If it wasn't for the light post...

Wanted to play around with an image.  Got what I wanted if only that pole wasn't there

Inspired by...

The colors she wore just seemed to blend so well with those Apple iPad2 cover colors.

Quick Silver...

If you are ever in a need for a bike messenger, there's a statue on Market Street in San Francisco where you can always find one.  Perhaps I'm just getting old or time has come where the bike messengers are  becoming a thing of the past.

You lookin' at me?

Another visitor

Unity...

What's that saying.... "the cloth that binds"

Liquid Emeralds...

Off My Base...

Yo... human.  Get off of my base.

Wonder...

Totally fascinated with the crabs in the tank.  Hope he'll retain the ability to take time and wonder about the world around him.

Hard Life...

There are always stories behind every person.  Wondering what he was thinking about.  Obvious that time has weathered him.

Everybody's lookin' at you...

Were they looking at him or what's in the guitar case??

He's Dead Jim...

Dead or just passed out?  Just catching some Zzzz's.  He got tired riding a rent-a-bicycle and decided this spot was as good as any to take a nap.

Hugs...

Talking on the phone, answering an email or text message, having a meeting while walking.... life in our overly busy world.  This woman knew what is important and took the time to put all that stuff aside and take care of the important things.

Kindred Spirit...

Non Flashy colors.  Walking shoes.  Film Nikon.  Yes.... another member of the club.

Alone...

What's the plan...

"When I say go.... we'll make the human with the camera figure out what we are doing.... ready, GO!"

I have no idea what these two little guys were looking at..... I swear they were pulling my chain.


To my readers, just a reminder to take a look at the blog site at http://stevefoonphotography.blogspot.com to get the full effect and feel free to look at my other site http://stevefoonimages.smugmug.com

Twilight Zone...

Use your best Rod Serling voice.... "Imagine walking down the street of a 21st Century city.  You turn the corner and it's the 1800's.  You've just entered ...... (you know the rest).

If you don't know who Rod Serling is or the Twilight Zone.... let me know so I can feel OLD !!!

Water Fountains...

You can always find a crowd around a water fountain... "build it and they will come".

That-a-way....

When asked which way they wanted to go....

Into the light...

A ray of light in an otherwise dim walkway underneath Sacramento.

The Next Shot...

A moment to check the results and think about the next shot.

Why not make them look like slot machines...

OK.... pet peeve today.  Parking Meters.  Got a second ticket in about a month.  Now they automate these things and even have pricing that fluctuates.  Heck... why not turn them into slot machines and give me a chance to get some of my money back.  Like I said, pet peeve today.

Support the arts....

No civilization on this planet ever survived without the arts.

I'm not going to go down the road about the low quality education and the stupidity over supporting the arts.

The truth is that we are in very hard times.  If you see an artist... painter, sketch artist, photographer, etc.... working on the street & you like their work.... try and help them out by buying some of their creations.

You'll be doing the artist, yourself and your country a big service.

Cherry Blossom time....

Signs that the weather is changing for the better....

Meter time...

Something is just not right when our youngsters enjoy feeding parking meters.

It's not Disneyland....

Get ready folks.  We're about to be invaded once again with all the visitors.  I find it interesting that people will just gather in the middle of the street and a majority of the time don't know there's a car right up on them.

Happy Cars...

You can't tell me that those Chevron commercials didn't influence the designers of these.  By the way... these Mazda 3's were designed during Ford Motor Company's ownership of Mazda.

Food...glorious food....

Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Ferry Building.... the aroma and variety of food draws the people from the high-rises and the tourists as well.  Do yourself a favor and stop by and enjoy !

Working within the lines...

We're getting closer....

Shorts, flip flops, short sleeve or sleeveless shirts, a cap, shades, working outdoors.... spring and summer is on it's way.

Lucky shot of the day...

Rangefinder cameras typically are not known to be able to capture wildlife in motion.  Just out of the blue, I was able to see this pigeon walking with me.  Decided to take a quick pic, this bird decided to take off and I was the lucky guy to get the shot..... Thanks Mr. Pigeon.

A Positive Sign...

People out enjoying frozen yogurt.  Can it be.  Winter finally has come to an end??  Time to hit the streets.

Dances with Waves...

Now that the sun is starting to come out once again (yeah) and I can stop digging through the archive of material, I hope to bring some new images soon.  One image I ran across was a series of surfers out by Fort Point in San Francisco.  This one just reminded me of Fred Astaire for some reason.  Talk about having good balance.

A Loaf of Bread, A Jug of Wine and thou....

Bright and early one morning inside the Ferry Building, I ran across this cart with freshly baked bread just sitting in front of this wine merchant establishment.  The business was closed and no one was in sight.  I was surprised to see that no one took the liberty of snatching a loaf.  Perhaps there are some civilized people left in the City.

Foyer in my house....

In a previous installment of my blog, I showed the stair case.  Today I present to you the Foyer.  I just want those glass panels with having videos run all day long.  C'mon lottery.....

Happy Anniversary....

For some reason, there is always a picture of a photographer taking a picture of themselves taking a picture....  I just realized that the last posting was the 1 year mark of my return to this art form.
Ironic in that my goal to try to do justice to Street Photography ended the year with a Street scene.

I want to thank you for putting up with the postings and sharing of my pictures along with your critique and feedback !

Special thanks to all those fellow photographers who have helped me mature during this year....
Dan, Ryan, Hal, Michael, Ed, Jack, Travis, Tom, Steph, Kena, Cindy, John, Stephen, Kerry, and to Eric Kim and Steve Huff for posting my articles on their sites.

Hard Times and a dilemma....

This photo was taken months ago.  The place, Old Sacramento.  The change machine is provided by the city so the tourists who were lucky enough to find parking on the street would be able to get the change to feed the meters.

The man in the photo appeared to be homeless and was using two twigs from a tree to try and fish out the small change that has fallen between the cracks of the wooden planks.  The look on his face was sheer determination.

Minutes later, I returned to find him still searching and as determined as ever.

I was amazed at his determination and resourcefulness but at the same time, heartbroken to see what someone will come to when things are not going well.

The dilemma in the title of this posting is all mine.  I sat on the photos for months.  I wanted not to exploit those who are down on their luck but at the same time wanted to share determination and resourcefulness and internal fortitude of people.

To really capture this post, please visit the blog site - http://stevefoonphotography.blogspot.com
I know that some of my readers are seeing this via an email but I ask that you take a minute to see it in published form.  Feel free to send me a comment.

Stairs in my house...

If only they were really made out of gold.... by the way, if you believe this.... I also have a red bridge overlooking the Bay. ;-)

Hi HO....It's Off to Work I Go...

It's official.  I'm an SO OVER with this weather.  As much as I complain about the hot weather.... I never thought I would miss it so much.  Also... welcome to those new to the blog updates.  If you wish to be removed from the list, please let me know.

A Break from the Rain...

For at least a couple of hours today, the sun broke through and I ran across a bunch of flowers on display.  Had to nab a few shots of them before the clouds got dark and it started to sprinkle once again.  Come on Summer.... I have a bunch of projects I wanna shoot !!!

Tranquil....

Sorry that it's been some time since my last posting.
One thing for certain is that I am so over this wet weather.  I can't wait for the sunny days once again.

Although not taking pictures because of the weather is a lame excuse, the camera I am using isn't weather sealed and only recently have I started to use the DSLR once again and may have to use it for the Street Photography.... until the weather turns nice.

Posting on this site probably won't happen as frequently as it once did.... indoor photography is starting to become more of an interest and I'm spending more time doing post production stuff with the images.

Hopefully, I'll be able to post better quality images along with a bit of social commentary from time to time.

Hold on to your wallets folks....

Gas prices at the pump has hit the $4.00 per gallon mark.  Considering it's about $8.00 per gallon in Europe and Asia... perhaps I shouldn't complain.  Can you say.... 1973 all over again??  When are we going to learn??

Well trained....

One day, this man just found a spot and with a gloved hand, had a couple of birds go out, do a few aerobatics and flew back to him.  The phrase "bird brain" should now be a complement.  At least some birds have been smarter than some people.

Addiction...

I realize that this sight isn't all that new.... you can see this sort of image in most major metropolitan areas.  Instead of asking for a job or food or just outright money.... this soul is asking money to buy pot.
Like most... I took my photo and wanted to just get away.  But I went several times to catch more glimpses of this man.  He's been on the street a very long time.   If I were a real reporter, I would have tried to talk to him and see what is the story in this image.

Machines....

Always been fascinated with this place.

Traveling alone has it's drawbacks....

Who is going to take your picture at one of those tourist venues?

Attention to detail...

Imagine putting this thing together.... one day I will travel to Japan and take a picture of the real thing.

Zen water....

Searching for the meaning of being centered..... water, rocks, ripples, grain of stone.

Here's the techie part.  Leica Summilux ASPH v.2 35mm, f/1.4, 1/60s, ISO 250 - heavily cropped.

When eyes meet....

There are just times where you are out shooting and someone notices.  Taking the shot, our eyes met and smiles exchanged.... how I love doing this street photography thing.