It Came Upon A Midnight Clear -The Gingerbread Monolith

12/25/20: Read the original article by clicking here.

December 25, 2020 will always be remembered by San Franciscans as the day we were visited by aliens (purported) with a taste for gingerbread (confirmed). Mysteriously, a monolith appeared on the hills of the Corona Heights Park. Apparently the original Christmas post went viral, and soon everyone had seen, or made plans to see, this tribute from outside our planetary bubble.

I woke on Boxing Day (December 26) to a text message about the artifact, and after eating a hearty breakfast, set forth to see it for myself.

1/400 second, F 8.0, ISO 200, flash assisted.

On my ascent, I was met by legions of walkers who had already examined what was left of the monolith, each more than willing to blame animals for defiling the monument. When I finally arrived, I confirmed the carnage without assigning blame. It appears that somebody double-dog dared this woman to touch the artifact and then step away without laughing. She lost. Or so I imagined.

1/400 second, F 8.0, ISO 200, flash assisted.

Soon dozens of visitors came to view the ruins, and more than one dog sniffed at the soggy gingerbread remains, wondering to themselves, "Is my human watching?". It appeared the monolith was made from plywood to support the gingerbread siding. And I can easily imagine animals chowing down on the makeshift gingerbread house, sharing in the joy Hansel and Gretel must have felt when they nibbled on the witch's house.

After the dog walkers and energetic climbers had visited the structure, families with young children started to arrive. It's hard to tell their reactions, covered as they were with masks. I am sure this will be a moment long remembered, although I suspect that seeing the structure in all of its glory would have been truly awe-inspiring. One could only imagine the artwork the monolith would have inspired if regular school resumed in January. Le Sigh.

The Kit: This morning, I indulged myself and used my X100T in the auto-focus mode. Oh the joy! I also brought a flash, a Flashpoint Zoom Mini, aka Godox TT350 Mini Thinklite flash. I also carried a generic flash cable for Canon cameras. My understanding is that the Fuji's pin contacts were located in the same locations as the Canon's, and that the cables were SUPPOSED to work. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a Canon configured cable that provided proper synchronization, so I only use the cable when prepared to shoot in the fully manual mode. For these shots, i simply used the flash on-camera with satisfactory results.