Pawn Reflection

"Pawn Reflection" San Francisco 2010

This was taken on Mission Street in San Francisco. I love the character of the Mission District - it feels old and vintage - like you are walking the streets of a different era. I felt that this shot captured that feeling a bit and, at the same time, is a bit of a sign of the times. The storefront with its tiled shadowy entryway and the diagonal line created by the angle of the sidewalk make a nice backdrop to the woman gazing at pawned jewelry in the window. I really love the tone of the image as well. It feels like there is a longing there that also feels a little sad and a little lonely to me.

Chevy Cat

"Chevy Cat" Key West 2010

I'm taking a short break from San Francisco photos and sharing a shot that I took in Key West earlier last year. I spent my trip to the Keys visiting some very good friends and trying to capture the wildlife, nature, and flora that were particular to the Keys. I'll probably share some of those photos too in this bog, but this is one of the shots from the trip that I most liked and it had absolutely nothing to do with the Keys! You can see some of the more tropical leaves around the back edges of the photo, but in the end this was really just about a cat who happened to be perfectly perched on a classic Chevy. It was a simple shot in terms of composition - I just tried to square it up and take advantage of the natural symmetry. It was a bit more difficult in terms of lighting and white balance as the car had a few highly reflective spots and the trees in the back of the car gave quite a bit of shade. In the end it worked out and Chevy Cat is now immortalized!

Washington Square

"Washington Square" San Francisco 2010

This shot of the church and park in Washington Square was taken with a pretty wide angle. I was aware of the distortion it would create, but I wanted to get the peaks of the church as well as the park and some framing greenery. I like the subtle gradation of the sky and in a large size print you can see some of the folks hanging out in the park. It was unseasonably warm in San Francisco the day of this shot - about 80 degrees and sunny in mid-November. People were taking advantage of the park and the warm weather all day.

Mission Street Psychic

"Mission Street Psychic" San Francisco 2010

Another post and another photo from San Francisco; I had taken quite a few pictures during my trip there so the next several posts will probably feature photos from the city. I had spent a long morning in the Mission District of San Francisco taking pictures of the colorful murals, the sidewalk markets, and the churches when I came across this storefront psychic. I was setting up for the shot and noticed that the psychic (or someone who worked there) was sitting in the entry way. She saw me framing the shot and kept herself partly shaded by the building. I liked the mysteriousness of her just peaking out from the doorway and the harshness of the light combined with the strong geometrical elements of the gate, sign, and window. I wish I had a chance to talk to her and get some stories but this photo will have to serve as the story in itself...

Food and Weed

"Food and Weed" San Francisco 2010

Just like for most folks, the new year brought with it new resolutions for me. This is one of my resolutions - my first attempt at a photography blog. I thought it would be a nice complement to my website - a way to share pictures and stories that I normally wouldn't. We'll see... I've admittedly tried to blog before and failed miserably. My hope is that this will be a little more successful. I have no rules right now for what I post or when I post it - other than the obvious requirement of a photo. I'm looking at this blog as an opportunity to share photos that are uncharacteristic of my past work, experimental, trivial, or just easier to share in this format than on my website. (My website is cumbersome to update - I'm working on it though.)

I thought that this would be a good photo to start with because it really is uncharacteristic of my past photographs which are generally landscape or architectural in some way. I've thought about starting various portrait series at different points but this photo came as happenstance on a recent trip to San Fransisco. I am generally shy about shooting people - especially on the street - but these two were willing models and did not even need to pose! I rarely shoot photos so tightly in the frame (I usually like wide shots with a lot of negative space), but I think that it is inevitable for portrait work. I like the angle that the car makes in this photo, the skin tones, and the mood that is created by the different facial expressions that the two men display.