I have just added what may be the final installment of my near year long project of photographing in San Francisco. Although prolonged it has been a most enjoyable self assignment, one that has served to expand my photographic skills and interests. Up to this point I had mostly concentrated on scenic landscapes and wildlife, in fact shunning urban areas. In San Francisco, and to a lessor extent San Diego, I was in a totally different environment that forced me to think differently and approach photography differently. Besides having all kinds of distractions to deal with in my photos (people, cars, buses, signs, electrical wires, etc,) I had to decide when and where to include those "distractions" as appropriate parts of my new landscape. It didn't take long to understand that cities and people, for example, go together and I thereafter sought to include them where appropriate. I also changed my post production thinking rather markedly. As a landscape photographer I endeavored to edit "true to the scene" as much as possible, in other words make it look realistic. In editing my urban images I felt much more at ease about using a bit of creativity, for instance skewing the shape of a cable car, or doing a bit of stylizing with Willy Mays. These are "travel" photos and I felt free to do whatever I pleased with them. It was fun, and as a side benefit, I became a more skilled Photoshop user.
This turned into a major project in terms of time and necessitated thinking about the scope of what I wanted to accomplish as it could easily become a never ending job. I shot thousands of photos and edited around 800 (so far). Much of the content on this site involves architectural or street art content, subjects I enjoy and have experience with. But San Francisco is so much more than that. One could concentrate for a considerable time on people alone. I've often thought that sitting on a street corner and photographing passers by would yield interesting results...maybe a theme for another time.
Several subjects in the City I think deserve special mention from my experiences. I have always enjoyed photographing churches and San Francisco has several that can be considered works of art: Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in North Beach (Roman Catholic), Cathedral of the Holy Virgin in the outer Richmond (Russian Orthodox), Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill (Episcopal), Mission Dolores in the Mission District (Roman Catholic), St. Ignatius at Univ. of San Francisco (Roman Catholic), and St. Mary's on Cathedral Hill (Roman Catholic) are examples. The latter, while not in my opinion the most interesting from the exterior is exquisite inside. The architecture is modernistic and stunning. To do it justice one needs a tripod...and pick a time when religious services are not being held or tour buses lined up outside (this is DIFFICULT). I was lucky and had the cathedral mostly to myself for nearly an hour (just after early morning Mass). I used a technique called HDR (high dynamic range) photography making five images at differing shutter speeds to control the high degree of contrast & range of light, then combining those five images into one for final editing. I think the results stunning.
Another subject was street art at Balmy Alley and Clarion Street in the outer Mission. Here one finds murals painted on houses, garages, fences, whatever is available. The murals rise far above graffiti to the level of art. This is an area of high Hispanic concentration and the murals all have a message ranging from social protest to the religious. They are worth photographing. They are also venues the average tourist is not going to see. There are other striking examples of street art throughout the City too numerous to list but a few of which are included in my web portfolio.
I found Fisherman's Wharf rewarding for maritime images, but this is subject matter best approached in early morning before breezes disturb the water, and before hoards of tourists descend on this popular area. At any other time I believe the wharf best avoided.
I spent a morning hiking up California St. from the Bay to the top of Nob Hill. This is an endeavor not to be taken lightly as it entails a steep climb. It doesn't look like much from the bottom but you will think differently when you reach the top. It is a workout especially when loaded with camera gear. This walk takes one from the Embarcadero through the financial district, along the edge of Chinatown, past several world renown hotels, past remarkable churches, lively street activity, great architecture, and in general represents much of the essence of downtown San Francisco.
If an enthusiast of classical architecture one could do no better than visit the Palace of Fine Arts, Palace of the Legion of Honor, City Hall, War Memorial Opera House, and Herbst Theater. Other architectural venues of interest include the DeYoung Museum, California Academy of Sciences, Japanese Tea Garden and Davies Symphony Hall. I spent considerable time around and about all these places.
Finally, I created innumerable iterations of the Golden Gate Bridge, a cliche for sure, but impossible to ignore because it is so entwined with the popular image people have of San Francisco. I was surprised by the numerous unbelievable vantage points to view and photograph this icon. I am completely "bridged" out but I still have not exhausted the possibilities to present different perspectives of this engineering marvel.
San Francisco is indeed a great city and has much to offer. It's population is diverse, indeed much of the charm of the City is in its unique neighborhoods such as North Beach, Chinatown, etc. There are decidedly upscale neighborhood like Pacific Heights where the rich and famous live in jaw dropping magnificence. But there is also the other side of the coin. One is going to see disturbing sights of homeless people living on the streets, some there by choice no doubt, but many too by circumstance. I debated about photographing that and decided that was not what this project was about. Still, I find that people living in such marginal conditions in a country as rich as our's disturbing. How can this be, and why can't we find a way to alleviate such suffering? In a way I can't explain I feel responsible for these people, and at the same time frustrated at my powerlessness to do much about it. Perhaps for this reason I did not feel comfortable photographing the plight of others.
I will end with this thought. I believe the images in this portfolio represent most of the major points of tourist interest in the City and a good place to visit if one wishes to research an expected visit. Keep in mind though that if you only have three or four days you are not going to see everything. It took me roughly 10 visits to the city to create this portfolio, and for most of those I was set up and ready to shoot a few minutes before sunrise. However you choose to approach the City be assured it is one grand place to visit.
I have just concluded a glorious week photographing fall color on the eastern Sierra. The Sierra Nevada is not necessarily known for its fall colors, but I am here to tell you that it might just be one of the finest venues anywhere...if you know where to go. When one thinks fall color he thinks of New England or Colorado, without argue great places. But the eastern Sierra can be just as spectacular even if one has to look a little harder. The place to go is along the U.S. 395 corridor from Lone Pine to Gardnerville. Just driving that highway though is not enough. One needs to leave the highway and penetrate the canyons that lead off into the mountains, e.g., Bishop Creek, Rock Creek, Convict Canyon, June Lake Loop, Mammoth, Conway Summit, Highway 108 over Sonora Pass, and many others. Most of these places are easily accessible by passenger car. In these locations one will find color to rival anyplace in the U.S.
This is kind of like home to me. I grew up in western Nevada on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. Many a summer was spent in the Sonora Pass area camping and fishing. I followed those early experiences by backpacking the Tahoe to Whitney trail which includes the John Muir Trail. When eventually my interests turned to photography my knowledge of these mountains paid off big time in knowing where to go to capture spectacular scenics. I no longer backpack but still enjoy being close to these mountains and talking about some of the great places in the back country. And, of course, the color is but an added bonus.
The images loaded so far are just a beginning. I have much editing to do and will add other images as time goes on for the next month or so. Keep checking back.
I recently had occasion to put my own advice into practice (see my blog of Feb. 13, 2013) on a "photo trip" to San Diego. It has been many years since my last visit and San Diego has changed...and grown. It is now the eighth largest city in the U.S. I had planned an ambitious list of places to photograph in five days. This trip had to be tightly choreographed if I hoped to fulfill my agenda. I had to be ready to hit the ground running which meant preparation was key to success.
I began by perusing a map of the area to get my bearings. I consulted apps like Yelp and Trip Advisor to get a sense of interesting places; I invested in a photography book dedicated to San Diego. Having developed a tentative list of subjects I then used Google to find more in depth information. From this basic research I developed a rough photo plan including types of shots I might expect to encounter, allocated expected time at each venue, and made a list of gear I would likely need. Now this might seem like total overkill to most, but when one expects to accomplish much in a short time span organization is critical. Without it one will be "behind the eight ball" from the outset.
During the course of my research I came across an interesting resource I had never considered, a certified tour guide whose tours were "focused" on photography. This resource was Julie Kremen who operates San Diego Photography Tours. Julie runs several different tours in the San Diego area from which one can choose depending on interest or, as I learned, Julie will put together a custom tour. Julie was booked during the normal weekdays I planned to be in San Diego but she offered to do a "one on one" custom tour on a Sunday. I jumped at her offer. We wound up doing a 4+ "golden" hour shoot in the late afternoon/early evening in the Gaslamp Quarter, harbor area, and Balboa Park. I used this as the centerpiece of my plan and built around it. Julie proved to be a gem; bottom line my time spent on this tour was extremely productive. Her photography background together with the brief up front information I gave her regarding my skill level was all she needed to develop an itinerary to make every minute count. She took me where I wanted to go and gave me freedom to photograph at will without the worry of having to keep up with a group. She is also a skilled photographer and capable of ensuring that one will come away with superior and unique photos. To anyone planning to photograph in San Diego I heartily recommend her services regardless of skill level. It was one of the rare occasions I've photographed in tandem with another photographer and it was truly an enjoyable experience.
In the end I not only completed my San Diego agenda but found time to photograph at San Luis Rey de Francia and San Juan Capistrano Missions, both easy drives from San Diego not to mention photographic gems. This would have been an enjoyable trip without my research, but I most certainly would not have accomplished the ambitious agenda I designed for this venture.
A few of my results are included on this site. Check 'em out.
There are many famous cities, but the only one I know where one can simply say "the City" and everyone recognizes what he is talking about is none other than San Francisco. Oh, it is a city in many respects like most, there's traffic, congestion, it's hard to park, it has its share of homeless, etc., but I know of no other place except perhaps Paris that commands such romantic appeal. While Tony Bennett did much to contribute to San Francisco's legacy it has plenty to offer on it's own to tug at one's heart strings.
For me personally I consider it "my city" even though I've never lived in it. My family on my mother's side had roots in San Francisco dating well before the great earthquake of 1906. Although visiting the city infrequently I recall as a boy (in the 1940's) being mesmerized by the hustle, bustle and night lights of the big city, so unlike the small town where I grew up. When one went "downtown" in those days gentlemen wore suits, ties and hats; ladies would not be seen without hats, gloves, and high heels. One dressed to go to the city to shop in places like The City of Paris and The White House department stores, the "supermalls" of that early day. San Francisco's financial district was the Wall Street of the west, headquarters for banks named Bank of America, Wells Fargo, & Crocker Anglo, institutions with roots in the gold rush (two of which endure to this day albeit morphed into a new era). It was home to the Hearst Newspaper chain, Standard Oil of California, Levi Strauss, and Folgers Coffee. Fisherman's wharf was then, as it is today, home to a substantial Italian fishing fleet. The Cliff House overlooked the Pacific Ocean at Land's End (and still does). The early years listed names like A. P. Giannini, Henry Wells, William Fargo, Charles Crocker, J. P. Getty, William Randolph Hearst, Leland Stanford (founder of Stanford University), Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Mark Twain, and the legendary bandit Black Bart. In the 1930's the DiMaggio brothers roamed the outfield for the old San Francisco Seals; Lefty O'Doull managed the San Francisco nine in the 40's. In the early 50's the San Francisco 49ers put together the best backfield never to win an NFL title consisting of Y. A. Tittle, Hugh McElhaney, John Henry Johnson, and Joe (The Jet) Perry; Willy Mays electrified the Bay Area in the 50's and 60's and to my mind no one ever replaced him. His statue now occupies a place of honor in Willy Mays Plaza at the entrance to AT&T Park. Oh there is history here; not bad for a city buried in dust and rubble after the devastating earthquake and fire in 1906 when hardly one stone remained atop another.
But I think what really closed the deal for me was the San Francisco Opera which I began frequenting while attending college across the Bay in Berkeley in 1962. I fell in love with the opera and with San Francisco, AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE! This was an opera house that echoed with the voice of Enrico Caruso (he sang Carmen in San Francisco the night before the earthquake). In the 60's one could buy a standing room ticket for $4.00 to hear the finest singers in the world for less than a movie ticket costs today. Hearing and seeing such artists as Joan Sutherland, Mario Del Monaco, and Giorgio Tozzi was heady stuff for me. Yes, the San Francisco Opera was world class and remains so today although the $4.00 ticket has long since disappeared.
My wife and I eventually located to the Bay Area and 47 years later we remain within an hour's drive of the City where we occasionally enjoy a day or two revisiting the sights. I have maintained an interest in photography all those years but always as an avocation. Even so, I never made it a point to do much photography in the City, my interest being more focused on landscapes and wildlife. Over time I managed to photograph most of the United States and Canada, as well as several foreign locations. Still San Francisco was neglected. That will change.
The few images I've posted to this website are but a start of what I intend to accomplish. I hope you enjoy this virtual tour of the City by the Bay.
I think one of the more difficult challenges for any artist is to avoid a rut and learn to approach his subject matter in a different way. I know I've struggled with that difficulty. I've photographed most of my life and have had the privilege of photographing in many of the iconic "hotspots" of our country, some on numerous occasions, and yet there was something missing. I was running out of ideas and subject matter. I began to realize that I tended to shoot the same kind of images everywhere I went with the result that even though the images might differ in content they were still much the same. I realized that I was addicted to the same point of view, e.g., I usually shot from eye level, used the same lens, shot the same " cliche" images as thousands of others had already shot, etc. In other words, imagination was lacking. When that happens boredom sneaks in and one's portfolio begins to lose vitality. What to do?
Well, I decided a complete "makeover" might be in order from concept to post production. These past several months I've been thinking more locally than looking to iconic locations like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. For instance, I live within an hour of one of the world's great cities, San Francisco, yet I've photographed there very little. So I've determined to remedy that by scheduling a series of sessions in "the city" and mapped out different locations and intents for each of those shoots. Twice in the past month I've been on the road by 3:45 a.m. in order to be in position before sunrise to catch the best light. Not a lot of fun hauling out of bed that time of the morning, but the light is worth it and has an added benefit of beating the traffic and finding a parking place; nothing to dismiss in San Francisco where a quarter buys four minutes on a parking meter! I've also learned that after a life time of living near this city I've never really seen it. When one starts walking the neighborhoods they emerge in a completely different light.
My approach has changed too. Instead of looking for drop dead scenics I'm looking for lines, patterns, shapes, color, abstracts, people living their daily lives, etc. In a sense it's back to basics. My equipment list has changed a bit too. I still use my "go to" lens a lot (Nikkor 18-200mm) but I'm also experimenting with my Lensbaby system quite a bit and find it's giving me a whole different mindset that carries over even when using conventional lenses. The Lensbaby "look" even enters into my images in post production as I find myself introducing intentional blur effects on occasion in Photoshop. In other words, I have other creative tools to use, and with focused goals for each session I'm coming home with images far different than my typical style. It's a lot like photographing in Yosemite. Once one has photographed all the "postcard" sites he is forced to look for new subjects. It is then that one really begins to "see" his subject and start making art and not just recapitulating cliches.
I'm also paying attention to what others are doing. As the digital "age" progresses and equipment and techniques continue to evolve I am sensible to traditional subject matter being captured in different and dynamic ways. For instance, time lapse and HDR photography is raising the bar on what can be achieved that just a few years ago was impossible.
These are just a few examples of things that can be done to keep one's self from falling into a rut and becoming bored, a state that inevitably shows up in his images. Whatever you do I think it is beneficial to periodically take a step back and assess one's approach. Am I becoming predictable? Am I simply "cloning" my own work over and over? Am I "going through the motions" and putting little thought and creativity into my work? Do I lack a sense of motivation and drive? If the answer to those questions is "yes" perhaps we are in the proverbial rut. I don't mean to infer that repeating what works is necessarily a bad thing, but a little "seasoning" now and then doesn't hurt either.
I spent many frustrating years trying to discover my "style" only to learn that style is not something that miraculously one day manifests itself. It is something that continually evolves as one matures in his craft. One has to be open to the fact that he changes over time and embrace that truth. Like Tiger Woods leaving the tour for a spell to redevelop his swing I think the artist has to step back now and then to reassess what he is doing and make appropriate adjustments. Even if no change is made it is still a valid exercise. A rut, no matter how shallow, can often prove tough to escape. Once in it only becomes deeper if nothing is done about it.