San Francisco as seen from my cameras.
Sutter Street
Cable Car Barn
Have Fun!
Willie Mays Plaza
Graffiti on Glass
Cable Car 23
Grace Cathedral Steps
acab
Le Meridien and Transamerica Pyramid
Chinatown Shrimp
Westfield San Francisco Centre
Le Beau Market
San Francisco is definitely rebounding from the pandemic. Hotels that have been closed are opening up again. Tourists are wandering about. The old street cars are running up and down the Embarcadero and on Market Street, and the subway is finally back open.
On Thursday, May 6, San Francisco moved into the yellow tier. That meant opening up indoor bars, family entertainment activities, and outdoor organized community sporting events. It also loosened guidelines for a range of activities, including fitness, dining, offices, meetings, and receptions. What’s more, people who are fully vaccinated were allowed to walk about outside without a mask. It felt so free (and made me feel kind of naked).
As of May 31, 2021, 616,051 of the estimated 791,131 San Francisco residents over 12 years old had received at least one vaccine (78%). 522,020 had completed a vaccine series (66%). Daily cases in the city had dropped to 14.
On May 3rd I got the second Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Knowing I had more immunity to COVID-19 brought such relief. On May 30th we went to dinner indoors at a restaurant. We enjoyed that so much that on May 31st we went to another restaurant.
And while things were opening back up, the weather was also wonderful in May of 2021. Some fog, but most days brought beautiful blue skies, fresh, crisp, clean, cool, moist air and the reminder of why San Francisco truly is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Perfect for photography.
Macy's Union Square showing its love for San Francisco and its shoppers with a flower heart.
I took this shot after getting the second vaccine at the Moscone convention center. This giant stainless steal sculpture by artist Christine Corday is called “Geneses”.
Another piece of heart art in San Francisco is painted on ground at Yerba Buena Gardens.
Morning walk with the dog on Nob HIll.
Washington Street and The Bay Bridge
Herb Caen is one of the most beautiful walks in the city named after him - the Port Promenade from China Basin to Fisherman’s Wharf. In June 1996, the Port Commission approved christening this portion of the promenade "Herb Caen Way..." in honor of Herb's special place in San Francisco's consciousness.
F Market Streetcar on a test run on the Embarcadero before taking on passengers. The sign announcing the destination of this train said “Nowhere in Particular”.
The Embarcadero Two Tower looks dramatically different depending on what angle you view it.
A rally outside the Columbia Consulate on Montgomery Street.
A window reflection of Abacus Row, a handmade jewelry store on Mason Street.
The Transamerica Pyramid poking up like a witches hat above Shephard Place on a foggy morning.
Jessie Square on Mission between 4th and 5th streets has a really interesting mix of architecture with the Contemporary Jewish Museum, St. Patrick Church and the Four Seasons Residences building.
Greenery at Yerba Buena Gardens.
Nob Hill Flowers
Justice with a bouquet on Clay and Kearny Streets.
Memorial to skate bother Ed Suen at Stockton and Sacramento in Chinatown
Street Sign, Street Light shadows.
Aquarium mural on Wilmot Street in the Fillmore district.
The Cable Car Kiosk at Powell and California Streets contrasts with the Transamerica Pyramid.
I took this shot right down the street from the Nob Hill dog walker on Sacramento Street, two weeks later.
Cable Car Museum smokestack contrasts with a utility pole in the foreground and the Bay Bridge in the background.
Spring flowers in full bloom at Ina Coolbrith Park on Russian Hill.
California Street is still waiting for the cable cars.
The Hotel Huntington fire escape creating a shadow on the Masonic Auditorium that looked to me like a zipper.
Morning light gracing Huntington Park on Nob Hill.
A jet headed south above the Nob Hill Inn.
Paint Swatches on California and Stockton Streets.
A new mural being painted at Larkin and Post Streets.
The San Remo Hotel on Mason Street in Fisherman’s Wharf was built by A.P. Giannini, the founder of Bank of America, in 1906, it was the first home to the workers and servicemen who set to work rebuilding the city after the 1906 earthquake. Since then it has seen artists who have paid their way with their art, fisherman who need a place to sleep off of their boats for the night, students on their vacation trips, families who are traveling on a budget, and explorers who need only a place to rest their head while seeking out exciting places, new and old.
It’s Spring in San Francisco! Depending on the day and where you are, it can be stunningly beautiful. The days are getting longer and warmer. Flowers are blooming everywhere. The air is clean and sunlight sparkles off streets, on the bay and reflected in bay windows. Spring is a wonderful time to be a photographer in San Francisco.
This April, I will just let my photographs speak for themselves.
Enjoy!
Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe church
44 Montgomery
The San Francisco Trulia Headquarters Building at 535 Mission Street blends clouds and sky.
The East Cut Towers
E*Trade Financial Building
Sutter Station Tavern Parklet
Teacup Heart
Grace Cathedral Door
Cathedral School for Boys
423 Washington Street
Vaccine Stickers at the Moscone Center
Community Library
Russian Hill Alley
Nob Hill Lobby
No Mask No Food
Light and Shadow
Bay Street
North Beach Optometrist
Russian Hill Steps
Magnolia Flowers and Cable Car Barn
Stockton Street
Pink Puffy Flowers on Bush Street
Looking up in Chinatown
Kate Tova Mask
Black Lives Matter Heart, Union Square
SFMOMA
Skybox II
Vandewater Street
Hazel
Washington Street
#stopasianhate
Children's Creativity Museum
Louis Vuitton
Pacific Avenue
For this blog entry, I offer you a sampling from my photography tool kit. I’ve been practicing these photography themes for years. Some of my favorite subjects are window reflections, advertisements, architecture, shadows, street art, looking up, looking down, signs, patterns and textures. I also like to document the little unusual details that make San Francisco unique, and the occasional abandoned chair. These themes are like familiar friends that I keep coming back to, and for some reason I’m compelled to keep capturing them with my cameras. It’s fun and keeps me motivated to get out of the house and walk around. I hope you enjoy this sampling photographs taken in San Francisco in March of 2021.
I started off in March where I had left in February; photographing laundromats. These washers and dryers stand at the ready at Nob Hill Coin-op Laundry.
I like photographing adds and billboards around the city. I find a way to crop them in the frame or play off the reflections to make them more interesting and make them my own. This is an ad on a bus shelter for Optimism by passiton.com
I love photographing architecture and San Francisco has no shortage of incredible buildings to help fuel my passion. Often buildings will have lines leading up to them that not only add to their appearance, but are handy tools to help line up my shot. This is the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill.
This cable box is on an unnamed walkway between Clay and Sacramento Streets on Nob Hill. What would inspire Zamar and Walo to tag it up I can’t imagine. It does add a funkier look to this already funky scene.
This is the Union Bank lobby at 350 California Street. I liked the way the support beams reflected in the windows.
This artwork by Mariana Prutton is posted outside a boarded up store on Sutter Street. I wonder how this would have been received in 1918.
Looking down Sacramento Street on Nob Hill highlights how crappy our streets are nowadays.
A street sign shadow on a steep street on Russian Hill.
More window reflections. This is an empty corner store on Nob Hill.
Formally Park Hyatt San Francisco, Le Méridien San Francisco is a luxury hotel in the Financial District. It has some very unusual architecture.
This beautiful street art at 1027 Grant Avenue is by Vida Kuang.
Victor’s Pizza on Polk Street has long been one of favorite spots. Their sign has been around for a while.
I took this on Jackson Street while walking back from the store on Friday afternoon. This is an in-camera original shot in color with no filter.
A half moon looms over the Crown Zellerbach Building.
The Mechanics Monument was sculpted by Douglas Tilden and dedicated in 1901 at the base of Bush Street.
Tilden was born in Chico, California, in 1860. At age four, he contracted scarlet fever which left him deaf and mute for life. Tilden attended the California School for the Deaf and UC Berkeley, then he studied art in Paris.
The Mechanics Monument was commissioned to honor industrialist Peter Donahue, founder of the San Francisco & North Pacific Railroad.
The bronze sculpture depicts five men struggling to punch a hole through a metal plate with a punch press. At the base are symbols of Donahue's professions: an anvil represents foundries, a propeller represents shipping, and the driving wheel and connecting rod represent railroads.
When the monument was dedicated, many citizens were shocked by the sight of rude mechanicals cavorting in the street without their knickers. Editorials demanded that Tilden put trousers on the men. Tilden ignored the controversy and it faded away.
Nigella SF is a botanical boutique at One Front Street. The rounded windows create fun reflections.
The Nigella flower is also know as the “Love-in-a-Mist”, “Ragged Lady” and “Devil in the Bush”.
Lucky Cable Car 13 was all dressed up for Saint Patrick's Day.
Abstract love monster art on a boarded up store windows.
Located at Fairmont San Francisco, the Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar has delighted guests with its tropical décor, decadent libations and Asian cuisine since 1945.
In 1929, The Fairmont added a 75-foot indoor swimming pool on its Terrace Level. Known as the "Fairmont Plunge," the elaborate tile pool attracted local crowds and celebrities such as actress Helen Hayes, actor Ronald Reagan and members of the Water Follies.
In 1945, Metro Goldwyn Mayer’s leading set director, Mel Melvin, was hired to transform the Fairmont Plunge into Tonga Room. The pool became a “lagoon” and a floating stage for the orchestra was added to entertain guests each evening. Not surprisingly, Tonga Room was an instant success.
The Tonga Room has dance floor built from the remains of the S.S. Forester, a schooner that once traveled between San Francisco and the South Sea Islands. The Tonga Room also features periodic tropical rainstorms, complete with thunder and lightning.
This photograph incorporates two themes I like in photography, signs and looking up.
One of my mom’s comments about my blog from February was how clean the streets of San Francisco seemed. And generally, the streets are cleaner than last year during the middle of the pandemic. People still dump garbage and debris around town, but city crews are pretty good about picking it up. I like to document scenes like this, especially when they include abandoned chairs.
Sunrise through the top of Salesforce Tower.
The center median on California Street leads the eye straight to the Bay Bridge.
A local going for a morning walk.
In my February blog I highlighted the Year of the Ox sculptures around town. On a Sunday afternoon I found them all along Grant Avenue in Chinatown.
A long telephoto lens looking down California Street has the visual effect of flattening the steep hill.
A Lounge Chair sat at the bottom of Broadway street waiting for someone to sit in it again.
California Street bay windows reflecting evening light. I love San Francisco’s many bay windows and I love the way the evening light reflects off them.
This abandoned chair being illuminated by light reflecting off nearby buildings simply had to be photographed.
Profound and prophetic, yes, but I still don’t understand what inspired someone to post this sticker on a telephone pole.
February 2021 welcomed the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Ox to San Francisco. Good thing too! The year of the Rat that encompassed much of 2020 was a really sucky year.
In 2020 San Francisco did have its traditional Chinese New Year Festival and Parade just weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. The Chinese New Year Parade was started in the 1860s by Chinese immigrants and helped to educate the greater community about Chinese culture. Since 1958, the parade has been under the direction of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the largest of its kind outside of Asia. This year, the parade was cancelled to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Organizers shifted focus to the “Year of the Ox on Parade,” a citywide exhibition featuring 11 life-size oxen sculptures designed and created by local artists.
Although the Chinese New Year Festival and Parade were cancelled, February brought signs of change in San Francisco. Outdoor dining resumed, breathing life into the city streets and sidewalks. The city opened up COVID vaccination centers. With the nightmare Trump Presidency starting to slowly fade way, and with the promise of spring around the corner, the Year of the Ox brought with it hope for better days ahead.
This is the Stockton Street tunnel that connects Chinatown with Union Square. I took this at night and to stabilize the camera I put it against the wall of the tunnel.
This gazebo sits in 101 California Street plaza. I think it would normally be used as a flower stand, but it now stands empty.
I don’t remember what was in this space on the ground level of 555 California Street. When I walked by it I was drawn to it by its industrial, architectural emptiness.
Late afternoon light reflecting off 425 Market Street.
The steps of Grace Cathedral decorated to celebrate Mardi Gras. Grace Cathedral is still closed to the public.
The moorings on the North Side of Pier 39 are owned by sea lions. They moved in shortly after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The moorings to the south of Pier 39 pictured here still harbor sailboats.
“Unity” by artist Eduardo Valadez Arenas welcomes The Year of the Ox to Union Square.
Classic car cruising down Mission Street on a Saturday afternoon.
Trees with red bark thrive in Salesforce Park.
East Cut office tower windows sit empty, waiting for workers to return.
The Transbay Terminal has round seats with lights underneath them.
“Ancient Technology” by artist Stephanie Mufson looks up at the Salesforce Tower.
The historic Great Star Theater on Jackson Street is closed for renovations. I hope they don’t touch the sign! It has developed plenty of character over the years.
Happy cows welcome the Lunar New Year to Chinatown store windows.
Wash This! Is a Laundromat on Mason Street in North Beach.
I don’t know why, but for years, the lure of a city laundromat has been an irresistible subject for me to photograph. Maybe it’s something about the washers and dryers just waiting around for someone to put clothes in them. Or maybe it’s the communal space where people go to do their weekly chores and air their dirty laundry. Or maybe it’s just the idea of clean clothes fresh and warm coming out of the dryer. More likely, it is the retro style of machines lined up like some army ready to get to work. Whatever it is, I’m thankful for city laundromats to photograph, but also thankful we have a laundry room where I live so I don’t have to use them.
Luxury kitchen goods retailer Sur La Table used to occupy this spot in the San Francisco Ferry Building. It was a perfect accompaniment to the farmers market right outside every Saturday. So sad to see this like so many great retail stores go out of business. We took a cooking class at Sur La Table year ago, and still regularly use the recipes we learned there.
Late afternoon light mixes with the smoke from hot dog stands at the bustling corner of 4th and Market Streets.
This retro looking newspaper stand at Spear and Markets Streets has been closed for years now. Some painted this MY LLAMA DON’T DO DRAMA artwork on it.
The Embarcadero towers reflected in the windows of One California Street.
Gateway Apartment balconies.
All over town, people have painted and decorated outdoor dining structures. This one is on Pacific Avenue in Chinatown.
Lanterns, flowers and sunshine frame Wentworth Place in Chinatown.
I liked the way this ACAB graffiti contrasted with flowers poking up from the sidewalk on Jones Street.
This is part of the brand new ferry terminal along The Embarcadero. The area has been transformed and expanded and now has six ferry gates.
A February full moon rising behind the Bay Bridge.
Light reflecting off the water next to Pier 3.
Heat lamps keep outdoor diners toasty warm at La Mar restaurant on The Embarcadero.
San Francisco has made the area around and in between many piers public space. This sweet spot is between Piers 5 and 7.
For me the last half of January seemed to zoom by. When I’m working I don’t have many opportunities to get out and photograph the city outside of my usual routine of grabbing some lunch or grocery shopping on the weekends. I did manage to get out and take a few snaps though. And when I did, it felt to me more and more like San Francisco was starting to slowly swing on the pendulum back towards a little more normal.
One of my favorite subjects to photograph are signs. I love the variety of different types of signs. New, old, shinny, dull, professional, homemade, fancy and funky. Signs can say things fun and wonderful. Others are just bossy. And some are just kind of weird. This gallery has more than its fair share of signs, so I dedicate this gallery to signs.
August Hall has been closed for almost a year now, but its marquee still updated with messages.
A shadow from a fire escape on the wall of 385 10th Street.
Words of wisdom at The Poké Bar.
Someone has been posting these “take some cat love” fliers around Lower Nob Hill.
Dusk settles over The Bay.
I will never forget these very strange times in downtown San Francisco. Since I have been working all day, I have been taking walks late in the day, often in the magic hour. Winter evenings in SF lately have taken on a magical quality like I have never noticed before. The air is cold and crisp and clean and moist. Windows glow and glimmer, reflecting twilight and hinting at the life within.
Outdoor dining on Hyde Street
Flower head mannequin in North Beach shop.
Festive decorations for the lunar new year of the ox.
Fake flowers on Jackson Street.
Looking up at the lanterns and laundry on Ross Alley in Chinatown
The new year for 2021 in San Francisco rang in like no other. There were no concerts or events or parties. No fireworks. With COVID cases rising, San Francisco was under a stay-at-home order. It was very, very quiet.
In contrast, here’s a just a partial listing of events in San Francisco that were held to ring in 2020:
Mega New Year’s Eve International Ball San Francisco at the Palace Hotel, Passport to the World New Year's Eve at The Westin St Francis Hotel, Mother of all New Year’s Parties at The Regency Ballroom, Countdown 2020 New Year's Eve San Francisco at Roccapulco, New Year's Eve Massive 2020 at the Parc 55 Hilton Hotel San Francisco, SF New Year's Eve 2020 at the W Hotel, New Year's Eve with Dillon Francis at Fort Mason Center, New Bohemia NYE 2020 at The Mint, New Year's Eve 2020 Masquerade Ball atop the Hotel Via, deadmau5 / CUBE V3 at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, New Year's Eve Yacht Party on the SF Belle, New Year Eve Dance Party on the SS Jeremiah O'Brien Battleship, The Claypool Lennon Delirium with Sausage at The Warfield, Portugal. The Man at the Fox Theater, Dead & Company New Year's Eve at the Chase Center, The Black & Gold Soiree Black Cat Jazz Supper Club, Spafford at Great American Music Hall, Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Lakou Mizik at The Fillmore, Lettuce at The Independent, Maceo Parker with Special Guest Candy Dulfer at SFJAZZ Center, Big Blu Soul Revue at the Presidio Social Club, New Year’s Eve Night Watch Sing at GLIDE Memorial Church, Seth Macfarlane and the SF Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall, Annual Japanese New Year's Bell-Ringing Ceremony at Asian Art Museum, New Year's Eve Fireworks Ferry Building, Embarcadero
While we didn’t have any celebrations to attend on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day 2021, there were reasons to be hopeful in the start of the new year: The end of the nightmare of the Trump presidency. The hope for a COVID-19 vaccine. Beautiful street art appearing on walls and outdoor dining structures. Big, beautiful bubbles floating down Mason Street on a sunny day. A gorgeous sunset.
Although times are incredibly tough for San Francisco and the nation and the world, the dawn of 2021 brings with it hope for better days ahead.
This artwork titled “dream within a dream” by artist “Pablito” Raiz is on a an outdoor dining structure outside Ace’s bar on Sutter Street.
This new, stunning mural “Full Circle” by Amanda Lynn is on Larkin Street. I have been following Amanda Lynn’s work on the streets of San Francisco for more than 20 years. I swear she just keeps getting better and better!
This very sad Christmas tree scene was just up the street from the Amanda Lynn mural. The City of San Francisco encourages residents to leave their old, unwanted, sad, dead Christmas trees out on the sidewalks. City crews pick them up and turn them into mulch for parks. Trees covered in glitter (or pink paint) are not accepted.
Flamingo art on Bay Street next to a Goodwill store, some pigeons, and some discarded Christmas trees.
This festive miniature winter scene was in a store window in North Beach. I liked how all the figurines were wearing masks.
This very disturbing hand made sign was placed on the corner of Powell Street and Columbus Avenue. You never know what you will find on the streets of San Francisco!
On a grey day, U.S. and Flags of the Republic of China flying over Waverly Place in Chinatown.
Mister Jiu's is a high end restaurant in Chinatown. Last year they erected these outdoor dining booths with green plastic dividers. With outdoor dining shut down by the city, they have closed for the month of January, leaving these empty.
Bargain Bazaar on the corner of Grant Avenue and Sacramento Street was open for business and featured an impressive display of pandas!
An art gallery on Leavenworth Street on Russian Hill had this scary looking figure in the window along with a hand written “I love you” message on the window.
One of the things I just love about San Francisco is the Victorian bay windows. There are thousands of these rounded cornices on buildings all over the older areas of San Francisco. What a great way to frame a corner store!
Festive lights decorated Hyde street weeks long after Christmas had come and gone.
Before the day I took this photograph, I had never walked across Hairy Bridges Plaza without seeing skateboarders. This is their number one hang out spot. They have always been there. Always. Strange times indeed.
Mike Ashe, a.k.a. The San Francisco Bubble Man, is well known around Nob Hill. In a normal year, he would be renting out his bubble extravaganzas for birthdays, corporate picnics, weddings and school events. For the last few months, he’s been bringing his act to city street corners. He sets up a speaker, plays music and lets his giant bubbles fly down the streets. The bubbles are pretty, fun and do a lot to lift spirits.
Scaffolding for renovations to The Clift Hotel cast stark and graphic shadows on Taylor Street.
For years I walked past Galvanized Iron Works on my way to and from work. It was recently gutted and is now under construction. There is very little left to the industrial industries in western SOMA.
Since I don’t work South of Market anymore, I don’t visit very often. When I do, I always encounter something cool, crazy or creative. This was posted on utility box at 7th and Harrison Streets.
With indoor and outdoor dining shut down in San Francisco, to-go containers are everywhere. Here, a discarded plastic container was nicely illuminated by the winter sun.
These two icons from a bygone film era were hanging out in window on Taylor Street.
This mural and grill were outside La Rocca's Corner, a North Beach bar at Columbus and Taylor that's been around since the end of Prohibition.
In the '40s and '50s, everyone went there: fishermen, showgirls, politicos, athletes, celebrities, even mobsters. It was at La Rocca's that Nick DeJohn, a Chicago racketeer, had his last drink in 1947 before he was found stuffed in his car trunk. Joe DiMaggio was a regular.
Any hint of shadiness was long gone during its heyday in the 1960s, when the glitterati and power brokers of the city dropped in, including the Gettys, George Moscone and John Burton. It was also the destination spot for the after-hours crowd from nearby Bimbo's 365, Lido's, the Italian Village and other clubs.
The spot is still classic San Francisco with a nod to its older days with sports posters and mugs shots of Al Capone and other historical Alcatraz tenants on the walls.
With COVID-19 rates rising and hospital capacity becoming more scarce, outdoor dining remained shut down in January. This park outside The Boardroom, a sports bar in North Beach, awaited a lift in the restrictions imposed by the state and city.
This hand made sign was posted outside a gerage down the street from where I live.
Mannequins stand guard in a Macy’s store window on Stockton and O’Farrell Streets. Love has been the theme Macy’s has been promoting throughout the pandemic.
We had some beautiful sunsets this January. This one was taken from Russian Hill on January 15.