this thing is a monster. Have you seen the Dr. Who where earth suddenly gets invaded by millions of 3″ black shiny boxes? Imagine having to carry one around with you all day without being able to strap it around your neck or tuck it in your coat pocket (note: there is an additional strap adapter).

As if the bulk wasn’t bad enough, the designer went out of their way to put the tiny little shutter button at the most inconvenient spot possible. Instead of an easy to reach big button, the tiny shutter button sits on the top right hand side. The inconvenient positioning makes it difficult to shoot without using both hands, forget about carrying a cup of coffee or anything while you are out shooting. Placing a big shutter button on the back panel, near the big menu button for instance, would have greatly improved the functionality of this camera. As is, it’s easier to change the settings on your Sun&Cloud than it is to actually take a photo.

New features- The Harinezumi only had two focal settings, macro and everything else. The S&C adds a third setting for taking close up portraits, an awesome new feature, but for some reason the macro mode isn’t as capable of “macro” photography. In the ant photo above, the S&C’s macro mode barely works, where the Harinezumi’s macro mode would have been perfect for capturing the pile of ants right next to the camera. My favorite feature of the Sun&Cloud is the ability to assign filter settings to the three physical buttons on the back of the camera. This makes it super easy to shuffle between your three favorite settings (and the original color mode) without having to drill deep into your menu. Love that!

Recharging- The S&C has three methods of charging: solar, hand powered, and usb. I ran out of juice early Saturday morning and spent most of my day hand cranking my camera just to get enough juice for each shot. For some reason, this gave me a very analog experience… each shot was equal to something tangible. I found myself about to capture a shot of a bridge, then thinking “is this shot actually worth taking?”. A cool bit of thoughtfulness added to the usually straightforward act of digital photography. A weird side effect of the hand cranked charger is that it gets a lot of attention. On the street, this attention can often be a bit negative. I found myself often explaining to folks that now I wasn’t filming them, I was just charging my camera. Some encounters got so weird that I even had to turn the camera on and show my photos to prove my claim.

Though the USB works great for charging, it’s incredibly frustrating that they didn’t add the ability to transfer/delete photos via the same USB cable. Instead, I have to carry a micro-SD to USB converter with me whenever I want to transfer shots. I know using a USB charger is cheaper than actually making the full hardware USB compatible, but for the price of the S&C it seems like they could have squeezed that in.

The cost- The Sun&Cloud is $200 USD, about $15 more than the Harinezumi is listed on most retail sites. Granted, I’ve probably already spent $80 on CR2 batteries for my Zumi, but I’m not exactly sure the S&C is quite justified at that price. Considering both cameras are built around the same camera on a chip, I really don’t see why the retail isn’t around half of what it is now. That being said, I’d probably plunk $200 for a USB rechargeable Harinezumi if that’s what it took.

Final thoughts- I love the new features, but this is a camera that doesn’t fit into my life… literally. I need a camera I can carry everywhere without feeling weighed down by it’s size. I’m sure Superheadz could easily tweak the OS to make slight improvements, but the bulky size and terrible shutter button aren’t likely to change in future models. For folks interested in ordering a Sun&Cloud, try checking with the folks at Photobooth. They already place orders with Superheadz and are checking to see if there’s enough interest to carry these rechargeable cameras in their shop.

Happy Star Wars Day, May the 4th be with you. In honor of this special day, I decided to pull out my watercolors and put together this little photography-themed Han Solo piece. For anyone curious, he’s holding Diana F+ camera.

Since Free Comic Book Day happens to fall on Star Wars Day this year, I decided to make a small batch of Han Shot First prints and give them away free at Mission Comics And Art. These prints were created using a laser etched wood block from EtchPop. Stop by Mission Comics to grab yours.

Even with some great press (like this SF Chronicle piece), I’ve honestly been in a funk lately. I’m always happy when I’m making things, but then there’s the times where I have to deal with real people stuff, like being broke and jobless. There have been a few job offers that I’ve turned down because I just don’t want to do community management stuff anymore. At least, not the Facebook contests/constant multitasking/boring stuff. There are times though, when funds are tight, I feel like I should just take any crummy community job that’s been offered to me and that I’ve wasted the last few months on stupid stuff.

So I was hoping I’d actually have a good time at Portland’s Stumptown Comics Fest (pictured above), but the lack of sales at my table just hit me when I was already feeling down. The only part of the trip that I really enjoyed, however, was all the time I had to make stuff. I spent the bulk of the 18 hour train ride to Portland working on a remix for the amazing Sean Hayes and working on some tracks in Nanoloop.

Somewhere along the ride I started getting emails from folks telling me about a new job listing at Photojojo. Seriously, I had about a dozen people forward the job to me. While traveling I felt like I didn’t have a chance to work on a resume and job application, so I put together this quick video response a temporary “resume”:

I haven’t heard back from the Photojojo team yet, but it’s been cool to see the positive reaction my video has received around the net. If I don’t end up getting the job, maybe I’ll at least be able to cash in on a “finders fee” if the folk who does get it found the job through me

My first rule of comic cons: Don’t spend more than you make… but within the first hour of the Stumptown Comics Fest, I had already accrued 15 books. My table was slow today, but at least I got to work my way through some great comics. I mean, some really fucking great comics… so much so that I’d feel bad if I didn’t share them with you guys:

“High Score” by various- $1

A mini-comic anthology related to Rusel DeMaria’s “High Score: An Illustrated History of Electronic Games” Kickstarter project. It sounds like the KS project is having some pre-post-production problems, but this little mini comic, with short stories by 5 great artists, is FANTASTIC!

“As You Were” by various- $5

For music lovers with an affinity for house shows. This punk comics anthology reminds me of what I loved and hated about basement shows. Sidenote: wandering through some Portland neighborhoods today reminded me of a house show I played with Beefy and mc router five years ago. The most fun show I’ve ever played ever…

“Write Now” by Neil Brideau – $1

A charming little mini that shares the message “anyone can be an artist right now”. Though brief, the book talks about how to make and distribute your own comics… and it even includes a mini-mini-comic of it’s own on the back page. Perfect for kids… and really really old people.

“Down In The Dumps” by Neil Brideau- free!!!

Ever known one of those folks that just can’t be cheered up? This is a story about them. Though free, this book actually feels a little meatier than some of the others I acquired today. The art is fantastic, but the comedy timing is spot on with this.

” “ by Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg- $3

A wordless (and untitled) comic, hot of the presses. This story focuses on the anxiety some people feel that builds and builds when they talk about their troubles. It’s full of great visual metaphors and I love Lisa’s line-work here.

“The Dvorak Zine” by Alec, Frunch, and Gabe- $1

Clearly a labor of love, this zine talks about the history of keyboards, the advantages of Dvorak over QWERTY, and how to set up your laptop for Dvorak. Great humor makes it worth reading, whether or not you would ever consider changing up your keyboard. Read it online here.

“Second Chances” by Matt Sundstrom – $3

I love wordless comics, though I sometimes feel bad about how quickly I fly through them. Second Chances is one of those rare wordless comcis that feels like a full sized book. The story focuses on a bored office worker and a clever plan gone wrong.

I’m digging these shots, but still bummed that I’m still getting underdeveloped film in my process. Granted, it’s a bit moody…