Yesterday Twitter announced that they were adding view counts to tweets on Twitter. I thought I’d use this announcement to very unscientifically compare the number of views one of my photos received on Twitter vs. Flickr. While some might call this an “apples vs. oranges” comparison, and Flickr is admittedly more of a photography centric social network, I find that I engage with photographers on both platforms, even if I also engage with more non-photographers on Twitter. A few notes on my unscientific test. Interestingly enough I have about the same number of followers on both platforms. As ..read more

back before Instagram… a young woman photographed with her 4×5 camera from an undated Kodachrome slide. As a photographer, I have been making photographs with my own cameras my entire life. From my first Kodak Instamatic camera as a child, to the Sigma film SLR that I received as gift in high school, to my first digital camera (a Sony Mavica in 1999 or so) to my current DSLR (a Canon 5D Mark IV) — for me photography has been both a lifelong pursuit and a passion as both a photographer and an artist. Along with my own photography, I enjoy the photography of others. I’ve been very active on Fli ..read more

“It seems to me that the subject of Bill Dane?s pictures is the discovery of lyric beauty in Oakland, or the discovery of surprise and delight in what we had been told was a wasteland of boredom, the discovery of classical measure in the heart of God?s own junkyard, the discovery of a kind of optimism, still available at least to the eye.” John Szarkowski, director of photography, Museum of Modern art 1962-1991 I received Bill Dane?s wonderful book, Bill Dane Pictures ?it?s not pretty.  50 Years of Photographs I?m still in love, in the mail today.   For those unfamiliar with his wor ..read more

Google Photos blog post announcing their new Google Photos service. In case you missed it recently, Google Photos has decided to end their free unlimited photo hosting service. Beginning in June of next year users will be limited to 15GB of space before being asked to pay for more storage. How much you’ll have to pay will depend on how much storage you use. Unfortunately for me, I have more photos than fit their top tier $100/year plan, so even if I wanted to pay I’d be capped out of the service. While I don’t begrudge Google, a trillion dollar company that makes billions of dollars a year, f ..read more

I had the pleasure to try FOB Kitchen last night, a hot new Telegraph Avenue Oakland Filipino menu in Oakland (Thanks cristina_thebaker!). 5179 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609. You would not know it from the unassuming Temescal strip mall setting, but once inside you are treated to an amazing and flavorful Filipino menu from this former San Francisco pop up. The decor and setting make you feel like you are being transported to a swanky tropical beach bar in the Philippines and once you dive into the family style offerings you will be hooked. The friendly service is first rate and definitely ..read more

If, like me, you are a fan of all things mid-century modern, then you won’t want to miss Oakland’s newest Lakeshore addition, Bardo Lounge and Supper Club. Like a vintage trip with Don Draper back in time, you’ll enjoy all the little touches that make for a perfect night out for some excellent cocktails along with lounge or supper service to go with them. With Bardo, owners Seth and Jenni Bregman have transformed the former Michel Bistro space on Lakeshore into a sort of museum of great taste and design from our favorite wayback era — with some seriously good tunes spinning all night long. Al ..read more

Yesterday Flickr made their first big restructuring announcement since recently being purchased by SmugMug. Beginning next year on January 8th, Flickr will limit free accounts to 1,000 photos. The previously offered free 1 terabyte of storage goes away. At the same time Flickr is returning their paid pro account to unlimited storage which had been their original offer before capping new Pro accounts at 1 terabyte back in 2013. If you were Pro before 2013 you were considered “old school” Pro and kept your unlimited storage, but new accounts were limited. Now all Pro accounts are back to being ..read more

Chefs Duncan Kwitkor and Andrew Greene — Abstract Table, offering up a 5 and 7 course tasting menu Friday and Saturday nights at Gastropig. Last night my wife and I had a chance to dine at the opening of a new pop up style 7 course tasting menu called Abstract Table, currently being offered as permanent Friday and Saturday night dinner service at the Gastropig in Oakland’s Uptown District. The menu is prepared by chefs/artists/friends Andrew Greene and Duncan Kwitkorand (formerly of Duchess in Oakland’s Rockridge District). The duo’s initial tasting menu features many unique and interesting f ..read more

About 12 years ago, in 2006, I had what at the time felt like the biggest technological change in my life. I switched from a PC to my first MacBook Pro. Switching computer operating systems at the time seemed like a massive chasm to overcome, but I did it and I’m glad I did. My main motivation was that I was tired of all of the errors that I was getting from PCs and all my friends with Macs just kept saying pretty much the exact same thing, “it just works.” After hearing that enough I broke down and made a decision that it was time for a change. Over the last decade, that first decision has b ..read more

Belotti, 5403 College Avenue, Oakland, CA Had dinner tonight at the lovely Belotti on College Avenue in Oakland, California — a wonderful Italian restaurant with some of the most amazing dishes. Definitely a memorable meal and definitely a new local favorite. Since we were speaking Italian, brought a nicely cellared 1998 Barolo which accompanied the meal perfectly. Hand cut certified Piedmontese ribeye dry aged beef tartare, carasau bread, parmigiano reggiano, micro arugula, aged balsamic, truffle caviar, quail egg yolk. INSALATA DI BURRATA — Organic mixed leaves, celery, California nect ..read more