That’s Lisa up there… Today I went shooting in the Mission with photographer-friend Athea. When walking down Mission between 16th and 17th I found this really great looking area all graffitied up next to a store. Looked around for an interesting person and within 15 seconds Lisa walked by. Really loved her fashion sense and asked her for a portrait. She said yes, I took a few snaps, and gave her my card.
Just to put a little context around the above photo I posted earlier without any words – I’ve bumped it up from a couple days ago…
That’s Jahaira in the center with the MLK shirt. She and her friends help run a mobile needle exchange program organized out the San Francisco Aids Foundation. The day that Armand and I came across them their van was setup at the edge of the Mission. Drug users in the area can trade their used needles/syringes for new. The program exchanges 2.3 million needles a year helping to contain the spread of HIV and other diseases such as Hepatitis. Contact with users also provides an opportunity for making available outreach services. I recently traded emails with Jahaira with some photos I took and will meet again in the future. Hoping to come away with a more complete photo story in the future…
That’s Roberto, who was kind enough to pose in front of his wall. Check it out. It’s in the Lilac Street alley between 25th and 26th, just a block away from the Hamburger Eyes Photo Epicenter…
Check out the amazing work of 26 member-photographers in the March 2010 edition of BLOW-UP! Magazine. BLOW-UP! is a tight San Francisco based group of incredibly talented photographers – I’m honored to be part of the group and good friends with many.
Summed up nicely by photo friend and contributor Ray Angelo: “The best recommendation you will get all year: Buy this. It’s $9. Nine bucks guarantees you 26 different takes on the world around you from 26 different photographers. These are Images that look back at you, and we could all use a good stare-down. Great layout. Great photos. Great group of local bay area photographers.”
Click here and check out the issue…
The price is $8.80. However, the printer is now offering a St. Patricks Day 25% discount through March 21st, making it $6.60. Twenty-six photographers and 38 photos – that’s a bargain!
Also, the BLOW-UP! group will have an exhibition and reception coming up in April in the financial district where 20 members will be displaying their work. Details coming…
Photo credits: left, © David W. Sumner; below left, © Yuri Won; below right, © Ray Angelo.
The above photo of Ken, visiting from Olympia, Washington, was one of the many portraits I took last Thursday wandering around the Mission with photographer Armand Emamdjomeh. Armand (rightmost in photo on the left) lives in the neighborhood and is a journalist and editor with MissionLoc@l, a community-based bilingual website that reports on local news, neighborhood issues, government, education, art, and events. It’s an excellent resource that focuses solely on the Mission and is updated daily – be sure and check it out…
Being an outsider to the area, it was great shooting with Armand, who not only knows the neighborhood, but enjoys taking the time to engage people when shooting. Lately I’ve been photographing in the area with people that live or have recently lived there and it makes the whole experience, shooting and engaging, much more enjoyable.
That’s Kevin on the far left. And in particularly fine form that day…
Don’t know why, but I’m encountering a lot of these moments lately – that must be a good thing. He smiled at me after hearing my camera’s shutter release, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t hear a thing…
Snapped on Mission St. in front of the old National Guard Armory during last Saturday’s photowalk. The kid pretty much ignored me when I was shooting and just kept jumping off the steps.
The photo above of Jerry and the one of the balloon vendor below were snapped Saturday on a trek with photographers Jen, Jason, and Jeanne. We started hanging around at Powell and Market for awhile and ended up walking to 24th and Mission. A pretty long trek…
Encountered a lot of people along the way and snagged some decent portraits. Jerry was hanging around on Market near Civic Center. I nodded my head and said hi. He said, “Would you like to take my picture?” It doesn’t get much easier than that…
That’s Gaston, snapped Friday near a cafe on Valencia.
I’ve been shooting more and more in the Mission lately. Last Friday, Saturday, and the two previous weeks. It’s been a great change from the downtown where I’ve been feeling burned out. Valencia Street seems easy – everyone talked to there was good for a portrait. But the energy on Mission between 16th and 18th was totally different where the gentrified feel of Valencia is absent and the environment is grittier. Have had limited success there, but that area is new to me. Last Friday’s engagements along that short section were much more rewarding than shooting in the downtown. Talking (and especially listening) extensively to the people on Mission that refused to be photographed was great. The stories are interesting and the people that I and photo-friend Rikki (an ex-resident there) engaged really wanted to be heard. I came away energized from the encounters, and the fact that I couldn’t get every portrait I wanted at that moment seemed pretty inconsequential. There’ll be other opportunities…
If you’re in the area and free, checkout Beyond Boundaries, a talk this coming Thursday (the 11th) at Stanford University about how Mexican photography addresses cross-cultural perceptions on both sides of the border.
SFMOMA curator Sandra Phillips and three noted Mexican photographers will be contributing to the discussion
One of the nice benefits of participating in the Black Boots Ink workshop a couple weeks ago was meeting many talented photographers who are passionate about their art. Two that come to mind are Amanda Smith and Irwin Lewis who I met at the reception. Along with photographer Victor Prieto they launched a new photo magazine called Dust. I bought a copy and was very impressed both with the photos and the straightforward design that permits it to be produced and distributed very inexpensively. That reminded me of how Hamburger Eyes started eight years ago. Thought it would be good to spread the word and let Amanda talk about her publication.
Brad: I really enjoyed looking through Dust Magazine’s inaugural print edition and blog (www.Dust-mag.blogspot.com). What motivated you, Irwin, and Victor to launch Dust?
Amanda: Thanks! We all have been working our butts off to create a great piece of work with so many people’s photographs- so it means a lot to know someone likes it! I think it was a combination of things that got Dust started. The three of us attend Academy of Art University in San Francisco and we were lucky enough to start while some of the traditional black and white and color photography classes were still using film. We all met in the dark rooms and became friends through this common interest and passion for photography as well as for film. I think it was summer of 2008 when our school got rid of our color processing machine (R.I.P Harrold!) -and so of course our school stopped teaching C-printing and switched the mandatory color photography class to digital. We heard rumors of the school getting rid of the dark rooms as well and cutting out traditional processing altogether so I think in a way creating Dust was our own little way of protesting against it. We also had a lot of people backing us up on our ideas from our own instructors to friends and family. We had our core group of friends who enjoyed doing the same stuff we did and it just motivated us to get our own work out there and to show anyone who was willing to look at it. I think our main drive was at the time we didn’t have the resources or the money to have gallery shows or put a fancy book together to show our images so Dust was the end result of getting our photographs out there.
Brad: What is Dust about and what audience are you trying to reach?
Amanda: Dust is essentially a small zine that we produce and hand make filled with crazy talented photographers who shoot black and white film. This is anything from 35mm to medium and large format. We want to show everyone film isn’t dead and beautiful images can still be produced without the use of photoshop. There is no middle man; it’s just the photographer’s view on what they see and their raw image. I don’t think Dust has any type of specific demographic. Pretty much anyone who appreciates photography or anyone who is willing to stop and look at it is right by me. I mean, I was at the bus stop after Irwin and Victor made the first copies of Dust and some guy walked up to me and asked what it was- I gave him a copy and he said it looked like crap but was enthusiastic that we were going out and doing something like that. Which to me is an accomplishment- not everyone is going to love what you do and his honest opinion good or bad lets us know we’re doing something right.
Brad: Which photo magazines do you draw inspiration from?
Amanda: I think we were greatly influenced by Hamburger Eyes and the work those guys were doing. I won’t lie, we’re a bit biased since we know the guys running the labs and who are published in their magazine but can you blame us? They’re badasses!
Brad: How did you come about the photographers and their work in the current issue?
Amanda: Well our first issue pretty much consisted of us and some of our friends. Soon word got out and we were getting emails from people we didn’t even know who were friends of friends who shot film and was interested in being in the next issue. Sometimes we just get emails of scanned film from people who either are not in the area or who aren’t available during our edits. I actually JUST met someone today who was in our last issue. The way we work is we tell everyone to bring in a few prints or contacts and we put everything on the floor and look at the images and do a huge edit. Sooner or later we’re down from hundreds of contact sheets and images to 30-50 images. I love how organic the whole process is and amazingly enough a theme presents itself. I’m crossing my fingers that this upcoming issue will go as smoothly!
Brad: Any established/well-known photographers whose work you admire?
Amanda: AH why do you do that to me?!! It’s like asking my favorite movie or something, it can’t be done. There are so many. To be honest every photo I see and every photographer I learn about/read/meet/know inspires me. Even if I don’t care much for their work. I think about what it is that I don’t like which in turn helps me find my voice when I make my photographs.
Brad: Where do you see Dust going long-term?
Amanda: I have no idea! It’s barely been a year and we’ve already sold issues in two countries and about six different cities outside of California. It’s crazy. I never even thought it’d be this big so fast to be honest. I only hope for the best and that more photographers who shoot film step up to the plate and present their work. I get so excited to see everyones images, especially people I don’t even know and see how different everyone’s styles are.
Brad: If a photographer would like to contribute to Dust, how should images be submitted?
Amanda: Scanned negatives are the best and easiest way for us. Even if there isn’t a photo lab in your city I know costco makes CDs from negatives and such. As long as it’s a scanned negative of some kind and is sized to 300 ppi you’re golden. A very good scan of a photo would work as well- it’s just hit or miss sometimes when we make multiple copies of each issue. You can send your images or comments to Lovedustmag@gmail.com
Brad: Where can people purchase the print version of Dust? What is the schedule for future editions?
Amanda: Right now we’re selling issues at Hamburger Eyes, and Pins and Needles in San Francisco and San Jose Camera in San Jose, CA. We also send issues out via mail (You can get awesome swag as well when you do snail mail) and do money orders. Feel free to mail us at
Dust Mag
1070 Post Street No. 5
San Francisco, CA
94109
Brad: OK… That’s great Amanda. Thanks for your time. Hope everyone has a chance to check out your blog and get a print copy of Dust. Also, if you film shooters out there would like to contribute, please send Amanda an email with your files.
That’s Chinatsu… She and three other people were good sports letting me pose and photograph them during the time I was wandering around in the Mission yesterday with photo-friends Julia and Jens. I’ll post up the other two in the future. The area first felt pretty dead, but picked up with energy latter in the afternoon. But by then the rain started and it was time to go home.
And here’s Morty…
Jens asked me if many people refuse to have their portrait taken. I thought about that a bit and told him that actually it’s rare when someone says no. And even then, of the small number that do decline, with a little gentle persistence, probably half come around and say OK. That’s one of the things that keeps surprising me – people do like being photographed and will even make a little time for that to happen…
I am getting so tired of the rain and umbrella pix. Should be the last for a looong time….
One of the great things about wandering around San Francisco with a camera is bumping into different people from all walks of life. That’s what jazzes and energizes me. And that’s what makes it so I can never get enough street shooting. Emilio Bañuelos, one of the instructors in the workshop I participated in recently, likens it to taking vitamins. It’s something you do to recharge yourself and feel better.
I came across Jon playing with Kiki the dog and Michael, Kiki’s owner, about a month ago in Northbeach. Since I blogged about Kiki and Michael earlier, I figured it would now be good to introduce Jon. The three of them were hanging at a Northbeach cafe enjoying the afternoon and were great about having some photos taken.
Jon is a barber and cuts hair at a shop on 2nd and Mission where he’s been for 8 years. He also hangs out in Northbeach and plays guitar. I snagged a couple photos after posing him against a nearby wall. My photo-friend Jen who I was shooting with at the time photographed him full length with his guitar case in the context of the street.
The outcome was two different portraits. And now with prints to give him in the future, I think he’ll like how both turned out. I’ve blogged a couple times in the past about giving small prints back to subjects I expect to see again on the street. There’s always a bunch of 4×6 prints in my camera bag. For me, it’s always satisfying seeing how people react. It’s easy to do and costs almost nothing. But the rewards are great. It’s a small way of giving something back.
Not surprisingly, I ran into Jon again two weeks ago in Northbeach and chatted a bit. What was nice was he remembered me and then gave me a light-hearted ribbing on how I should be trimming my beard. Sometime in the future I’ll stop by his shop and let him take a professional whack at it – that might be a good trade for a print…
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The photo above of Carla and Stan is one that I keep going back and forth on as to whether it should stay in color, or rendered to black and white. Usually I favor B&W, but in this particular portrait I’m liking the way the colors in Carla’s face and glasses work with Stan’s shirt.
This was taken two weekends ago during the Wandering in the Company of Strangers workshop that I blogged about earlier. Was great shooting with a couple of other workshop photographers (Susan and Rikki) as we went through the City…
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Edit 2/5/10: Here’s the black and white version. And I’m liking it better now – her expression feels much more intense…
Every once in awhile I go out and shoot with my 10-22mm super-wide lens and digital Rebel. It’s a great combination for street shooting being so light in weight and small. I’m holding onto that cam and lens for a long time…
If you’re free and in the area this Thursday night, please stop by The Exposure Gallery and experience what will no doubt be a great exhibition of work and talk by documentary photographers from Black Boots Ink, a Bay Area documentary photography collective.
The reception opens at 6pm, the presentation begins at 7pm. The Exposure Gallery is at 801 Howard St, at 4th. Should be really interesting, hope to see you there….
I went back to 1240 Valencia to see how The Wall was looking and to take a few wide-angle photographs. This is the wall that was pasted-up with photos taken last weekend during the Wandering in the Comapany of Strangers workshop.
Hanging around on the sidewalk, the first thing I noticed was some people were slowing down and looking at the photos when walking by. Seemed like a good opportunity to find out what people in the neighborhood thought about the exhibition and to take some portraits.
Here are portraits of Amber, Valerie, and Gus with his dog Moko.
All thought it was pretty neat bringing art back to the people. And everyone said the photos were terrific. People asked how long the photos would stay up. The answer, of course, is until new art is pasted over what’s there now….
This was photographed last weekend through the car window of one of the workshop participants. As a passenger it was great snapping life going by. Or in this case, what seemed mostly like the absence of life.
It was paste-up day in The Mission this morning. Participants and instructors from the San Francisco Wandering in the Company of Strangers workshop got together at 1240 Valencia to put up some photographs made during the weekend. The goal was to bring back photographs that were taken in the City back to the people, on the street, for all to see. Photos from the Guadalajara workshop were put up along side and LA photos are coming after that workshop. Fortunately the weather was decent so it went pretty smooth, taking less than an hour and a half. Everyone had a good time and it was nice hooking up with the other photographers again.
Come check out the wall if you’re in the area – it looks really great!
Meet Malik! He’s one of the many people I engaged and photographed on the street this weekend in San Francisco while participating in Black Boots Ink’s Wandering in the Company of Strangers workshop, hosted by photographers Emilio Bañuelos, Ibarionex Perello, Elena Carrasco, and Unnikrishnan “Unni” Raveendranathan. I had a terrific time, learned a lot, and came away very charged up.
Wandering in the Company of Strangers is a workshop that travels between San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Guadalajara. It’s an opportunity for photographers at all levels to improve their people engagement and relationship building skills photographing strangers on the street, as well as learning to reveal narrative through photographs. Reciprocally, it’s also an opportunity for workshop photographers to give back to the people through exhibitions of photographs on the street giving voice to the area (and other workshop cities) in the process. Barring bad weather, our photos are going up in a couple days at a space at 24th and Valencia.
I learned new skills, was made aware of some bad habits, and overall am more confident about taking my urban photography and street portraiture to a higher level. I also met and was inspired by many very talented photographers. I’ll be writing more about the experience in subsequent posts, and including some portraits I made while in the workshop.
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Edit 1/26 AM: We’re going to be wheat-pasting our photo-posters into a mural on an outdoor wall at 1240 Valencia Street on Wednesday at 10am.This is part of an on-going community undertaking through the (de)Appropriation Project. Please stop by and say hello if you’re in the area!
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When I first approached Malik and asked if I could take his picture, he declined, but eventually said, “OK, but only one.” I posed him against the building’s corner column so he was in context of the street. Initially not being all that friendly he was determined to give me the attitude you see on the left. In many ways I think it is a more powerful image.
I ended up talking with him for probably close to half an hour. Over that time he loosened up a ton and became very engaging and was full of character. I ended taking a lot of photos. One of the messages of the workshop is SLOW DOWN, linger, and spend more time with your subjects – rather than snap and run after taking one photo. The result in this encounter was coming away with the image above, which in my opinion, is much more representative of who Malik really is – a very engaging, funny, and soft-spoken person.
I really haven’t done much night street photography. But last Sunday I went out with a photo-bud and shot a lot in Chinatown and Northbeach. This was taken through a window on the 2nd floor while having a beer at Vesuvio Cafe on Columbus. That’s City Lights book store to the left, with Jack Kerouac Alley in-between. City Lights was the place to be in the 1950’s if you were into Beat Generation literature and poetry. Shooting from the upstairs area at Vesuvio is pretty neat because you can watch the world go by below, and snap when something interesting comes into view.
That’s Frydoon. He’s a Chronicle vendor and sells papers at Powell and Market. I snapped this street portrait a year ago today – it’s one of my favorites. His face says it all capturing his pride of the history-making inauguration. We traded email info, and after an exchange, I sent him a couple of prints. What really made my day was finding out he was sending one to his mother in Iran.
This street portrait’s a little different. At the time I had a borrowed 15mm fisheye lens on my camera. And rather than disturb the moment to switch lenses and try and pose the subjects, I just snapped from a couple feet away and moved on. What I’m learning is that lens can be used on the street effectively, though you have to be aware of its effects.
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For me, photographs should stand on their own without a lot of help from words and accounting to carry the idea or message. That’s especially true for street photographs. Lately I’ve been writing more than usual and think it’s been getting a little stuffy. Ideally, photographs should breath without explanation or suggestion; though that’s kind of at odds with what personal photoblogs are generally about. Will be taking a break and cutting back on that to see how it goes, though I do have a few photo stories/essays of individuals coming up, and of course those are different.
That’s Kiki upfront there. Though she’s a sweetheart, at that moment in time shooting just a foot away, I was wondering if my camera was viewed as just a minor annoyance on the way to some pretty tasty finger food. Fortunately, Michael her owner had a good grip on her leash! Snapped at an outdoor cafe in Northbeach on a photo-walk with Jeanne and Jen.
That’s the latest postcard print that came in the mail from Vladimir. He characterized it as a “Grand Slam in spite of the atrocious cross-lighting.” And further said that it “called for timing and agility compared to which the classic 12 O’clock High pass by a B17 is easy.” I’ll take his word on that…
A couple of photographer buddies and myself ran into him on Market Street a few weeks ago. It was a good time to snag shots of people engaged in the holiday gift buying madness. He’s holding Fangio, an old Leica M2 (one of eight similarly brassed M2s) named after the 1950s era Argentine race car driver, that he chemically de-chromed down to the brass base metal. Darren, one of the photographer’s I was shooting with had a nice looking M3 and was getting the rundown by Vladimir on how to do the de-chroming. Pretty sure he’s not going to go that way…
Yesterday was the first time I’ve been out shooting in more than a week. Last Wednesday I came down with what I suspect was food poisoning from eating some bad chicken and have been pretty much out of commission since. Sure felt great shooting yesterday. I’ve really missed all the energy and excitement out there, though it seemed the level was a little subdued compared to recent outings around the Holidays. I talked to a few people, took some snaps, handed out prints to a couple SFPD officers, and took a couple of street portraits.
In the late afternoon I found a protest forming on Market near 3rd. It was a group of close to a thousand union hotel workers in dispute over contract health care benefits with local hotel management; resulting in worker walkouts and boycotts. The group ended up at the Hilton Hotel where there was a sit-down in the lobby resulting in some arrests.
One aspect about my photography I’d really like to improve for 2010 is context. That is, capturing subjects and events with more supporting environmental information. For the last couple of years, I think I’ve been getting too close to subjects (usually to reduce clutter) at the expense of missing important contextual supporting features that can help make a better photograph from multiple elements coming together in a pleasing manner. IMO, that’s one of the toughest challenges to creating good street photography. So, that’s my photo-resolution for the new year – more context for better photos….
This is another take on a background I used in a previous blog post a month ago about staking out an uncluttered background and waiting for subjects to enter the frame.
I think I like it a little better because of the richer interpretive possibilities. As I’ve mentioned before, photographs that work the best for me don’t reveal answers with everything presented, but rather pose questions. They release narrative possibilities to stir the imagination into interpreting what’s depicted. By the way, that’s far different than the notion that pictures tell stories. They don’t!
Wishing everyone good health, good luck and nice light for 2010!
Seems I’ve been shooting a lot with other photographers lately; just about every time I’ve gone out for the last month or two. That’s an aspect of the hobby I really enjoy. Usually it’s from a local group of SF urban photographers known as Blow-Up!. There are more than 70 photographers in the group, with about half that are social, engaging in shootings, get-togethers, beer-and-gears, parties, etc. We even have a large exhibition coming up soon.
What makes it great is that everyone loves the street. There’s a certain energy and rhythm that for me defines what street photography is about. There’s a difference between taking photos on the street and engaging in street photography, but that distinction is probably worthy of a post of its own someday. In any event, there’s nothing better than being out there with like-minded shooters who share a similar aesthetic and respect for the genre, as well as those who are curious and want to see what that it’s is all about. I always learn or discover something new when shooting with other photographers.
The photos in today’s post (as well as the one from the previous post below) are from shooting with four other shooters from last Saturday. I ended up snapping a lot of candids and a few posed street portraits. The street portrait above is one of my favorites as there are eight subjects and all are relaxed. And I’ve never seen the CHP in downtown San Francisco before…
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