The Inaugural First Thursdays.
So, I am extremely ecstatic about my latest photography eBay come up. For those of you that don’t know or follow me on my socials, I was able to score a camera lens that I have been hunting down for A WHILE. I picked up the Fujifilm XF 16mm, F/1.4 WR for a STEAL!! This lens released back in 2015 and is still being produced and sold on the Fujifilm website for $1,000. I consider this as a steal, because I purchased it used in excellent condition on eBay for $350. I did extensive research on what I wanted to be the next lens in my arsenal, and this kept coming up on everything I read and watched online; so I figured this was the one I needed. Long story short, I received it, tested it, and instantly fell in love with it.
Upon receiving my lens on Monday, the first ever Downtown SF First Thursdays fell on the same week. I figured, why not test out my new toy with some good ol’ street photography. Before we get into the shots, I wanted to briefly talk about the new monthly Downtown SF First Thursdays event.
Overall, I thought it was a really dope experience. I went with some of my friends, and they instantly were comparing it to First Fridays in Oakland. Unfortunately, I have never gone to First Fridays to relate. Apparently First Thursdays is smaller in scale and extremely less ratchet. If you remember from my previous post about Las Vegas, then you could imagine that I could no longer hang with the “Ratchetivities” that First Fridays had to offer, so this new monthly event in Downtown SF seems to be more in my lane.
Shot on Fujifilm XT-30II, XF 16mm F/1.4
I’m loving how SF is trying their best to reverse and rewrite the current narrative of what SF is. If you have been living under a rock and don’t know about the current climate of SF, let me break it down for you. Basically, SF is on a downward decline in safety, tourism, housing, and business. It is being labeled as the new Detroit of the USA. I’m not going to go in depth with the whole politcs of this, but just know SF is not something to be proud of in its current state. What this new monthly event is aiming to do is to show that SF can still get down and still have fun. This event did just that. There were food vendors, retail vendors, bars, communal street art, dance floors, and a main stage for a special guest DJ performance by Aluna. The turn out, in my opinion, was a pretty good one. There was a good amount of people that showed out for SF. I see the potential of this event only getting better and growing with more things to offer. So, I am rooting for the success of this event and to bring back SF to it’s former glory. I will definitely be checking out another First Thursday event in the future.
Now, let’s get into the photos. Enjoy.
