Africa Behind Glass [Canon 5D]
San Francisco October 24, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)
It's been about twelve days since my last blog post, which is either downright scandalous, or no big deal, depending on how you look at it. I could never be one of those bloggers who post every single day simply because there's too many other things to do in life, or things just get too busy and hectic. Such has been the case with this reporter for the past few weeks; a simple case of too much to do, and not enough hours in the day.
The image above is from almost one week ago from a visit to the newly rennovated California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It had been closed for two or three years undergoing a total makeover and rebirth and the results are really wonderful. One of the things that they left from the old museum was the Africa Hall, where this image was taken. As a child, I can remmber visiting this museum and I loved to wander in the North America Hall and the Africa Hall. These were long galleries with meticulously recreated dioramas featuring stuffed animal specimens from those regions.
From what I have read, in natural history museum circles this type of static display is considered very old school these days (it's so 19th century!) and many museums are phasing them out in favor of more interactive and educationally richer exhibits. But as an offering to all of those who have fond childhood memories of visiting this museum, the Academy of Sciences has kept the venerable Africa Hall.The one thing that struck me when I visited here, was that it seemed so much smaller than I remember. In the memory book of my young boy self, the Africa Hall was always really long with vast, lofty ceilings far above my head.
Workshop News
I'll be heading down to Morro Bay on the central California coast next week to teach a 5-day workshop on Creative Digtial Black & White at the Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging. This class will be a combination of photography in the field with digital SLRs and digital darkroom explorations in the excellent classroom facilities at the Lepp Institute. I have taught at many workshop venues around the country, and the digital classroom at the Lepp Institute is one of the best (and it is the only place I have ever taught at that has stadium seating to ensure that everyone has a great view of the screen). There's still room, so if you're interested, click on the link below to learn more about this class and to sign up.
Creative Digital Black and White
Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging
November 3 – 7, 2008
Los Osos, California
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