ENTRY DESCRIPTION
The Tragedy of the Commons is an economic term describing the overuse of a resource when its use is open to the public and free of charge or underpriced. Typical examples for the Tragedy of the Commons are the overfishing of the seas or the pollution of the environment.

On May 23rd, 2016, the San Francisco Authority of Parks and Recreation launched a pilot in which it sold rights for the temporary exclusive use of picnic spots in highly popular Dolores Park in the Mission District in San Francisco. Prices range from $33 to $260 dependent on duration and the size of the group. Following public outcry and online petitions signed by more than 10,000 citizens of San Francisco, the authority said that it would not extend the pilot program past its expiration date in July even though it had originally intended to do so. The submitted photograph was taken on May 29th, 2016, the Sunday following both announcements.

Unedited, uncropped photograph shot with a Minolta XD-11 using a Rokkor 50/1.4 lens on Ilford b/w 125.

http://sfist.com/2016/05/23/rec_parks_pilot_program_allows_you.php
http://sfist.com/2016/05/24/supervisor_jane_kim_announces_resol.php
http://sfrecpark.org/permits-and-reservations/picnic-area-rentals/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

AUTHOR
I was born and raised in Berlin, Germany, and moved to the States ten years ago for grad school, after which I became faculty at a University. I was interested in photography before coming to the States, but haven't had much time. A young South African street photographer, whom I met during a sabbatical in San Francisco this spring, got me interested again. Most of my submitted photos are evidence of this resurrected interest from extensive walks through the neighborhood I lived in during that time (The Mission).

Rather than relying on the law of large numbers that digital photography enables or the art of photo-editing, I am at a stage at which I am trying to learn more about the art of photography. Therefore, I currently shoot on film with a Minolta XD-11 that I bought as a "barn find" for $45 including two lenses. I got lucky, as it was in near mint condition and hadn't been used in 27 years. What you see are unedited and uncropped products of my explorations with this XD-11, using a Rokkor 50mm/1.4 lens.

back to gallery