Sarah, Half Light

From my last shoot with Sarah, fiddling around with some different light tricks. Shot these with a single bare bulb strobe cranked all the way up, aimed through a 4 inch vertical strip cut into an 8 foot piece of foam core...

#0451_04A - Sarah, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford FP4 125

#0451_00A - Sarah, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford FP4 125

#0451_34A - Sarah, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford FP4 125

#0451_19A - Sarah, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford FP4 125

#0451_05A - Sarah, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford FP4 125

#0452_12A - Sarah, 2016. Voigtlander R3m, 75mm f/2.5, Ilford FP4 125

In Motion - Word On The Street

#0433_31A - Jessie Square. San Francisco, CA. February 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford HP5 400.

I'll occasionally wander the city, usually with no destination in mind. I find it comforting on some level, not to have to be anywhere in particular. Seems like everybody is going somewhere, in a hurry, in motion.

If they stop for too long they'll get swept up or run over, or passed by, over looked, lost in the shuffle, maybe just plain forgotten, too wrapped up in their own heads to realize what's happening around them.

Makes me think destinations are terribly over rated...

#0443_09A - Bus Shelter, Mission St. San Francisco, CA. March 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400.

#0435_13A - Bus Shelter, MIssion St. San Francisco, CA. March 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400.

#0434_35 - Montgomery St. San Francisco, CA. February 2016. Voigtlander R3m, Zeiss 21mm f/4.5, Ilford HP5 400.

#0443_21A - Commuter, Muni Train. San Francisco, CA. March 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400. 

Mid-Market - Word On The Street

Mid-Market Street seems the epitome of haves and have nots, home to Twitter, staggering poverty, open air drug markets, 5 dollar espresso and Burger King. If you want to see gentrification in motion, take a walk down Market between 5th and Van Ness.

#0435_35A - Street Performer, Mid-Market Street. San Francisco, CA. March 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400.

#0435_29A - Drinking Man, Mid-Market Street. San Francisco, CA. March 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400.

#0435_28A - Liquor Store, Mid-Market Street. San Francisco, CA. March of 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400.

#0435_30A - Drug Deal & Dog, Mid-Market Street. San Francisco, CA. March 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400.

#0435_34A - Man In Wheelchair, Mid-Market Street. San Francisco, CA. March 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400.

The collision of moneyed tech workers with poor neighborhoods in San Francisco continues to change the city in staggering ways. It's easy to blame the industry, but it seems more an accelerant and less a cause. Tent cities are popping up everywhere, people just don't have any place to go. I've lived here for 17 years and I've never seen it this bad.

I take it for granted, every night, I come home to my family, we have a wonderful old house in a good neighborhood that cost a small fortune. Out of reach for the vast majority of residents in this city. Housing has got to be the single biggest issue in San Francisco, hands down, with absolutely no solution in sight.

Freya On Film

Last few takes from a recent shoot with Freya Gallows, March of 2016. San Francisco, California. Looking forward to printing a few of these in the darkroom, watch for a print release soon.

#0439_37 - Freya, 2016. Voigtlander R3m, 75mm f/2.5, Ilford FP4 125

#0438_04A - Freya, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilfrod FP4 125

#0441_05A - Freya, 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400

#0441_11A - Freya, 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400

#0438_36A - Freya, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford FP4 125

#0439_27 - Freya, 2016. Voigtlander R3m, 75mm f/2.5, Ilford FP4 125.

Dabblings In Color

#0445_27A - Montgomery Station, San Francisco, CA. April 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Kodak Portra 400.

I rarely if ever work in color beyond the obligatory digital testing in the studio. However, recently for whatever reason I've just sort of felt the urge run a few rolls of color negative film through the cameras.

It's a stretch to say the least, I have a difficult time seeing in color, I find it a distraction more often than not, difficult to control. My wife makes fun of me, thinks I'm color blind. I'm not, for the record.

#0445_08A - Mid Market Street. San Francisco, CA. April 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Kodak Portra 400.

Burned a few rolls of color film in the studio as well, have yet to sort through them, but will post a selection once I have the chance. Not sure if the switch is something I'll keep up with or not. May have been a fleeting fancy...

#0445_08A - Market Street. San Francisco, CA. April 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Kodak Portra 400.

#0445_08A - Mid Market Street. San Francisco, CA. April 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Kodak Portra 400.