San Francisco By Street: Van Ness

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

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

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.