San Francisco

Spring

It was a very long winter. Then something called a heat dome, which I don’t pretend to understand, descended on the west and for a week I had every door and window open and every fan in the house running 24 hours a day, while the temperature broke 90 degrees several times. Unheard of in The CIty, even in the dead of summer.

Almost as if the climate is… changing?

Nonsense…

No. #0973_18A - Golden Gate Park, San Franicsco, December of 2025.

Seems the world is on fire, literally and figuratively. I miss my dog and and miss my friend and I can’t seem to find the time to photograph or print or write the way I used to and it weighs on me. Nothing new. Never enough time.

No. #0977_24 Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, April of 2026.

We were in Mexico for a spell with my side of the family at some all inclusive compound in Puerto Vallarta that I can’t actually describe with any clarity. It was a target rich environment for people watching and poor behavior and yet I found myself reluctant to pick up the camera. The weather was lovely and the ocean was beautiful but it all felt tired and sterile and over sanitized and the drinks were watered down. That may have been the most offensive aspect of the entire affair.

No. #0979_16A-17A Dismantling Vaillancourt Fountain, San Francisco, Ca. May of 2026

They’ve started tearing down Vaillancourt Fountain in The City. The artist, very much alive and well, is decidedly pissed. The installation has been non-functional as a fountain for several years and was recently declared an “imminent threat to public safety” by San Francisco Rec and Park, largely due to deterioration, asbestos, and lead. Progress waits for no one, not even Brutalist sculpture. It was ugly and weird and I’ll miss it.

Prints available upon request.

Things I’ve been reading lately…

Rich People Didn’t Look Like This Before
If you spend enough time around the very rich these days, it’s clear. People didn’t look like this before because people naturally can’t look like this.

The End Of Elsewhere
The Endangered Species of the Global Citizen

The Chilling Role of ChatGPT in Mass Shootings
Several attacks involving OpenAI’s chatbot—including Tumbler Ridge and FSU—raise urgent questions about the technology.

Postcards From The City, Vol #1

So I did a little thing, call it a quarantine project, been on the back burner for a while, kept putting it off, but it’s finally done… I’ve put together a limited set of 10 - 4x6 inch postcards from the City, images made between 2015 and 2019. Limited edition of 20 pieces, I currently have 18 left on hand.

$17 bucks… ships free…

Had fun putting this together, think it came out quite well. Printed through 4by6.com, always been happy with their work, no exception this time. Will absolutely be putting more limited sets of postcards together in the future, stay tuned… The ten images from the set are featured below…

Find it in the shop or follow the link: https://www.josephszymanski.com/shop/postcards

Word On The Street...

Sifting through a back log of negatives from the street. Here’s a few choice frames from the past couple months… More on the way…

#0713_29 - Muni Train, San Francisco

#0714_15A - Market Street, San Francisco

#0714_35A - Market Street, San Francisco.

#0714_07A - Castro Street, San Francisco.

#0715_02A - Market Street, San Francisco.

#0715_21A - Market Street, San Francisco

StartUp Art Fair Post-Mortem...

Been completely MIA for the last week or so following the StartUp Art Fair. It was a ton of work and ton of prep and a serious grind for three straight days, but it was a riot for sure. Thanks to everyone that came out, met a ton of cool folks. Ran into Jason Andrescavage who was exhibiting with BAPC, we’ve kinda been internet stalking each others work for years but had never met. All in all it was a fun event, here’s a few snaps from my room, though it doesn’t quite do it justice…

Also did a goofy little Facebook live interview with Ray Beldner the event promoter… which is mildly entertaining given that I’d already had a couple cocktails…

Here’s the link if the embed doesn’t work: https://www.facebook.com/startupartfair/videos/2631681840239822/

StartUp Art Fair, April 26th-28th...

Hanging work for the StartUp Art Fair tomorrow…. I’ll be on the top floor in room 325 with roughly 30 pieces on display. Opening night is Friday, April 26th, 7pm at the Hotel Del Sol. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. With over 60 artist’s participating it should be a hell of an event…

#0705_09A - Lost Hills, Ca. 2019 - From the series “Unwritten Notes”