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Mid
afternoon, Los Angeles...
In a last minute decision on which highway to take enroute to San Francisco, Jules points
to Yosemite National
Park.
"Ever been there?" he asked.
Nightfall,
Glacier Point...
Don't ask me why I even bought into Jules' suggestion. Here we
are, stranded in Yosemite National Park with a 7 day pass, NO food, NO
drinks, NO camping equipment, NO sense of direction & NO
idea on where we are gonna sleep tonight. I kid you not, true believer, none
of us looked at each other without laughing at our misguided urge of
adventure. We were sure
that the park ranger was going to find us & direct us to one of the $40 bucks & up
camp sites. Never less, we continued to play
the night by each frozen ear.
"Somehow,
we managed
to break out
the coolest night
time photography shoot."
Forever Friends
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Then, a large vehicle pulls up alongside us.
"Great..." I
thought. "It's the park ranger." The head lights on the vehicle go off as
six girls & three guys emerge from the vehicle. They are laughing, giggling & so easy
to talk to. I quickly offer them $10 bucks for any food that they might have. I know that sounds
funny, but that is what was needed for The Hype to kick in. The next morning, we're
still at Glacier Point. It's a little before sunrise & our pockets are full of
lollies, carrots, cookies, fruit by the roll, apples, goldfish crackers & other
miscellaneous stuff that was acquired from our newfound friends.
photo collage |
The scenery here in Yosemite is absolutely beautiful. The air is fresh
& that wonderful hickory smell only reminded me of my
days in good old Anchorage, Alaska. The squirrels were pretty friendly. One jumped into my car & robbed
us of our goldfish crackers. When the little critter realized that he locked himself in,
he began to excrete little nuggets all over the place. I didn't appreciate that.
Jules opens the door, camcorder in hand, while Josh shouts from afar: "Run
for your freedom little
squirrel!"
It has only been twelve or so hours & I am already on roll no. 5 of shot
photography. Jules suggested that I go up against the big boy himself, Ansel Adams.
I gave it a shot or two, but I was quickly
reminded that The PHOTOhype is not about landscapes or scenery. The PHOTOhype
is a character based photo project in which my primary goal is to hunt down & capture
The Shot.
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The trail to the waterfalls was long & tedious. Playing follow the leader with the
other hikers wasn't exactly my cup of tea. We decided to bridge our way across a fallen tree trunk & hiked up the river itself. We bounced from
rock to rock while curious onlookers snapped photos of us in dangerous positions that
required nothing but a little youthful sense of adventure. When we got to the top, I filmed
& shot The Adventures of Josh & Jules skinny dipping
in the freezing cold water. Jules even swam underneath the waterfall itself.
Nightfall,
San Francisco...
Our first stop was the home of "The Post Street Posse". We met up with Paul
I, Paul II, Max, Jeremy, Carl, Sam & a slew of others. It is always a good idea
to check out the post street scene
first. They always know about the SF night life & the overall party
scene itself.
11pm - Underneath a warm sky & a moonlit night, The PHOTOhype
found The Adventures of Josh & Jules off the shorelines of
the Pacific Ocean at
some outdoor groove party. There was a DJ, dancing & a
small campfire. I broke out
The Super Flash 2000 & turned it
into a mini strobe, which created a wicked club light
effect. The outdoor party by the
shore didn't end until after 4am. What a day.
We clocked in twenty-four straight hours of UNFILTEREDhype. |
Some
members of "The Post Street Posse" |
Sunday was such a relaxing day. Post St. Posse member,
Max, took us to a park in Marin County, where we hung out with The Sunset Seekers
at one of their bi-monthly gatherings. For previous adventures with The Post Street Posse, check your print
outs: Tales of The PHOTOhype:
San Francisco (January & February, 1999)
Monday, we checked into The Green
Tortoise Hostel in China town. The manager, Eric Gerrick, recognized The PHOTOhype
label & welcomed all of us in. The staff was extremely friendly, which is always
a good thing. The three story hostel was big & the
kitchen was extremely nice. There were two computers for FREE Internet usage, FREE
breakfast (bagels, cream cheese & fruit), & a FREE SAUNA! The
common room was the size of a night club (bigger than the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip)
& it has a gigantic big screen TV, lockers, billiards & racks for your mountain
bike.
We met a lot of
people at this hostel. We didn't
do much to obtain such attention,"We just sat in these
three chairs near the front
desk & teased everybody
as they walked by."
Wanna chat? Well, linger
around the FREE Internet
computers, they'll be people waiting in line
& looking for
somebody to talk to. I met a Swedish
couple
who
was looking for a ride to Hermosa Beach.
Wow, how cool is that! |
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Tuesday morning, San
Francisco Airport...
I bid a bon voyage to The Adventures
of Josh & Jules. It felt weird to see them leave. Photographing those
two crazy Aussies ended up being the most expensive & long lasting individual project
for The PHOTOhype. In the end, Jules breaks out the camcorder & shines the
light onto me. It's my final spoken words & somehow, I had nothing to say.
In a poem that I wrote about The PHOTOhype, the last paragraph states...
"In a
moment of my life that has now come to pass, I accept the
fact that the best of times will never last. In the end, the sparkling
light
light in their eyes began to fall. They left behind an e-mail
address & sure enough, I photographed them all."
Tuesday
night, Hermosa Beach...
When I entered my room, a red light flickers
on my answering machine...
Aside from the first seven messages, a lady introduces herself & asked me if I was
available to appear on the hit WBtv show "Felicity".
The message was dated on Monday afternoon & I had to confirm by Monday night.
Oh well, true believer, that is the way the ball
bounces. You win some, you loose
some & sometimes,
you've gotta look at your life & wonder if everything you're
doing is all worth the price
of admission. -Geo
D. Oliver, Alaska
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