Lonely Highway Media

The Lonely Highway has Moved

2009-10-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

The Lonely Highway Blog has moved to

Obama in San Francisco brings out protesters

2009-10-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

One reporter jokingly said it felt like it was unpatriotic for a San Franciscan not to protest and that's exactly what it felt like last night while wandering through the protesting crowd. Just about every point on the political spectrum was covered. If you had a political agenda to push, San Francisco's Union Square was the place to be. While everyone had something to say there was no overarching message and in my opinion nothing can be accomplished when there is no coordinated effort. Instead people were just wandering around yelling and in the end, because of a lack of a audience with the president, began squabbling and bickering with each other.

Obama who was in town for the Democratic National Committee And Organizing For America fund-raiser held at The Westin St. Francis Hotel was walled off with police officers, barricades and media of all sorts.

I think everyone who was there was expecting to see him jump out of a car, wave and say a couple words, but that wasn't the case. Night fell and the crowd stayed chanting and carrying on. At one point i asked a police officer what time he was expected and he replied the president had been there for several hours.

Here's the rest @ SF Weekly.

The Pogues w/ Devotchka @ The Warfield

2009-10-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

The Pogues and their excitable crowd.

I had never really heard the Pogues until recently, but when i started telling people i was going to the show they got all excited and and preceded to tell how excited they were for me to go to the show. The Pogues have been around long enough to where they really didn't have to do anything to whip the crowd into frenzy, a coupe words from their toothless drunken front man Shane MacGowan and everyone was moshing about. In the end it was great show an eye opening experience.

Good music in all, but i'm still a bigger fan of the melodic music of Denver based Devotchka-i guess you just can't go wring when you mix the sounds of a tuba, stand-up bass, violin, accordian, theremin and a classically trained frontman with a guitar. Check them out

Here's the full story @ SF Weekly.

Devotchka frontman Nick Urata

Spider Stacy

Frontman Shane MacGowan

The crowd is whipped into a frenzy.

The Pogues

Frontman Shane MacGowan

Guitarist Phil Chevron

Devotchka frontman Nick Urata

Elliot Brood @ Cafe Du Nord

2009-10-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

A busy week of music in SF, Elliot Brood w/ Wooden Sky and Rosie Golan on Monday. Last night it was The Pogues w/ Devotchka at the Warfield (pics coming soon) and this weekend it's off to the Treasure Island Music Festival for more music.

Here's some pics of Elliot Brood @ Cafe du Nord, the three piece band rocked the cafe with a little extra volume, beats that you couldn't help but dance to and antics, including throwing pans and wooden spoons onto the dance floor for the crowd to bang on.

Here's the Elliot Brood Review @ SF Weekly.

3rd Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle-Oakland CA

2009-10-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

The 3rd Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle was held this weekend on Saturday Oct. 10th in West Oakland's DeFremery Park. Kicking off at 11am the Battle was a daylong event featuring the aerosol art of a variety of graffiti artists. The weathered cooperated and the event brought a lot of people out to support community building efforts.

The smell of spray paint, marijuana and BBQ mingled in the air with the “oohhhss” and “ahhhss” from the break dance circle. A live DJ, live bands and the sound of rolling skateboards wheels could also be heard depending on what park of the park you were in.

The lawn of DeFremery was littered with 10ft high canvases tethered to multi-sided bamboo structures busied by artists creating their murals. Along with the graffiti battle was a full on break dancing battle that occupied the majority of the crowd as everyone crowded around a slab of linoleum to get a peek at the talented dancers spinning on their heads and hands. Not far away were tons of skateboarders strutting their moves on the ramps, half-pipes and rails in the skate park. If that wasn't enough for you there was plenty of food to be eaten, information of all sorts, and dancing to be done.

Check it out on SF Weekly

Spinning in the circle.

Areosol Art high and low.

Don't try this at home.

Some really good air.

Riding the rail.

A tagger at work.

Some more tagging.

Some more sweet moves.

Some very intricate art.

This guy had some great moves.

A low shot.

Some half pipe action.

Some serious crowd pressure.

The Cave Singers @ The Independent

2009-10-07T14:21:00.001-07:00

The Cave Singers w/ Lightning Dust finished their US tour last night here in San Francisco. The Seattle based trio, who has been touring on their recent release Welcome Joy, put together a great show musicianship. The short set ended in a very gratuitous crowd welcoming a encore from the band. Check out SF Weekly for the whole story.

Hardly Strictly Blugrass Festival

2009-10-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Gillian Welch.

Another crazy weekend of music, photos and lots of great people getting together to celebrate folk and bluegrass music in San Francisco. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival took place this weekend in SF's Golden Gate Park. Three days of music ranging from Gillian Welch, Emmy Lou Harris, Old Crow Medicine Show, Okkervil River, Steve Earle and a surprise visit from Robert Plant. The concert grounds were packed with young and old, strollers, dogs and bikes. Logistics were a bit difficult at several instances, but overall the weekend went smoothly and the weather behaved (except for gail force winds knocking branches out the eucalytus trees).

Okkervil River

Best seat in the house.

Todd Snider

Steve Earle

OCMS

Robert Earle Keen

Rhett Miller of the Old 97's.

Jessica Lea Mayfield

Rhett Miller of the Old 97's

The crowd of Old Crow Medicine Show

Okkervil River

Gillian Welch and Emmy Lou Harris sings The Band's The Weight.

Aimee Mann

Neko Case

A young fan.

Aimee Mann

OCMS encore.
more crowd

Flags in the wind on Saturday night.

Mason Jennings and the Crash Kings @ GAMH

2009-10-01T11:41:00.001-07:00

Mirrors capturing Jennings in a variety of angles.

Mason Jennings drew in the crowd of the Great American Music Hall last night for the second night in a row. Along with the impressive act of the Crash Kings, Jennings played a lengthy-2 hour show debuting his new album, Blood of Man, and much of his older catalog. Check out SF Weekly for the full story.

Crash Kings drummer demanded a presence with with jack-hammer drumming.

Mason goes electric and his bassist captures the audiences attention with a bit of rocking out.

Jennings belting out a tune.

Still a singer-songwriter, Jennings pulls it together with some harmonica action.

Jennings and band mate.

Mason Jennings.

Lead singer for the Crash Kings plays a whammy keyboard? Does anyone know what these things are called?

The Phoenix Supper Club-Meridian Gallery

2009-09-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

The Menu.

The Phoenix Supper is named appropriately as it rises up out of San Francisco at different locations to create unique dining experiences. The latest event was held at Meridian Gallery on Powell @ Sutter. The multi-course chef's tasting started early in the evening lasting until long after dark, the combination of the fine dining atmosphere, sprawling art work and a epicureans menu made for quite the night of food, wine and ambiance. Check out their website for future events.

The Chef-Tommy Halvorson

Seared Halibut,
Red Curry Broth, Thumb potatoes, Escarole, De Vero Olive Oil

Guests

Service in motion.

Heirloom Gazpacho.

Caramelized levain, compote, vanilla sorbet, mint.

Guests.

Street Car passing the Meridian Gallery on Powell St.

Ambiance.

Soup du Jour

Caramelized Duck Breast
Rainbow Chard, nectarine, ginger, cippolini onions.

Poached Lamb Rack
Fennel bulb, roasted fig, balsamic jus, aranth.

San Francisco By Street: Van Ness

2009-09-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

An old man out for a walk.

From Bernal Heights to the San Francisco Bay, Van Ness runs north and south through the city cutting it in half. I set out from Bernal Heights (the tall beacon of hope in the south of the city and in this photographers humble opinion the best neighborhood in SF) and trounced north through the Mission following S. Van Ness from its intersection with Ceasar Chavez. My idea was to walk streets of San Francisco from end to end to get an idea of how the street, city and most of all people change as the city is traversed. Making my way north past taquerias, run down hotels, and used car lots i went under 101 and headed toward Van Ness and Market. Here the rain started and so i temporarily abandoned my venture across the city. Two days later i took up where i had left off making my way from Market to the Civic Center, Japantown, Pacific Heights to where i met the water of San Francisco Bay at Fort Mason.

This nameless man donning a Obama shirt near Van Ness and 22nd talked my ear off for a few moments and as i was walking away yelled "don't give up".

Van Ness viewed from the top of Bernal Heights.

A woman and her bags- Van Ness and Market

Anything helps.

Tourists on the Fort Mason Pier watching a sea lion swim by.

Tree lined Civic Center.

Shadows on the sidewalk.

Names in the road.

An abandon shoe at Van Ness and Geary.

Walking the dog-near 101.

Southern end of S. Van Ness-the Ceasar Chavez intersection.

Apartments near the Fort Mason.

Silhouetted St. Brigid's Church at the corner of Broadway and Van Ness.

The north end of Van Ness, with Alcatraz in the background.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros @ the Independent

2009-09-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

I see a lot of music. With that said this was by far one of the most high energy and enthralling performances I've seen in a long time. The bare-chested Alex Ebert was not only incredibly charismatic, but a very personable entertainer. The rest of the 11 piece band may have not been the center of attention, but they provided a tremendous noise that kept the crowd hopping late into the night. Here's the lowdown from SF Weekly.

Giro di San Francisco-A Bicycle Race

2009-09-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

The tuck.

The 35th annual Giro di San Francisco sped through the streets of SF over the weekend with an awesome show (most of you know I’m a huge biking fan, so I probably enjoyed it more than most) of speed, endurance and strategy. Here are some pics of the day of activities, including women’s, men’s and kids races. Here's the link to the SF Weekly slide show.

The chase.

Cutting the corner.

The fan.

One long curve.

In the shadow of downtown.

Leaning into it.

High speed traffic.

The fall from grace.

Tempting fate.

Breakaway artists.

A rush of air.

Around the bend.

Just a blur.

Beginning the turn.

Setting par.

A mass of man and metal.

Feeling the burn.

Street reflection.

The Bay Bridge.

Into the final straightaway.

Jarring speed.

Single focus.

One way down.

Victory.

Outside Lands Music Festival

2009-08-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

MIA

For the second year in a row San Francisco has brought together a huge array of musicians for a raucous three day festival in the massive Golden Gate Park. After three days of sun, fog, music, noise, antics and revelry this is what i have to show for. Enjoy.

Band of Horses

Crowd Hands

The Heartless Bastards

Crowd

Ween

Tom Jones

Bats For Lashes

Seth Avett

Scott Avett

Jason Mraz

Modest Mouse

MIA dancer

Crowd

MIA

Main Stage

Lucinda Williams Band

Lucinda Williams

Incubus

MIA

Incubus

Main Stage

Band of Horses

Black-Eyed Peas

Dave Matthews Crowd

Dave Matthews

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band (AKA Bright Eyes)

Bats for Lashes (and Jesus)

Calexico

Butch- Lucinda William's Drummer

Black-Eyed Peas- Note the reflection in his sunglasses-that's the crowd

Black-Eyed Peas

Bats for Lashes

Avett Bros.

Seth Avett

Scott Avett

Avett Bros.

MIA Dancer

Hiking Yosemite and the vicinity

2009-08-24T15:40:00.001-07:00

Caption-Looking East from Lower Conness Lake

Three days, three hikes in Yosemite and surrounding area. An afternoon in the Yosemite Valley and then over to the eastern side of the park to the Saddlebag Lake/20 Lakes Basin Area. From there to plains around Mono Lake and then back into Yosemite to hike into Cathedral Lake. Here's a couple pics to show the dramatic quality of the not only the geographical aspects of the park, but also the weather moving around @ 10,000+ feet. Enjoy.

A road near Bodie, CA

A stark Sierra contrast
One of the Conness glacial lakes

Stone Striations
Mountain reflection

(wo)man and nature

Mountains and sky over Tenaya Lake.

Water Truck

Yosemite Valley

Half Dome

Nevada Falls and surrounding monoliths

A biker in Yosemite Valley
El Captain (notice picnic table in left foreground as scale)

$1 San Francisco Street Portraits Project-Part. 1

2009-08-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

The idea is not original, but I loved the idea enough to give it a go myself. The idea: hit the streets with a camera and a pad of paper and offer people $1 in return for their portrait and a bit about them. The result was a pieced together collage of people in the city—a sample of its demographic. Granted, a test group of ten or twelve won’t give us the best data. But it’s more of an art project than it is ethnographic research.

For this set, we traveled by bike through Hayes Valley, around Civic Center, Tenderloin, Chinatown, North Beach and down to the Embarcadero and interviewed roughly 20 people. Over the 2-3 hour excursion we had a lot of people tell us they didn’t want their photo taken (some rather adamantly). But warmth overcame skepticism for most. Special thanks to Sara Hart Weihmann for her note taking and assistance.
SF Weekly Article

Here are our findings.

Name: Scotty

Age: 18

Home: The Richmond, SF

Background: A recent transplant from South East Illinois, Scotty moved here for an internship at a hair salon called Secret Agent. He said he’s still dealing with the culture shock of moving to the big city.

Quote: “This place is pretty intense.”

Response to the $1: Thanked us and took it.

Name: Roger Garrison

Age: 44

Home: Nob Hill, SF

Background: A San Diego native, Roger only moved here 6 months ago. He was on a break from work when we approached, smoking a cigarette and clad in a white apron and screaming tie. Roger quickly unloaded his life details.

Roger’s a writer working as a waiter at Boulevard. Working on his second go at a novel, Roger has been attending a variety of writing groups and getting a good response. The novel titled Sam found and Tom is the story of an orphan boy and a funeral director who just buried his parents.

Quote: “The novel has WTF moments at every flip of the page.”

Response to the $1: Refusal at first, then took it when we suggested he donate to someone else.

Name: Ray

Age: “old”

Home: Lafayette, CA

Background: We found Ray in a motorcycle unit directing traffic for the filming of “Trauma.” He wore an ear-to-ear grin, tall black motorcycle boots and a tattered holster, and became surprisingly serious when I pointed my camera in his direction. Ray said that commuting to San Francisco everyday was just part of the job and enjoyed that his unit was assigned all over the city.

Quote: Ray liked to be vague about the details. When asked how long he had been a police officer, he responded: “A really long time.”

Response to the $1: We didn’t even offer.

Name: Henri Delafosse

Age: 30

Home: Russian Hill

Background: Born in LA, Henri has lived in San Francisco for 5 years as an artist. In his sharp garb, Henri’s raspy beard contrasted with his dapper wool hat, pinstriped shirt and baggy pants. After a reluctant beginning Henri pulled several of his paintings out of his bag and excitedly explain his painting techniques.

Quote: “I have a art show next week, check out my website-www.henridelafosse.com.”

Response to the $1: Thanked us with a smile. Said he could use it.

Name: Gracie

Age: 19

Home: Alameda, CA

Background: Gracie commutes to the city every day to attend Zenzi’s Cosmetology Center in Hayes Valley. She described herself as a “big baby” when we asked for her age.

Quote: “I don’t like to get my photo taken, I look meeeehh.”

Response to the $1: Declined.

Name: Erin

Age: 31

Home: Pacific Heights

Background: We found Erin waiting next to a “Back in 10min” sticky note stuck to a shop window. Her blue and silver biking shoes and blue outfit matched her blue bike locked-up near by. Erin said she had just returned from a year traveling abroad, touring New Zealand, and England. After quitting a corporate insurance gig, she said she’s now searching for a job, “something to feed the soul,” in the non-profit or biotech industries.

Quote: “You aren’t gonna cut me from the photo selection are you? Cause I would be distraught if you did.”

Response to the $1: Took it after we told her to find someone that needs it. Smiling, she turned to the shop attendant opening the door and said, “Now I gotta find someone to give a dollar to.”

Name: David Cook

Age: 50’s

Home: Somewhere on Hayes and Gough, SF

Background: David sat on a milk crate reading a worn book. His cigarette-stained beard barely hid his smile and earnest demeanor. A hand-made sign hung on the cyclone fence behind him that said, “I’d rather be a poor clown than a rich thief so I’ve gone fish’in.”

Quote: “I live here, I’ve got permission and nobody gets robbed on this street.”

Response to the $1: Declined.

Name: Chow

Age: 84

Home: Chinatown, San Francisco born and raised

Background: Retired for 20 years now, Chow had worked as a Seaman all his life. He has a wife, kids and grandchildren here in the city. We spotted Chow with the sun on his face leaning against a parking meter with his lunch leftovers. When we asked him if he would like to participate he exclaimed “Me!”

Quote: “Living on borrowed time.”

Response to the $1: Declined

Name: Anne

Age: 25

Home: Denmark

Background: We found Anne wandering around North Beach. She’s a well-traveled linguistics student at Berkeley taking summer courses and said she was surprised by the “American” attitude: “They think they can do whatever they want,” she said. In Scandinavia they’re taught to be less outgoing.

Quote: San Francisco is the, “Best culture shock I’ve ever experienced.”

Response to the $1: Surprise, followed by sheepish acceptance.

Name: Ana

Age: 22

Home: Amsterdam

Background: We found Ana standing with her family outside of a sushi joint on Powell and O’Farrell. She told us she was on the last day of a two-week whirlwind tour of the US during which she had visited L.A, Las Vegas and a variety of other locations.

Quote: At the prompting of her family, Ana explained: “They want to take my picture.”

Response to the $1: Said “Not necessary.” Then she took it.

Expect more soon.....

Adventures in Urban Exploration: Bayshore Roundhouse

2009-08-15T15:27:00.001-07:00

Recently i've taken up a interest in photographing and exploring abandon buildings, towns and sites. This has led me to some pretty amazing, thrilling and crazy places. Research on the web has revealed quite a few places in and around the bay area that are sitting in decay. Here's one of many to come...

On San Francisco's southern border an old abandon train roundhouse sits in decay. Just after the end of the work day and before the sun fell i made my way to the Bayshore Roundhouse for some urban exploring. Gated and prohibited, i rode my bike down the street and crawled under a fence. Skirting around behind the building i found little obstacles blocking my path. Full of dirt, graffiti, garbage, and burnt remnants of a portion of the building i made my way around observing what's left of this century old building.

Here's an excerpt from www.sanfranciscotrain.org.
"A brick roundhouse and 90' steel turntable were finished at Bayshore around 1910. They served to stable the steam-powered freight engines used on the peninsula. Locomotives required constant maintenance, and most of this work took place in roundhouses. Engines were serviced, and kept warm in such places between runs. Additional shops were later built to perform heavy maintenance on locomotives, passenger cars, tenders, and all other manner of railroad equipment."

Gomorran Social Aid and Pleasure Club

2009-08-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

Who: Gomorran Social Aid and Pleasure Club
Where: Bottom of the Hill, SF
When: Friday Aug. 14th

A bit of burlesque, dancing and friday night antics.

Here's the full story at SF Weekly

Mission Garage Doors

2009-08-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

Slide Show and Story at SF Weekly

Adventures in Urban Exploration: Drawbridge CA-The Bay's Last Ghost town

2009-08-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

My friend Justin and i set out to explore an old abandon town in the south bay. The sun was beating down on us when we arrived in Alviso at close to 2pm. Parking next to the rail tracks we set out due north following the tracks into a horizon of salt flats and diked sloughs. About a half mile along the tracks we found a dead dog laying in the middle of the tracks with bullet holes in it. Not really sure what to think we continued, left and right of us were foul smelling sloughs, dried fields of packed mud and train debris. After several miles, several trains flying past we crossed a rail bridge onto Station Island and started to explore the abandon the buildings of Drawbridge CA.

Below is a historical description of the town courtesy of www.ghosttown.info-

"Drawbridge is an abandoned town on the outskirts of San Jose and is slowly sinking into the sloughs of San Francisco Bay. It was created on Station Island in 1876 and consisted of a single dwelling to house the operator of two drawbridges owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad that crossed the Mud Creek Slough and Coyote Creek Slough to connect Newark with Alviso and San Jose. It eventually grew into a small town consisting mainly of hunting cabins, hotels, and gun clubs (the San Francisco Bay, before salt evaporation ponds and sewage dumping, was a hunting and fishing paradise). During Prohibition, taking advantage of its location in no man's land between Santa Clara and Alameda counties, it housed numerous speakeasies and brothels. In addition, the police were reluctant to enter as nearly everyone in Drawbridge was armed.
Starting in the late 1920's, the surrounding communities began to pump fresh water out from the sloughs causing the land to sink. Two salt evaporation ponds around Drawbridge prevented the tides from cleaning the waters and the pumping in of raw sewage fouled what remained.
At its peak in 1926, Drawbridge had 90 private residences and two hotels. The train stopped five times daily. In 1979, the last remaining resident left, leaving behind a dozen or so wooden shacks."

Michael Rose @ The Independent

2009-08-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

A little Thursday night reggae never hurt anyone. Here's the story and pics from a fun show last night at the Independent. Story @ SF Weekly.

Adventures in Urban Exploration-The "Cannery"

2009-07-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

After finding several blogs and galleries alluding to an abandon, graffiti filled, building referred to as "the Cathedral" I was intrigued and excited for an adventure. One sunny SF afternoon I set out to find graffiti in general and this so called “Cathedral”. Just off of 3rd, down on the waterfront, in the Dog Patch neighborhood, a fence surrounds a crumbling concrete structure. The windows are smashed out and slabs of metal block all obvious entrances.

The building sits on Islais Creek that feeds into the SF Bay and use to serve as a tuna processing plant until a botulism outbreak, which killed several people in the early 1960's. After which, it was shut down and has since sat withering.

Trying to find a way to get in I semi-circled the building until I ran into the corrugated walls that jutted into the water. Eager and fool-hardy I waded through the water around to the other side of the building to where I found a small hole just big enough for me to Houdini myself through and pull my camera bag in after me.

What I found was something quite breathtaking and fantastic. As I snuck around corners, through dark stairwells and dank shadows my adrenaline pumped. Every surface was painted and spray cans were everywhere (literally 1000's). There was asbestos blowing about, rusty pipes, broken glass on the ground and other random debris was everywhere. Even though it was the middle of the day, the building felt haunted, eerie and creepy. I kept expecting to be find someone or worse yet, someone find me.

Just my camera and me; I felt vulnerable.

(The pics that are not in the building are from the trip there.)

Rebirth Brass Band & Extra Action Marching Band @ The Great American Music Hall

2009-07-27T15:09:00.001-07:00

On Saturday night forces of brass and drum converged at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. A spectacle of lights, dancers, masks, costumes, horns of all sorts and foot stomping beats came together in a sweaty ear-popping 4-hour montage of music.

Hailing from New Orleans the main attraction, The Rebirth Brass Band, brought a mix of big band trumpets, saxophone, trombone, bass and snare drums, hip-hop lyrics and covers. Their energy passed through the crowd and at the end of the night it was a full on party.

The local Bay area opener, Extra Action Marching Band, set the bar quite high with a show that in my opinion went unrivaled throughout the night. With an entrance that had them marching out of the back of the GAMH to perform several of their songs in the midst of the audience, they jostled everyone's sense of normalcy. Their highly sexualized act was this juxtaposition of music and dance that kept your eyes flitting from one spectacle to another. If marching out with pounding drums, blaring horns, flags, dancers and masks weren’t enough the band and dancers gradually stripped bare throughout the show until almost everyone in the band was flashing some sort of skin. They ended their set there was a with a quasi S&M spectacle complete with leather, fake money and lots of skin. Odd? Yes. Entertaining? Extremely.

Enjoy the Pics,

Here's the whole story on SF Weekly Music Blog All Shook Down by Anna McCarthy

Patterson Hood and The Stone Foxes @ the Independent

2009-07-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

Yet another show at the Independent. Patterson Hood (lead singer of the Drive-by Truckers), played in support of his new solo album, Killing Oscar (and other love songs). Opening was an amazing San Fran act, The Stone Foxes. Check them out if you get a chance, they put on a really great live act. Here's the write up on the SF Weekly Music Blog.

Southern Mexico: Oaxaca, Teotitlan del Valle, Pueblo Nuevo, San Felipe

2009-07-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

Southern Mexico was a blur of colors, music, mazes of people, brilliant food and a societal melting pot. Between exploring the city of Oaxaca, the hinterland and near-by foothills i stayed pretty busy, not to mention trying to soak up some of the local night life. Here's a few pics from Oaxaca and the surrounding area.

Enjoy

Self-defining/Occupational Triptych Photo Series

2009-07-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

Last November I lost my job in Seattle and this spring I moved to the Bay Area to take up another job and see new places. With all this change i posed the question to myself of how i define myself. It's interesting when you try to put a label on yourself. Is your occupation who you are? How do you see yourself and how do others see you?

As a way of documenting professions around us, ways people see themselves and how i see others, i've been embarking on a creative venture to capture people in their occupation/self-defining moments through a series of portrait triptychs.

The first of the series is a Zapotec Weaver. At 84 she has trouble getting around with hip and knee ailments, and as she hobbled around the courtyard with a staff in one hand i offered my arm, which she gladly took to stable herself. But as soon as she was put to the task of preparing wool, crushing dried bugs with a mortar and pestle for dye or making spools of thread, she's eager and able.

Second in the series is a SF Bay Area Edible Landscaper. Sara Hart Weihmann was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest's Portland. After settling in Berkeley/Oakland area she put her MBA thesis idea to the test, three years later she's still at it. Her company, All Edibles has designed, installed and maintained gardens all over the bay. They've even taken steps to implement an educational facet to teach people young and old how to be stewards of the land they occupy.

Part of this triptych series is seeing how people are affected by their jobs and how their jobs affect them. I'm interested in seeing the affects their bodies in particular. It's also looking at how over time some one comes to identify them with a certain occupation. "I'm a mechanic, that's what I do." It seems it's no longer about who that person is or what they do in their free time; it's more about their occupation. How many people actually define themselves by their occupation, how many people are proud enough of what they do to define themselves that way. Is this common in other cultures, are people defined by how they pay their bills all over the world, or is it a product America's consumerist culture?

Coming soon in the triptych series.....

A Writer
A Musician
A Carpenter

Graffiti of Mexico

2009-07-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

The walls and surfaces of Mexico (as they are in the U.S.) are covered in graffiti of all sorts. Something unique that i noticed, especially in Oaxaca, with the recent (2006) uprising, was the proliferation of politically driven messages and art. It seemed to be more about the message rather than the expression. A message of frustration and desperation. Although some placement of the graffiti was disappointing (on national monuments), much of it was very well done and creative. Keeping an eye out for the alternative form of expression, i captured the scrawling in several different Mexican locals.

Here are a couple more Mexico photos for you.

Northern-Central Mexico: Queretaro, D.F., San Miguel and Tequisquiapan

2009-07-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

Landing in Mexico City, i spent a day riding the metro, visiting markets, parks, monuments and other such landmarks. The next day i traveled north to Queretaro to stay with my extended family for a week. Here's some pics of Queretaro, D.F. and the surrounding area.
Enjoy

Oaxacan Zapoteo Rug Weavers: Francisco "Paco" Gonzales Vincente

2009-07-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

The puebla of Teotitlan del Valle about a 30 mins out of Oaxaca is known for it's intricate rug weaving. While visiting Oaxaca i was fortunate enough to be able to get a behind the scene look into this faceted process.

We received a phone call late in the day, after a long day of hiking, that our host in Teotitlan was waiting for us with dinner on the table. A freshly slaughtered chicken and enchilada/mole sauce was waiting for us. My host in Oaxaca, Megan and i promptly took a taxi out of the city to have dinner.

Paco greeted us at the edge of town and jumped into the cab to escort us to his place on Calle Cinco de Mayo. Out of the cab into his home. We were greeted with Mezcal and Corona. His mother, 84, sat in the dimly lit kitchen grinning at us and communicating in broken zapotec-spanish. I sat trying to follow the conversation and taking in my surroundings. Dinner was large and rich, delicious and filling.

After dinner we walked around his house centered around a large courtyard full of plants, a open-air cooking area, chickens and a well.

Hanging in the corner was a series of rugs adorning the walls and the other were two looms and other misc. equipment.

The rest of the story unfolds below.

Deer Tick and Dawes at the Independent

2009-07-02T09:47:00.001-07:00

Another night of shooting bands at the Independent. Deer Tick and Dawes- a good show of alt-country, rock and a bit of crazy antics. Read the review and see the pics online at the SF Weekly Music Blog.

Just got back from two weeks in Mexico, i've been busy editing photos, expect more soon.

Mexico: Shooting from the hip

2009-07-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

As a challenge to myself and just to satisfy a general interest in more genuine and candid human photography, while in Mexico i developed a technique for shooting subjects from hip level. The result was a interesting series of photos that caught people in their everyday life. Going to and from work and school, laughing, talking, flirting, staring off into thin air and enjoying life.

Enjoy,

Felice Brothers @ The Independent

2009-06-11T10:17:00.001-07:00

I've seen these guys several times now and they never cease to thoroughly impress me. My girlfriend Anna is writing for the SF Weekly and hooked up a deal for her to review and myself to photograph any show in SF. So this is the first of many to come. Very Cool. Check it out at SF weekly.

Lake Tahoe-Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Not too far out of San Francisco lie the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a burl of gnarled rocks and an inland ocean. A place void of concrete, taco stands, crowds and the city's deafening din. Big blue Lake Tahoe is a vast and majestic bowl of water surrounded by high snow capped peaks, lakes, vistas and unrivaled natural beauty.

A memorial weekend Saturday morning hike brought us to our North Canyon/ Marlette Lake base camp. Surrounded by pine filled air, cold as all hell mountain mornings and bone dry California tinder, we roughed it for a couple days. Over the long weekend we wandered around the 8,000+ highlands of the Tahoe Rim Trail, Marlette Peak, Snow Valley Peak and the Flume Trail.

This area of melting snow fields, nostril cutting high dry plains, leg clawing wiry brambles and serene lakeside trails offered a primitive juxtaposition to the day in, day out city life.

Hope you enjoy a couple pics....

San Fracisco's Bay to Breakers

2009-05-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

San Francisco's Bay to Breakers celebration started out as a foot race from the SF Bay to the Pacific Ocean in 1912 to raise the spirits of San Fran residents after the disastrous earthquake of 1906. Over the past century the race has changed quite a bit.
It's still a foot race from one side of the city to the next, but it's much more of a giant sinuous monster of a party. I've been to a few parties in my day, but i've never seen anything like this. There are seven miles from the San Francisco Bay to the Breakers of the Pacific Ocean and I can vouch that all seven of those miles was alive with a over the top antic filled block party. Costumes, floats, masks, beer, kegs, bands, nudity and thousands of people having a good time.

What a Sunday! Here's a couple pics.

Shakespeare's 12th Night-Round Belly Theatre

2009-04-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Recently, local Berkeley theater troupe Round Belly Theater presented a week long running of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the Subterranean Art House. After spending two nights as the photographer/ bartender i caught some fleeting moments to share.

Berkeley, Oakland and the City

2009-04-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

More wandering in the Bay Area brought me in touch with a myriad of scenes. From long exposures in the Berkeley Hills, wandering at sunset in Oakland's Jack London Square to walking San Francisco's Lower Haight to the Embarcadero.

Apple Pie Hopes-In the Studio

2009-04-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

New acquaintances of mine, the band Apple Pie Hopes just spent three days in a Emeryville studio recording a five song disc. I tagged along one Sunday afternoon and caught them in the act.