I want that....I want that....

I was wondering who wanted the balloon more... the little kid or the big kid.

When will this ever end...

 One thing about Street Photography is that you shoot whatever comes to view that may hold some interest.  I didn't realize what I had here until tonight... this lady is homeless.  Her cat and some blankets in a laundry cart.  I zoomed into the lower milk container to see the sign asking people for help for her and her cat.  We're the richest, most compassionate country on the planet??  BULLSHIT !

You decide...

Of all the cars that Fiat makes, this is the one they say Americans want....

Lines inside...

A piece of trivia... for the longest time, Germans expected their steering wheels to be white or shades of white.  Look at the old Beetles, BMWs, etc...  Anyone who knows why, please let me know.

All about lines...

Lines, shapes, textures.... at least I can say I sat in this one.

Design time 3....

When cars had STYLE.  Unique, individualistic, beautiful.  Not rolling two boxes (design term) with flat surfaces of sheet metal and plastic.

Design time 2...

From a period of time where vehicles were moving pieces of art.

Design time...

A good design is timeless.  Still too many chunky, fat and just outright ugly vehicles.... but there were some small surprises.

Some Color...

Just to add some color to the blog.... how I miss summer already !

Love Never Dies...

For those of you who have been following this blog... the October 15 posting had two young people.  Now it's time to move the clock forward... I only have a few more years before you can put me in this picture.

Where's the beef....jerky?

Say whatever you want about San Francisco.  One thing about old cities is the fact that there are neighborhoods with character and places only the locals know.  Jackson Market on the corner of Jackson and Jones Streets is one of those places.  If you are looking for some wonderful marinated beef jerky.... this is your store.  It's a dump on the outside and not much better on the inside but the beef jerky is a slice of heaven....

Birds are smart...

I know some people call Pigeons flying rats.  All I know is that birds are smarter than a lot of people now a days.  This pigeon stopped.  Looked inside the store.  Realized that there's food in there too and decided to walk right in.

What Century is this?

Talk about dressing up for the neighborhood.

The 70's...

Lime green, super long hoods, chrome mag wheels, high back vinyl seats.... cars from the 70's.

I want an E-Trade account...

This kid just reminds me of that E-Trade commercial.

I'm Walkin'...

I'm Boss...what are you doing?

This cat owns the house..... I'm just allowed to live here.

National League Rookie of the Year

Sports figures now a days are perhaps better known for being punks and thugs.  This is one sports figure, Buster Posey - Catcher, who really brings back what being professional athlete means.  He took the time during the parade to make sure he waved to the fans on both sides.  Also, I saw more young ladies with his name written all over themselves..... sorry girls, the knock out blonde he was with is his wife.

Bird Bath....

Working Solo...

Tourist season officially over.  The street vendors are smaller in numbers.  I've always wonder how much these folks make on average?  Why is it that I feel I may have a little stand like this in my future?

As the days dwindle down....

More images of the changing of the season around here.  For those of you who are into photography, JPEG really stinks.

Mobile Professional - even on parade day...

While taking pictures at the Giants World Series parade, this businessman caught a glimpse of me taking his picture.

Following the code of ethics of the NPAA and Street Photographers, I struck a quick conversation with him.... letting him know that I fully understand why he was working "mobile" and that I do the same when not shooting images.

He showed me his screensaver (Giants game), we both had a laugh and asked if I could take a picture of him and the laptop.

There really is something about using a Rangefinder camera.  People are more friendly around this versus using my DSLR.

And now this message...

My friends....
As you know by now this Street Photography thing is a giant passion.  I try to shoot something everyday.  I hope that all of you are enjoying the images I have been capturing.  If there is an image that you would like to have or see it in it's regular version... let me know.  Please pass this site on to those you know.... exposure is a good thing.

The images you have seen on this site or have received in a email (by the way, click on the photo to get it larger) is a very low resolution image.  The images are shot on an 18megapixel camera and the pictures you've seen are less than 1megapixel.

Feedback, comments, things you would like to see or have me capture, etc... please let me know.
Enjoy !!

A Simple Time...

A time where life was perhaps more simple... yours truly would have probably been shot or been forced to live in a slum.

Food Day and Farmers Market...

The smells, sounds, people, food.....  Tuesday and Thursday at the SF World Trade Center.

Hello Dali....

Fall....

"...  now the days grow short, I'm in the autumn of the year...."

Madness...

People lined up even a block away with no chance of seeing anything came and stayed anyway.

These girls really were having fun.  Right after Montgomery Street was closed, these girls did a full out sprint up Montgomery Street screaming away and just high as a kite.

Says it all.

When are they going to design implants....

Three in a row.  Evenly spaced.... each one on a cellphone.  The telecom industry should just design implants and get it over with it.   And you thought the "Borg" from Star Trek was fiction??  It's coming.

Design....

A good design is clean.  Combines elements of shapes, textures, colors, curves, lines, etc....  Although this car drives like an SUV and is about the size of an Aircraft Carrier.... there are some design elements I really like.  Those of you who know me well understand where this design element comes from.

It's in here somewhere.....

This image can be repeated a million times a day.... not just with the ladies.  I find that I am carrying a messenger style bag more and more.  Just too much stuff.

Happy Halloween...

The Press at Work...

The television news at work.  Giants now just 2 games to go....  BTW....still love my Nikon.

I want to be a statue.....

This guy actually stood there for a little bit in the pose.  Aspiring statue perhaps?

Makes you wonder...

One of my favorite photographers is a guy by the name of Chris Weeks.  He has a video and written material about Street Photography which he calls "Documenting the Human Condition".

There's a human condition story here.... this is where I really wished that I was a journalist.

I look at this photo and there's a lot of emotions here.  This chair looks awfully familiar too....

Beware of the Tree

You never know what you'll find walking The Streets of San Francisco !

Final Days of Summer 2010 part 2...

JPEG files don't do photos justice.  The RAW file is far better.  This was shot with my former Leica X1 - which I do miss.  OK...enough technical stuff.  As much as I will miss the summer days, the winter months provide some nice lighting and clear sky.

Final Days of Summer 2010...

Might be the last image I'll have of nice weather for a while.  Where did this summer go?  Why is it that the older we get.... time moves so fast?  My thanks to everyone who made this summer so nice.

What is Street Photography??

A common question that people who are into photography is, "what kind of pictures / photos do you take?" or something along those lines.  There's Landscape, Portrait, Wildlife, Sports, Wedding / Event, etc...

The one for me is Street Photography / Photojournalism.

"Street" is a form of photography made famous by many people but most notably, Henri Cartier-Bresson.  He captured life around the world but mainly around France in the early 20th Century.

Some called "Street" the hardest form of photography because you are given only a fraction of a second to capture "the decisive moment" when something eventful or mundane will occur around you.  The goal of the "Street" photographer is to capture that moment.

Something happens that will never happen 100% exactly ever again.  It's here and in a fraction of a second.... it's gone.  Lost forever.

In that brief moment, you have to not only be technically ready but also be able to compose and communicate what has occurred with your camera.

"Street" photography IS NOT just snapping pictures of strangers.  Taking shots of people from great distances (super zoom telephoto lenses).  Taking stalking photos - that's for the Paparazzi.

You are NOT taking pictures.  You are capturing moments and trying to communicate with that image a message, theme, feelings, etc....

The essence of this art form is to document human activity around you that the "Street" photographer experienced.

"There's a million stories in the naked city"  That famous tag line is true.  For me, "Street" photography is that.  With a camera in hand, capture a story visually is what I am after.

The ideal "Street" photographer would be either a ghost or having the ability to become invisible.

A "Street" photographer is there to capture life with the lens.  Not to be part of the story or stage the event.  That's where photojournalism and "Street" share the goals.

Images in Life Magazine or National Geographic are prime examples of this art form.

The photo below contained many elements of "Street" photography.

I would normally spend time editing the images.

But to help explain let's look at the photo....

The woman to the left talking on her cellphone.
She was talking to someone about what happened at work and was giving her opinion on what to do.
(you couldn't get that info from shooting with a super telephoto lens).

The man and woman crossing the street and having a conversation.
They were talking about a restaurant.

The woman in white pants looking at her smartphone.
Reading either a text message or email.

The cab driver having to stop for the pedestrians.
Getting angry about having to stop.

Nothing really interesting here....just another moment in time.

Just that consider this....
25, 50 or 100 years from now.... should this image survive, someone is going to look at this and see and hopefully get a taste of what life was like when it was taken.

That person would be amazed by the clothes we wore, the cars of the day, the gadgets we used, etc...

Should this image make it and someone spends more than a second looking at it, it would have served the purpose that yours truly did that day.

To me, that's the essence of "Street Photography" and the genre I've chosen.