Monday, May 31, 2010

Got Wind?



Here are a couple of kite surfers launching from Crissy Field. This is the San Francisco Bay which is a playground for sailors, kite surfers and windsurfing.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Kite Surfing Anyone?



How's this for an afternoon activity? This is taken from Crissy Field in the Marina/Presidio area of San Francisco. On a warm, sunny day, there are dozens of kite surfers here. Its really fun to watch and see them take off from the shore and navigate through the bay.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

A View to Kill



We took this shot from Twin Peaks in San Francisco. It was such a clear night and there were photogs galore there attempting to capture the moment. The main drag is Market Street and that's the Bay Bridge in the background that takes you over to Berkeley.

Friday, May 28, 2010

After the Rain


It's been an unseasonably cold May in California this year.
It rained again yesterday, but then the sun came out right before it was about to set.
These rainy day sunsets are my favorite. Here's what it looked like yesterday.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Contrast or What?



I see this view everyday and it always brings a smile to my face. That's the Transamerica Pyramid and the Coppola Building. I took this shot on Columbus Ave and Kearny Streets in North Beach.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

One of the Hills of San Francisco



This was taken at the bottom of California Street near the Cable Car turnaround. I thought it was a good representation of one of our many hills. For those of you who have never been to San Francisco, we have hills. We have lots of hills. No need for a gym membership, just imagine walking these everyday.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Classic Victorians



Here are some beauties that live on Union Street in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco! They are really everywhere as a lot of the architecture here in San Francisco is of Victorian and Edwardian. They recently painted this one and I thought the powder blue was so elegant. Oh, and those are classic bay windows.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Vibrant City




This is the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Broadway Street in San Francisco's North Beach. That's the Transamerica Pyramid in the background. We were shooting a Time Lapse Video and this is one of the shots in the sequence. I titled it Vibrant City because whenever I'm at this intersection at night, its like its an explosion of energy and excitment. I hope I captured that in the photo.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Ferry Building at Dusk



Here's a photo of the San Francisco Ferry Building. This is where you can take a ferry to Sausalito and Tiburon. They have recently renovated it and inside you'll find wonderful, gourmet wine & cheese stores, restaurants and bakeries and everything else yummy and decadent. And, on Saturdays they have the most amazing Farmer's Market. This is a shot of the evening commuters from Market Street. We were doing a commuter Time Lapse video this evening and we thought the sky and air were quite cooperative that day.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Bansky Fever!















So I've been a fan of Bansky for awhile and he has recently been leaving his mark around San Francisco. Bansky is an anonymous British street artist, AKA Graffiti artist. He has a movie out now that was recently shown at Sundance (to those lucky, willing to wait fans). Its called, "Exit through the Gift Shop." Well, when I heard that there was a sighting, I had to go and check it out. I found the following Peace & Love on Commercial and Grant Avenue in Chinatown. Let me tell you that when I first saw it, it was like finding gold. My heart started pounding and I felt kinda frozen. I noticed that that there was some plastic covering the artwork to preserve it. Apparently, some of his other works in the city have been painted over. I hope not all of them!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Here Comes the Moon















I've been following the moon for years and this was an evening that I was looking forward to. The moon was full and most importantly, the sky was clear. We parked our equipment at Filbert and Hyde streets in Russian Hill, just a few blocks from where we live. We ended up with an amazing Time Lapse video of the moon rising over Coit Tower. This is one of the shots.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Magic Mural Man!



I live in one of the best neighborhoods in SF, North Beach. North Beach is known as the Little Italy of San Francisco and is blessed with many wonderful restaurants, cafes and bakeries. I had been walking my yorkie, Olivia, on one of her daily morning walks and I stumbled upon the mural. This mural is located in one of the restaurants on Vallejo Street. I had known that the place had changed ownership and there was some renovation going on. I remember seeing an outline of the mural a few weeks ago, but had forgotten about it. It was like, presto! Suddenly, this magnificent mural emerged! The picture hardly does it justice; I really tried to capture the vibrancy of the colors.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Tilt Shift Cable Car




Here's a California line Cable Car heading up from downtown San Francisco. I put a tilt-shift effect on it to try to make it look miniature. What do you think?

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

The Bay Bridge @ Twilight



Here's a photo of the Bay Bridge taken from Treasure Island. To see the Time Lapse video, see below




This is an evening Time Lapse video I made of the Bay Bridge. There are two bridges that feed in and out of San Francisco; The Golden Gate Bridge heads north to Marin and this bridge heads east to Berkeley. It was shot from Treasure Island. I can never get tired of looking at the city from this view, especially on a clear day!

Monday, May 17, 2010

San Francisco Chinatown

This is taken on Grant Avenue in San Francisco's Chinatown. Its always so fun to check out the different types of architecture within varied neighborhoods and Chinatown definitely has its own style. Grant Ave is primarily focused on touristy stores pushing all the typical souvenirs. Its fun though, and on my most recent visit with my little yorkie, I stumbled upon the most charming tea house, Cherry Blossom Tea Company.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Parked at the Marina


Aside from the irritating seagulls, I so enjoy walking around Fisherman's Wharf. This shot was taken right behind the classic Fisherman's Grotto Restaurant. These vintage fishing boats reminded me of those old Popeye cartoons. In fact, some of their owners even looked like Popeye.

Friday, May 14, 2010

From the Carnelian Room

This was taken about a year ago at the Carnelian Room in the B of A building in San Francisco. Its such a bummer that the Carnelian Room closed because the view from there was spectacular. It was very "old school" San Francisco with a steller view accompanied by those $18 cocktails, lol. We went there with a purpose and the purpose was this shot. I should have known that the place was in trouble because the windows were awfully dirty. Nevertheless, I ended up doing a series of shots which I compiled into a Time Lapse video. I'll be putting it up soon on my Facebook page, so say tuned.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Magnificent Coit Tower

There are so many great views of this tower in San Francisco. Here is a shot taken from the Embarcadero looking back upon Telegraph Hill. I believe I took it after a wonderful morning at the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building (that's another post). It was such a clear and sunny day and I liked how the colors of the buildings really stood out against the sky. Believe it or not, there are these lovely walkways down the hill that take you through these lush and tranquil gardens. These are the gardens where the famous "Parrots of Telegraph Hill" would nest. They actually made a documentary about them a few years back. I still see them everyday and boy can they be loud. There must be at least a hundred of them.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Neon Red on Columbus Avenue

I've spent many a night sipping vino here at one of their outside tables. Calzone's is one of the anchor eateries along the famous Columbus Avenue in San Francisco's "Little Italy." Yes its kinda touristy, but the food is tasty and the service is always pleasant and most importantly, there's lots of visuals to be entertained with.

San Francisco City Lights


Evening view of Downtown San Francisco. How many light bulbs do you think?

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Copper/Coppola Building in San Francisco


This is the Coppola Building at the intersection of Columbus Ave and Kearny Streets. If you've never been there, its wild because six streets intersect here. In the background on the left is the Transamerica Building (the Pyramid). Stay tuned for some solo pictures of that.

Monday, May 10, 2010

The Gorgeous Golden Gate Bridge

I have lived in San Francisco for almost 22 years and still pinch myself everyday. There are so many reasons why I love this unique city and the best way I can share it is with this blog. Perhaps this city is the reason why I got into photography?

The Golden Gate Bridge takes you over to Sausalito, Marin and northward. I travel on it twice a week; once going out of the city and once coming in. I get a kick out of it both ways. Hope you enjoy!