Fat tuesday in san jose, the last two years theres been riots, brawls, a massive police presence, all the good stuff. As usual in san jose, it's a chicken and egg situation. Do people get aggressive because there are police in riot gear everywhere they turn? Because you're not allowed to walk down certain streets, you ahve to go up half a block, and down an alley, instead of a well lit police patrolled main street. No other large city I've partied in has ever needed a police presence this large. ever.
We started at the cinebar, which stayed largely quiet and serene all night, as it ususally does. The bouncer was doing a superb job of not letting in crazy wild people who'd been kicked out of other bars, and the barman were giving us all beads anyway. We stepped out a couple of times to walk around the block (or try to) and see what the city was up to. Not only did we get to see allll those cops in riot gear, but there were even choppers! with floodlights sweeping the carparks and other streets. Crazy. Lots of people on the streets, but mostly just all hanging out and chatting. Definitely felt like being at a prison though.
Had quite a few people ask me if my pictures were for the paper, which was nice I guess. The pictures mostly sucked though. It was dark enough as it was, but the flash outdoors provided very mixed results. Very rarely was it nicely exposed. Skins were nearly always blown way out, and any scene with a reflective sign in it was useless. Apparently this is some of the stuff that ETTL-2 will help fix. Much as I hate to say it, Flash Exposure Compensation (one of the "missing" features on the 300D) really would have helped. But then again, so would accurate spot metering.
 Not all of them were surly men. |  But most were. |  Because of the police? or because of a lack of police? |  At least they let these guys stay in business |
 Mike gets the nighttime hunger |  Not sure what happened here, but it had no glass left |  You're not allowed down the street, but we'll let you knock down this fence and go down the alley |  The cavalry |