It was a bright, sunny day at the track last Sunday, unlike the previous Sunday when it was overcast and perfect for outdoor portraits. I took only one shot in the direct sun because it was a group and I couldn't avoid it. You can see why it's a bad idea. Even with bringing up [...]
I went back to Golden Gate Fields for the fourth time on my project to capture the range of people who go to the horseraces on Dollar Days. My goal this week was to shoot environmental portraits that showed people and the track instead of posing individuals against a plain background. We again had great [...]
I proposed to Golden Gate Fields management that I take portraits of racegoers over a series of Sundays at the track. They agreed, and I've been twice now. I approach people, explain what I'm doing, and very rarely encounter a "no." To get some animation in the poses, I tell my subjects to first act [...]
I expected to come back from San Francisco Comic Con 2017 with some good shots, but I got more out of it than that. It was a lot of fun to talk with the people there, see the comic art exhibits, learn about the sci fi characters, and essentially be a visitor to this subculture's [...]
The Niles district in Fremont held its annual Charlie Chaplin Lookalike contest this weekend. As a longtime fan of the Little Tramp, I made it a point to drive down and photograph the contestants. I photographed them on the stage in the contest and all those photos were terrible. But before the contest, I'd [...]
The Haight-Ashbury district is uber grungy. Is that part of its appeal? Hard to believe, but maybe. I went there very early on Sunday, walked up and down Haight St., and frankly didn't see anything that I could turn into a good photo. So as not to waste a drive into San Francisco, I went over [...]
I went into downtown Oakland early today because it was predicted to get over 100 degrees in the afternoon. On previous Sunday visits, I'd noticed all the nicely dressed people going to early church services and my plan was to ask some of those church-goers if I could take their photo. So that's what [...]