My first Atempt at shooting and editing with my I-phone

So i got this app called Showcase which essentially allows you to make a slideshow on your I-phone. You can choose to ad any pictures in your library that means that you can add photos taken with other apps that filter photos. Huge learning experience.

One: the I-phone camera shoots terribly photos with low light and no filter in the world can save your image.

two: when recording never put your finder on the microphone ( which is also the speaker). That explains why the audio is terrible in the first part and then gets better.

Three: plan ahead. went there at 8:pm. shot for an hour came back, edited and had it up by 11.

Four: take your time.

Anyways, this was a good learning experience, so look out for future I-phone slideshows.

Apps I used: Camera bag ($2.99) and Showcase ($7.99)

New Restaurants in the Mission District

The Mission District has seen an influx of restaurants in the past year. There are at least 16 new or soon to be restaurants since May 6 of 2009. Below is a map of 20 new or soon be restaurants, 16 of which will opened or have opened in the last year. What is most amazing is how despite the recession, more and more restaurants seem to opened. Bon apetit.

The Life of an International Revolutionary

Ismael Palacios was one of the founding members of the American branch for the Salvadoran left wing party of Farabundo Marti National Liberation front (FMLN). When he founded the group he never expected it would be such an integral part of the Civil War in el Salvador. On a recent afternoon in April he recalled the fundraising events the group hosted in the Mission to give money to the guerilla army of the FLMN in the 80’s. Now that the war is over and the FLMN won the recent presidential election he is regarded as the “grandfather of the FMLN.” Palacios is now 82-years-old but he keeps himself active by engaging in protest for immigration reform.

Dolores Park Timeline

Dolores Park is quite possibly the most popular park in all San Francisco. Which is why it was not surprising to see the public outcry when they learned the park was going to close completely for a much needed renovation next year. Well, it’s true, this lovely piece of land has gone through a lot. It went from being home to the Ohlone Indians to hipster weekly debauchery. Here is a timeline of major events and periods that park has gone through.

Sources: SF Neighborhoods Park Council and Wikipedia.

You need to be more fair Nevius

C.W. Is alot of things to a lot of people.

However I couldn’t help to notice that some of his recent columns have been a bit unfair.

For example two weeks ago his column said that moderate democrats should pay attention to the Democratic County Central Committee because they are pretty good at picking who the next supervisor is going to be. He goes on to explain how recently more progressive democrats have taken over the the DCCC. Namely Aaron Peskin, who was elected chair in 2008.

He then goes on to quote Scott Weiner a candidate for Supervisor in District 8. This is how he atributes him.

“But when Mrs. Jones receives her Democratic voter guide in the mail,” said Scott Wiener, former chairman of the DCCC and candidate for supervisor in District Eight, “she’s thinking of the party of Barack Obama, not the party of Aaron Peskin and (Supervisor) Chris Daly.”

What bothers me is that Mr. Nevius FAILS to say that Mr. Weiner is running for re-election for a seat at the DCCC. It’s kind of important to mention that when he is the only person he quotes in the DCCC, but fails to mention that he is running. Whats the issue? The whole column is about people needing to be pay attention to the DCCC and he only quotes one person from there without the proper attribution.  To me it’s like saying hey check out what the DCCC is and by the way Weiner is pretty cool. Kind of like a pseudo endorsement.

Exhibit two. Recently he did a column about the violence in the T-line involving blacks and asians. In his whole article about violence against ASIANS he quotes Lynnette Sweet.

Nothing wrong with that exept Sweet is running for District 10 and is being labeled as the “downtown” candidate, whom Newsom endorsed. It would have bee more appropriate for him to quote, i don’t know. Another District 10 candidate like Marlenne Tran from the Visitation Valley Asian Alliance. Whom by the way has been working on this issue for years and is at every single meeting advocating on behalf of asian immigrants and public transportation. You could even argue that her whole campaign is based of that issue.

All  i am saying is that, you should try to be more fair in your reporting mr Nevius.

Video: Crossing Gender Lines

Every Saturday afternoon, a group of LGBT folks gather inside a small office space on Mission Street for the weekly meeting of the Translatina club. The club was formed as a safe place to discuss the issues facing transgender Latinas. Some of the topics discussed in the first weeks were pretty heavy, so members decided to mix it up by having some performances by group members.

Hazel, a self-described “gay boy who dresses as a girl,” volunteered to imitate songs by the Mexican-American Artist Marisela. Below is a photo of Marisela and a video of Hazel immersing himself in the role.

Santa Julia de Los Puentes

A colleague and I are working on a long term term project for Mission Loc@l and other Spanish language wires about transgender Latinas.

Last week at the TransLatina meeting, we were lucky enough to catch up with Julia Garcia, a prominent figure in the Los Angeles LGBT community.

She is a transgender Latina who has come to be known as “Santa Julia de los Puentes,” or the transgendered resurrection of Mother Teresa.

She received her unofficial tittle because she is known to go underneath bridges in Los Angeles to help people overcome substance abuse and homelessness, specifically fellow transgender women.

She also runs a program that sends HIV medication to people in Latin America. She also began a monastery in the first united methodist church in Los Angeles where she formally helps people.

In this short interview she explains why she came to San Francisco and why she decided to study theology.

The Life of a Mission District “Paletero”

“Palateros,” the men who push ice cream carts, have become a staple of the Mission District.

These days, there seem to be more and more of them. I caught up with one of them and he says the life of a “paletero” is difficult. He emigrated from Mexico looking for work and found none, which is why he became a “paletero” — an honest profession, he says.

I-Phone Photos

The other day in my Intro to Online class we had a guest speaker, Carlos Gonzales, one of the remaining staff photographers with the Chronicle. He said he has a friend who sold all his equipment and now only shoots with his iPhone. I instantly fell in love with that idea. Also, I was informed that the advisor from our sister publication, Oakland North made an amazing multimedia piece about the 54 bus in Oakland, which you can see here:

The Fifty Four from Richard Koci Hernandez on Vimeo.

So I decided to ditch my Canon EOS 40D for a bit and shoot only with my iPhone for everyday-life and on assignments. Here is what I got.

Kimberly Chua applying makeup.

Nicholas and Kimberly of Mission Loc@l

Gerardo and his son arriving at the Mission Council, a substance abuse center in the Mission.

Kenya and family on their way out of the Mission Council, a substance abuse center.

Crimes in the Mission

As reported by Mission Local. You can see all the links here.