David Jacobo 8/8/26 David Jacobo 8/8/26

fuck the system

and fuck you too.

Im almost in my 40’s and lately I’ve decided to take a hard look at my last 20 years doing art. Creating art one might say. I don’t really like saying that because I’ve always thought that we as humans are constantly borrowing and stealing from each other. And that’s fine, I don’t really believe that we own anything. We’re more like a giant ever evolving superorganism aimed at one thing only, survival. However, in the age of “AI” I think I have to really think about what creation really means. Because one things for sure, Im NOT letting any of those fuckers who like to prompt their way into the art world, call themselves artists. For one, art takes lots of work and lots of time. They’re cyber bullies is what they are. They rage bait you into believing that they deserve the attention and applause.

This is not me feeling sorry for myself that I haven’t the amount of likes or follows on any of my social media. Ill give any prop to any real artist who has garnered the following because unlike the prompters, at least they put in the work (and yes sometimes the algorithms can help). So fuck their system and fuck you too if you think otherwise.

As I am basically forced to redesign my website due to an upgrade, I finally realized that I could actually do anything on here as I wish. I think we can forget that when we’re trying to appease the masses for a few bucks. I can find my niche. I think the capitalists call that marketing. In the end, I only care to work with anti-capitalist and anti-establishment bastards who love punk rock. Why not? Life is too precious to not hang out with people who understand us. We were promised rest and a life of leisure, and all we got is mass surveillance, a police state, and massive debt. Even my own my camera feels likes an invasion of privacy.

So I’m letting myself relax on my own terms. Taking back the little pieces for myself. Create things the way I want to see them, not anyone else. Sometimes we just need a little kick in the balls to remind us to look outside and remember that this is all we have. We can do fuck all. We can spend the day reading about flowers. We can play with our kids. We can learn someone else’s song on the guitar even if badly.

Is this a turning point for me? who knows. Ive been trying really hard to shed the shame and anxiety around being unapologetically me. I just need to. Because this life isn’t going to give it to you anyway. In fact, it’s going to ask you the opposite of you and recommend videos on broicism

what’s my point? i don’t have one. I just wanna scream at the system, even if futile.

walk around a little

Peace,
love,
Fuck you

“People who think they’re free in this world just haven’t come to the end of their leash yet.”

— Michael Parenti

David Jacobo 5/9/26 David Jacobo 5/9/26

Local Live Acts Series: May 8, 2026 @ The Firkin Tavern

Some live shots from last night that included acts Kelevras and Rackashack

Kelevras is a energetic outfit from Portland, OR. Definitely not the “softest band out there” as according to their instagram but I could definitely see them being managed by their mom (their words not mine).

Bruh. (you’d get it if you were there)

Rackashack is a “Portland Based electro-poprocks crackling candy grooves” band according to their instagram

David Jacobo 5/9/26 David Jacobo 5/9/26

Film Shootout Series: Ektar 100

Shot using my slightly trusty Nikon N90s. This camera has a nice autofocus which keeps me going back to shooting film since my manual focus game isn’t that strong.

The colors really pop as you can tell. If I had known this I would’ve shot way more pictures of subjects with a lot of colors.

Wife and I play a lot of Red Dead Redemption 2 and we always love seeing buildings that look like they belong in the old west

My thoughts:

I really enjoy this film stock as a street photography. Especially if you’re trying to get colors to pop, especially reds. I may need to shoot more landscape with it to see if I really like it.

David Jacobo 12/28/25 David Jacobo 12/28/25

Baby Portrait Time

Had the opportunity for some impromptu shots of my boy as we took the opportunity to go out and enjoy some November sunshine in the PNW. He’s a couple months over a year now and his favorite past time lately is collecting rocks, leaves, and getting his hands wet on random puddles.

David Jacobo 11/14/25 David Jacobo 11/14/25

City Views

Or, trying out my new old Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC that came out I believe in the early 2010’s. Also this is not an exhaustive review of it or even that technical. Just my own experience with it. Plus some thoughts about photography in general.

So I know that this lens isn’t the newest version or possibly the best version. But if you’re like me, that’s not always an option. I personally have always wanted to have a lens like this. Something wide enough for landscapes but yet close enough for portraits. I heard from a lot of people that it’s a must for event photography so naturally I felt I needed one.

First off, it was quite heavy. Heavier than I anticipated. That’s not really a big deal for me as I figured I got muscles right? I should use them! Granted, I haven’t used this consistently for any shoots yet so I’m sure I’ll be glad to get a lighter version when the time comes. I also have a 6 month child now so I better get used to not buying any upgrades for a little bit. Really, I felt I had to get used to the way it felt on my DSLR. I’ve always had to either conform to a 50mm or a 200mm, but never something in between. It was quite awkward. But that’s just me.

As far as any kind of being incognito with it…..no way. To be honest, my best camera for street photography is my iPhone 15. Everyone seems to notice how loud you are with a lens like that and a DSLR like mine (which is d780 in case you were wondering). That’s fine. Im getting used to that. When I go out any kind of lens like that you might as well accept it and run with it in any way you can.

As far as specs, the sharpness is what I would expect. I believe f/16 is going to be the sharpest if you’re looking to get all the scenery in focus. I’m sure every person who is looking at your photographs is going to take that into consideration.

So at first I started to do a lot of wide shots with at least an f/8. You know, really try and get that street photography aesthetic. I think it worked out okay. I mean, I definitely liked those photos, but I felt something was missing.

But it wasn’t till I was forced to use f/2.8 cuz of low light that I felt like I actually had something with this lens. Something about how sharp it came out together with the softness was just what I was looking for.

Art is endless work of experimentation. And with someone adhd, I’m happy to continually shoot new stuff. Keeps my dopamine levels up.

What is street photography? Is it

Perhaps this is why people get a lens like this, for my aforementioned descriptions. And yeah, it’s a great event photography lens. But it definitely offers more than just that. So it’s nice to see it in action

David Jacobo 4/8/25 David Jacobo 4/8/25

Hands Off! Protests: Portland, OR

Nationwide protests were held April 5th, 2025 in response to massive governmental agency cuts by President Donald Trump. Elon Musk was also the target of many as he has quickly become integral to Trump’s policies and tariffs.

According to organizers, the Portland protests was one of 1,300 others nationwide with millions marching calling an end to Trump policies

These are just some of the pictures I took during the protest. I was with my friend and her son, as well as with my son in a stroller.

Family walks in alongside a Black Lives Matter mural.

We got here a few minutes before the speeches ended. We tried walking to the epicenter but no avail as more and more people showed up with signs getting ready to march. It was soon becoming clear that most of the signs had as much to do with Elon Musk as they had to do with Donald Trump.

One of my favorite signs in the whole march.

We weren’t exactly crushed but as we got closer and closer to where the march was about to begin (or had begun as people were hurrying towards the road), it became harder and harder to move past them. I was worried that people would trip over the stroller or that I would lose my friend who was helping me with him. I’ve been to many a protest so it’s real easy to lose your people if you’re not watching closely. The good thing is that this one seemed to be highly organized with little to look out for. There were also many children with their parents in attendance.

Conversations and debates on politics as well as general logistics of where to meet up abounded while we walked.

I later found out his name is Jonny Luczycki and goes by the handle thenightpainter on instagram. Check out his stuff if you’re interested. It’s really good.

From here on, we were following the march from the sidewalk as it was easier to walk with a stroller and I could get the shots that I wanted

At every bridge, onlookers were there encouraging the marchers

Passing by the Saturday Market, it seemed that everyone there was there to be as much a part of the protest as the marchers themselves.

At this point, we had to stop as my son had become too overwhelmed by the noise. But no matter where we went, there were signs and protesters everywhere.

My friend Brendan busking while playing some revolutionary cumbias

Signing off. thanks for reading!

David Jacobo 2/10/25 David Jacobo 2/10/25

Cathedral park, Errol Heights and more

Just popping in with a few photos from these areas. I love these parks for different reasons.

Cathedral Park sits in St Johns which is in North Portland. Although if you look at a map, it’s really the most northwestern of all the places in Portland. Northwest Portland is not only more east than St. Johns but also way more south. I don’t know it’s these little quirks about cities that I like to think about.

I’ve always wondered about the Love sign in the back. After some digging, I found the sculpture’s facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/savethelovepdx/

The description on the page reads: “The "Love Sign" on the Willamette River, just downstream the St Johns bridge, was built in 2017 by Artist Roman Sorensen. The origional sign deteriorated in the weather, and was re-built in 2020 in collaboration with artist Korbin Bennett-Gold.”

Ghost bikes or bicycles painted in white have been a normal yet somber sight around Portland for many years. They are in memory of cyclists that have been killed by motorists and are a tradition specific to Portland from what I know. I have never seen a child’s bike and noticed this one wasn’t in white. It was purple and yellow. Thinking it was a child that had been killed, I looked it up and found out it was actually put there by an artist who goes by the name Dr. Nik from Sarasota, Florida some 10 + years ago. He is a peace activist and says the bikes he put up have “ghost bike mentality”

Check one of the article I found here: https://bikeportland.org/2023/01/17/mysterious-white-bikes-in-northeast-portland-are-work-of-artist-and-peace-activist-369382

Went to Elk Rock Island with the hope of finding some wildlife but the way to the actual island was blocked off with water from the high tide so I’ll have to go again next time. So far now, here’s more squirrels.

Errol Heights is a new park and wildlife refuge that provides a lot of amenities like trails, picnic areas, and play areas. I particularly love the wildlife and bird watching. So I come here often.

Mallard? and Wood Duck. I want to say that’s a mallard but I could be wrong.

David Jacobo 1/30/25 David Jacobo 1/30/25

Boise Depot/Boise Christmas Part 3

This is my final entry for this part series. I definitely wanted to save some of the best photographs for the last post. I really had meant to do more in Boise but we had contracted Covid and so we spent our last days recovering before heading back to Portland. On this day I decided to head to the Boise Depot. My plan was to just shoot from Depot which stands perpendicular and slightly above Capitol Blvd, overlooking the city. It’s a very popular spot for visitors and photoshoots alike. I myself found out about it because my partner’s family had a photo of themselves in the same spot hanging at the house.

A little history lesson, the Boise Depot was historically a train station that ran between 1925 to 1997 when it finally closed down after 99 years of service. It is now a venue that you can reserve here.

Most of these photos if not all are long exposures as there was very little light and I was using an ND filter

*Photo Courtesy: Boise City Archives, circa 1930*

View of the foothills from the Depot late afternoon.
crop sensor 135mm, 1/500th sec, f/5.6, 800 ISO

From behind the Depot.
28mm, 8 sec, f/7.1, 160 ISO

I must have been here for several hours trying to get the perfect shot with the cars passing by

Overlooking Capitol Blvd
98mm, 20 sec, f/8, 200 ISO

the Spanish style architecture is seen very prominently all over the building
105mm, 6 sec, f/7.1, 160 ISO

Retired Engine No. 2295
28mm, 8 sec, f/10, 100 ISO

While I was out shooting, I noticed that some of the wildlife were a lot less scared to get near me here than in Portland. Wasn’t sure if it was because it was a smaller city or if people here are generally less scary to wildlife.

Great Blue Heron
105mm, 3 sec, f/9, 100 ISO

Ghost of a Great Blue Heron
or
When the Great Blue Heron Flew Away Mid-exposure.
105mm, 2 sec, f/4.5, 100 ISO

Thanks for reading!

David Jacobo 1/8/25 David Jacobo 1/8/25

Boise Christmas Part 2 2024

This time around I tried going out and taking more landscape and nature type pictures in order to practice my long exposure using an ND filter as well just experimenting with post editing. First off is Eagle Island State Park. It’s exciting to go to new places but then you realize that you have a lot of exploring to do before you take your first picture. 80% of time you spend is just merely looking around. Which is fine if you have all the time in the world. I didn’t.

I didn’t realize that most of the area was actually a disc golf course. Not my cup of tea when it comes to exploring a natural area (I always feel like I’m gonna get hit in the head when I’m trying to figure out my settings). But it was a lot quieter than I expected. A lot of my time was spent during the later part of the afternoon. I would love to come back and do more bird shots some time.

This Hairy Woodpecker got so close I wasn’t sure I had enough time to capture it with my hulking 200-500mm. I also had to manually focus on it which made me extra hot and fogged up my glasses while looking through the viewfinder. I think I did okay. I’m definitely learning to be patient while I am in a spot, waiting for birds and wildlife to feel comfortable enough to get close.

Always a sucker for downed trees and their curved tangles. 50mm f2.5 1/2500 sec. 800 ISO

To be honest I am not sure what this is except maybe some sort of dam

50mm 1/4000 sec. f/1.4 800 ISO

Panorama stitch of the view of the foothills. Best viewed if you right click on the image to view in new tab.
210mm 1/100 sec. f/16 1600 ISO

My next stop was at Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve. But by that time it was getting really dark so I didn’t anticipate getting any more wildlife shots. I ended up trying out some more long exposure shots. The one below turned out to be the best of the bunch in my opinion.

Finally, I was able to head to a creek near where we were staying at my parent’s in law the next day. A lot of ducks for sure. I tried my best at getting one or two in flight but I’m still no pro at capturing birds in flight with my 200-500mm. So I practiced more long exposure and some duck posing

BONUS SQUIRREL BELOW

David Jacobo 1/2/25 David Jacobo 1/2/25

Boise Christmas 2024

Hi. This is my first blog post. I’m not sure why i’m doing this except that maybe I’m a little tired of posting on IG and feeling like the algorithm isn’t what it used to be. I also think it’s nice to give context to photographs rather than just posting them willy nilly. I’m not an avid writer but maybe this is good practice. Who knows, perhaps something good will come of it.

Part 1

There weren’t a lot of opportunities for photographs on the way there because we drove 7.5 hours or so straight to Boise and didn’t wanna drive in the dark that much as we left kinda late. Only stops for our baby and bathroom breaks. We really wanted to get past Meacham and the Blues in case of snow during daylight but it turned out to be a breeze. Honestly traveling with an infant is 5 times harder and slower. Simply because you have to bring so many things to accommodate him.

In the future I would love to stop and get some shots around this area. The mountainous terrain is beautiful.

Rest area. iphone 15 pro. Right outside Baker City, Oregon.

After this it was night time driving all the way. Not my favorite. But even after years of driving, I’m finally learning that snacks really help you stay awake. Not sure why it took me that long to figure out. We arrived around 8pm because of the time difference.

*Our second night we went out and roamed downtown. A lot of Christmas happenings. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to photograph everything or just enjoy it. I did the latter.*

To our surprise we found a taco stand nearby after having a couple drinks at a very christmas-fied bar. My partner, Sarita, is from Boise and per her experience, Boise has always been a very white dominant populated area. She was often one of the few if not only person of color in any place she visited. However twenty years later it seems that there’s been an increasing number of Latinos moving here. Our guess was due to the ranching immigrant that lived around the area and their kids moving into town. Boise is known as one of the fastest growing cities in the USA so it makes sense.

He was literally dancing because he just got his tacos.

Taco stand Boise downtown. Panasonic Lumix LX100II.
There was a vibrant club scene nearby and everyone was happy for some very good tacos. We gave them 8/10. I regretted not getting my own instead of sharing with her.

That’s it for now! Come back for part 2 soon!

Blogg.

Cathedral Park, Errol Heights and more

Boise Depot/Boise Christmas Part 3

Boise Christmas Part 2 2024

Boise Christmas 2024

To be honest I am not sure what this is except maybe some sort of dam

50mm 1/4000 sec. f/1.4 800 ISO

Part 1

Our second night we went out and roamed downtown. A lot of Christmas happenings. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to photograph everything or just enjoy it. I did the latter.