San Francisco as seen from my cameras.
San Francisco Street Photography May 2021
San Francisco is definitely rebounding from the pandemic. Hotels that have been closed are opening up again. Tourists are wandering about. The old street cars are running up and down the Embarcadero and on Market Street, and the subway is finally back open.
On Thursday, May 6, San Francisco moved into the yellow tier. That meant opening up indoor bars, family entertainment activities, and outdoor organized community sporting events. It also loosened guidelines for a range of activities, including fitness, dining, offices, meetings, and receptions. What’s more, people who are fully vaccinated were allowed to walk about outside without a mask. It felt so free (and made me feel kind of naked).
As of May 31, 2021, 616,051 of the estimated 791,131 San Francisco residents over 12 years old had received at least one vaccine (78%). 522,020 had completed a vaccine series (66%). Daily cases in the city had dropped to 14.
On May 3rd I got the second Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Knowing I had more immunity to COVID-19 brought such relief. On May 30th we went to dinner indoors at a restaurant. We enjoyed that so much that on May 31st we went to another restaurant.
And while things were opening back up, the weather was also wonderful in May of 2021. Some fog, but most days brought beautiful blue skies, fresh, crisp, clean, cool, moist air and the reminder of why San Francisco truly is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Perfect for photography.
San Francisco Street Photography April 2021
It’s Spring in San Francisco! Depending on the day and where you are, it can be stunningly beautiful. The days are getting longer and warmer. Flowers are blooming everywhere. The air is clean and sunlight sparkles off streets, on the bay and reflected in bay windows. Spring is a wonderful time to be a photographer in San Francisco.
This April, I will just let my photographs speak for themselves.
Enjoy!
San Francisco Street Photography March 2021
For this blog entry, I offer you a sampling from my photography tool kit. I’ve been practicing these photography themes for years. Some of my favorite subjects are window reflections, advertisements, architecture, shadows, street art, looking up, looking down, signs, patterns and textures. I also like to document the little unusual details that make San Francisco unique, and the occasional abandoned chair. These themes are like familiar friends that I keep coming back to, and for some reason I’m compelled to keep capturing them with my cameras. It’s fun and keeps me motivated to get out of the house and walk around. I hope you enjoy this sampling photographs taken in San Francisco in March of 2021.
San Francisco Street Photography February 2021
February 2021 welcomed the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Ox to San Francisco. Good thing too! The year of the Rat that encompassed much of 2020 was a really sucky year.
In 2020 San Francisco did have its traditional Chinese New Year Festival and Parade just weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. The Chinese New Year Parade was started in the 1860s by Chinese immigrants and helped to educate the greater community about Chinese culture. Since 1958, the parade has been under the direction of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the largest of its kind outside of Asia. This year, the parade was cancelled to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Organizers shifted focus to the “Year of the Ox on Parade,” a citywide exhibition featuring 11 life-size oxen sculptures designed and created by local artists.
Although the Chinese New Year Festival and Parade were cancelled, February brought signs of change in San Francisco. Outdoor dining resumed, breathing life into the city streets and sidewalks. The city opened up COVID vaccination centers. With the nightmare Trump Presidency starting to slowly fade way, and with the promise of spring around the corner, the Year of the Ox brought with it hope for better days ahead.
San Francisco Street Photography January 16-31, 2021
For me the last half of January seemed to zoom by. When I’m working I don’t have many opportunities to get out and photograph the city outside of my usual routine of grabbing some lunch or grocery shopping on the weekends. I did manage to get out and take a few snaps though. And when I did, it felt to me more and more like San Francisco was starting to slowly swing on the pendulum back towards a little more normal.
One of my favorite subjects to photograph are signs. I love the variety of different types of signs. New, old, shinny, dull, professional, homemade, fancy and funky. Signs can say things fun and wonderful. Others are just bossy. And some are just kind of weird. This gallery has more than its fair share of signs, so I dedicate this gallery to signs.
San Francisco Street Photography January 1-15, 2021
The new year for 2021 in San Francisco rang in like no other. There were no concerts or events or parties. No fireworks. With COVID cases rising, San Francisco was under a stay-at-home order. It was very, very quiet.
In contrast, here’s a just a partial listing of events in San Francisco that were held to ring in 2020:
Mega New Year’s Eve International Ball San Francisco at the Palace Hotel, Passport to the World New Year's Eve at The Westin St Francis Hotel, Mother of all New Year’s Parties at The Regency Ballroom, Countdown 2020 New Year's Eve San Francisco at Roccapulco, New Year's Eve Massive 2020 at the Parc 55 Hilton Hotel San Francisco, SF New Year's Eve 2020 at the W Hotel, New Year's Eve with Dillon Francis at Fort Mason Center, New Bohemia NYE 2020 at The Mint, New Year's Eve 2020 Masquerade Ball atop the Hotel Via, deadmau5 / CUBE V3 at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, New Year's Eve Yacht Party on the SF Belle, New Year Eve Dance Party on the SS Jeremiah O'Brien Battleship, The Claypool Lennon Delirium with Sausage at The Warfield, Portugal. The Man at the Fox Theater, Dead & Company New Year's Eve at the Chase Center, The Black & Gold Soiree Black Cat Jazz Supper Club, Spafford at Great American Music Hall, Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Lakou Mizik at The Fillmore, Lettuce at The Independent, Maceo Parker with Special Guest Candy Dulfer at SFJAZZ Center, Big Blu Soul Revue at the Presidio Social Club, New Year’s Eve Night Watch Sing at GLIDE Memorial Church, Seth Macfarlane and the SF Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall, Annual Japanese New Year's Bell-Ringing Ceremony at Asian Art Museum, New Year's Eve Fireworks Ferry Building, Embarcadero
While we didn’t have any celebrations to attend on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day 2021, there were reasons to be hopeful in the start of the new year: The end of the nightmare of the Trump presidency. The hope for a COVID-19 vaccine. Beautiful street art appearing on walls and outdoor dining structures. Big, beautiful bubbles floating down Mason Street on a sunny day. A gorgeous sunset.
Although times are incredibly tough for San Francisco and the nation and the world, the dawn of 2021 brings with it hope for better days ahead.