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

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.

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.
Post St. Posse.JPG (25744 bytes)
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!

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 redlight 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