Street Photography from San Francisco
NAVIGATION | Union Sq/Downtown, Oakland and Cityscapes, Film, Older Work
I return to San Francisco as regularly as possible. Occasionally when work brings me to the Bay Area, but on my own as well when I’m trekking up and down the West Coast.
It’s a really special place for street photography- almost like the New York of the West Coast. Every chance I get to come back has me chomping at the bit to take more photos. From the foggy days to golden, glowing, hazy, sunsets, San Francisco always brings out the best in my street photography.
UNION SQUARE HEART OF THE CITY
This set is from my fourth San Francisco street photography venture, and my third in 2023. I haven’t been able to stop talking about the light I had on this trip since I got back to the East Coast at the end of September. I’m so used to gray skies in the Bay Area, that having light like this left me speechless.
It came as a bit of a surprise- a last-minute work trip, but I am so glad I made it out one more time. This week in the city might have ruined San Francisco for me forever. Next time I’m there and I see fog and clouds, I know I’m only going to think of the golden hour glow I was fortunate enough to capture during the evenings this week.
OAKLAND & SF CITYSCAPES
On my fourth visit to the city, I had a lot of time to shoot, and some really great light, but I’d also taken thousands of street photographs in San Francisco already. I started thinking of ways to get something unique out of this visit. Cityscapes, I decided, would be my mission.
The iconic spots, sure, but also the charming residential facades that give neighborhoods like Richmond, Sunset, and Bayview their charm.
Oakland surprised me a bit. As I witnessed a car window being smashed outside the restaurant I had chosen for dinner, I realized that its negative reputation is not entirely an exaggeration. That said, I got some of my favorite photographs of the entire trip in and around Downtown Oakland, so I recommend a visit. One where you might practice a little extra caution, but a visit nonetheless.
SAN FRANCISCO CITYSCAPES
Endless potential, and in this light? Everything seemed to look like a film still.
FILM from a POINT & SHOOT
If you thought San Francisco street photography couldn’t get any better, try it out on film the next time you get a chance. These were shot with a Canon AF35M loaded with Kodak Gold 200.
OLDER SAN FRANCISCO STREET PHOTOGRAPHY (2023)
These shorts are from an early Spring visit in 2023- a quick work trip plus a few extra days I tacked on to finally cover the city in a little more detail.
I’d visited very briefly in 2021 on a trip up the West Coast and had always wanted to come back, so it was great to finally make time for a longer trip.
Conditions were largely foggy and cool, but I lucked into a couple of sunny days as well. I spent a lot of time at the Presidio shooting the Golden Gate Bridge and near Embarcadero. I even caught the ferry to Alcatraz with some co-workers, which makes me look back on this particular visit as the ‘touristy’ one. There’s nothing wrong with hitting the postcard spots once to see what all the hype is about.
