Let the world move around us......

A crowded area with a whole bunch of visitors around them, yet these two young people had not a care in the world except for each other.... had to end this week on a happy note!  
By the way, remember to see this and more on my web site  http://stevefoonphotography.blogspot.com.

Mother Nature will one day reclaim it all....

A factoid.  Sacramento is actually built on top of itself in order to raise the street level above the Sacramento River.  This column once was part of a building that is now a small open area park at the original street level.

Goldfinger...

For some reason... looking at this picture, I keep on hearing Shirley Bassey singing the title song "Goldfinger" in my head.

Busted...

The key to successful Street Photography is to capture those moments in time.  To do so not by sneaking around with a "pen camera" or some other spy equipment.  The key to the art is to blend in and take images that appear in view.  By law, anyone out in public automatically surrenders a certain degree of privacy and as a member of the National Press Photographers Association, I am duty bound to adhere to their standards.  Every once in a while, you are outright caught taking a photo.  This young lady caught me and gave me a quick smile.  What can I say... I'm human.

Meet our Senior Policy Advisor......

Considering all the jokers we have making decisions, who's to say this guy can't do any better.

Something soothing for the work week....

Just some plants, water and rocks..... it's a Zen thing.

Being the Boss has it's Privileges

You never know what you'll find walking around.  That's the magic of street photography.
Right outside of Alioto / Lazio Sea Food in the middle of the driveway, he took his chair and decided to camp out.   Yes, he was still breathing.  Must be nice being the boss.

Who's winning?

The Empty Chairs and Empty Table question has been solved.  The question now is... who is winning the game?

To Downtown

There's been too many black and white images lately.....
Just wanted to add some color with this sign in Old Sacramento.

Empty chairs and empty table..........

In the middle of a high traffic area, someone set up two chairs, a fold up table and what appears to be the game of "GO".  The amazing thing is that the people who set this up wasn't around and with all the people traffic in the area, no one disturbed the game.

A Lot on the Mime

I was going to save this image for the book.  Taking time out from performing and deep in thought.

You can also see this very same image on my Gallery page on the Leica Fotografie International site (http://us.leica-camera.com/photography/lfigallery   (Click on "To the LFI Gallery" and search on "Steve Foon Images")

You can always count on me...

There are times where there is no better friend than the unconditional love of our pets.
Sorry for the image quality, this one was really cropped down.

For God's Sake.....

You know the can is full.  Stop and take your damn trash to another can !  There was trash all over.... in the sand and in the water too.  What is more insulting is that not more than 50 feet away were two other garbage cans that were only half full.  Come on!  We're humans..... oooops, maybe that's the problem?

Reality Check

When is this going to stop?  There's something really wrong where scenes like this still exists.

I like what this bird has to say....

The bird has the right attitude !

To all my friends:  If you wish to be removed from my email list, please let me know.  I didn't realize that a copy of the image was sent on each email alert that my blog site sends also sends the images.  The official website is http://stevefoonphotography.blogspot.com   I currently also have a Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_foon_photography/.  Lastly, I will soon have a gallery page on the Leica Fotographie International (LFI) site.

Plants are like the Energizer Bunny

All these trees were planted about 27 years ago.  They now have taken over an entire side and has hidden the fence that is behind this mini forrest.  They keep growing and growing and growing...

Crassula Ovata

This plant is well over 50 years old.  It's original place was destroyed years ago by a relative who didn't appreciate nature.  Luckily it was saved by my mom and to this day it still thrives.  The official name of this plant is Crassula Ovata.... commonly known as a Jade Plant, Friendship Tree, Lucky Plant or Money Plant.

Street Scenes

Goodwill Ambassador - Platinum.

Street Scenes 2

A crowd.  Wonderful sounds.  Applause from the audience...... Kevin Kooyumjian is back.

PLATINUM

There are many performers on the Streets of San Francisco.  Pantomimes are part of our landscape, but when someone is making our visitors smile, laugh and are walking away happy.... there's something going on here.  His name is Platinum.  His moves and the way he interacts with our visitors is a gift.  So the next time you are in Fisherman's Warf and you see a crowd of happy people.... take a minute, take a look and support our local artists !

A Young Fan....

Hello !?!?.....

Time to meet the public......

A Memory now formed.....

Walking down the hall of history.......

Taken at Fort Point.  Can you imagine if these walls could talk?  It's sort of scary to wonder that if you were to walk down this hall, are you going somewhere back in time?  Got the sense of the Twilight Zone when this was shot.  No tourists in the area.  Only me and this space.  I expected to see a ghost.

Good name for a place to eat......

While walking the streets of Old Sacramento, I saw this sign and just thought it was interesting and creative.  Wonder how people would take to the sign if it read "SKINNY's - Catering and Banquet Facility"?  By the way.... it was 102* that day.  Fat's would be Skinny after walking around in that heat.

Water Landing

I better watch out because before I know it, I'll be shoe horned into being a "bird photographer".  Just that animals make excellent subjects.  This seagull flew in for a water landing at the Palace of Fine Arts.

Tower....air wing 404 ready for take off.......

I drove past all these birds on my way to see if the surfboard gang was out riding the waves.  On my way back, these birds were still there.  Never pass up an opportunity.  The first shots taken with the 70-200mm was too far and I didn't want them to fly away.  These shots were taken with the 200-400mm at about 20 yards away.

Cleared for take off...........

Make room, make room, give me some space......

Talk about traffic in the skies.....

Off we go... into the wild blue.. uh... grey yonder.....

Something about Aircraft Carriers......

A while back I gave the Russian Navy some coverage with their visit to San Francisco.  I was surprised to learn it was the first Russian Navy ship on US shores since the time of Czar Nicholas.

Anyway..... the carrier in the photo is that of the USS Hornet - CV12 docked at the former Alameda Naval Air Station.  She's famous for being the carrier that was used to pick up our Apollo astronauts during a time where our country can do amazing things.

Now that the USS Enterprise - CVN65 is due to be decommissioned in a couple of years, perhaps we'll have her next to the Hornet.  Enterprise called Alameda home for many years.

The Girls play too.....

A factoid.... this competition has windsurfers from all over the world.  Brazil, Germany, Canada, etc...

Getting Ready to compete.....

Obviously the need to be focused before competing.

I was impressed that with over half of the competitors out in the Bay, this young man took the time to mentally prepare for the competition.

2010 US Windsurfing Nationals

Ending this Sunday - July 25, the US Nationals and International Competition is being held at Crissy Field in San Francisco.  This photo was taken from the shore with the windsurfers at least 2 miles away.  Sorry for the hazy photo..... the overcast was heavy in the Bay.  More images to follow.....

Wasn't it... "why did the chicken cross the road?"

Bird.... I see something

Bird.... what's in the hole?

Bird.... the story ends

Where there are Surfer Guys..... there's gotta be......

.... there are Surfer Girls.
It may not be Southern California, South Florida or Hawaii..... but the tradition still exists!

Surf's Up !

Fort Point.  Rocky shore and great waves.  A bunch of surfers were out in the water.  After taking about 1000 shots over an hour, I started to understand the fascination of riding a wave.  Catching the right wave and riding it through...... what a rush.  Sorry, I'm too old for that...... stuff.

Sounds of the City....... this is good!

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are so accustomed to hearing artists performing.

Walking back to the car from a recent photo shoot at Pier 39, there was a wonderful sound in the air.

When someone is good.... really good.... you take notice.



The musician is Kevin Kooyumjian.  You can find his work at http://www.smoothlivejazz.com or on iTunes.

More Tourists

Typical San Francisco Summer weather today.... cold and foggy.  Go 10 miles inland and it was warn and sunny.  Nothing interesting to shoot today so I pulled something out of the archive.  This bear at least was prepared.  Warm clothing, coffee and food.

Tourists...... they're baaack

I'm sure our Sea Lions that have taken over several docks at San Francisco Pier 39 are saying just that.

The good thing is that the city is full of tourists.

You can always spot them off.... wearing short shorts, dressed for a California summer..... not knowing what Mark Twain said, ".... the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco".

For this aspiring photographer...... more people.... more things to photograph.

The Russians are coming, the Russians are...... here??

I never thought I would see the day when a Russian Navy ship would be docked in San Francisco.  I'm perhaps one of the final generation of Americans who was taught that the former Soviet Union could someday attack us and change our way of life.

This ship is part of a peace mission.  Russian President Medvedev is scheduled to be here tomorrow and this Russian Navy ship is part of a joint peace mission.  I'm sure someone in Russia was thinking or saying the same thing..... I never thought I would see an American Navy ship in a Russian port.

Sorry for the poor quality photo.  This was a close as I could get without having the SFPD, US Foreign Security Service and not to mention some Russian Security people come and chase me away.

Say Hey !!

Needed to update the blog.  Since it's baseball season, here's a photo taken early on with the 70-200 f2.8 of perhaps one of the greatest men to ever play the game - Willie Mays.  To have virtually every major league player to answer the question, "If you were to pick one player to have on your team, who would that be?" The answer came back....  Willie Mays.

Good Bye Mercury

Earlier this week, the Ford Motor Company announced that it has decided to end the Mercury Division in order to focus their attention towards building the Lincoln brand.

My attachment to Mercury stems from growing up around a bunch of different Mercury vehicles.  Although the cars were mainly slightly modified Fords with a bit more luxury added, they stood out from the average run in the mill Ford.

The photo above is actually a gas cap from one of the Mercury's.  This thing is really a piece of art that we will never see again on automobiles.  Mercury's passing is just another sign of change.... good or bad.

Clouds

Just thought this would be interesting to look at.  The contrast of color and landscape.  Sky, Water, Bridge, Brush, Sand.....  Say what you like about San Francisco.  One thing for certain..... this is a pretty city !

What is it??

Just an interesting, shinny piece of metal that probably cost the taxpayers a lot of money.

There was no plaque to be found to describe what this is suppose to represent.

I just found it interesting.

Somehow I was able to catch a moment where the tourists, who have invaded San Francisco, were no where in sight.