A totally self-indulgent posting!

I've been feeling a bit 'San Francisco' sick for the past few weeks. After all,  lived there for more than 40 years. Apart from family and friends, I miss the sunshine, the somewhat perfect-humidity heat, my culture and maybe the most of all: the food! 

There is a sort of understated elegance win San Francisco. You have buildings still there when the San Francisco actually became a city. But it's many times cleaner. Many times better kept. Streets are much more open. To me, San Francisco is the most beautiful city in the world. More so than Paris. With Paris, you don't have an ocean close-by.... Though I understand why the French army chose not to defend Paris when the Germans were invading. To spare the architecture. The city is still stunning and would love to do a shoot there someday.

Let's start with a smile shall we? Theater actress Livia Gomes-Demarchi was my first 'professional' I photographed and I think it was even the first time of many when I were to shoot at Grace Cathedral. Amazing, gothic architecture as you can tell by the archways.

Justine was such a sweetheart and fun to photograph. And a natural.

If you go down the street, or down the hill actually, from Grace Cathedral, you run into Chinatown. During the day, sure there are some good places to eat. But at night, it's a whole other world. The lights. The mood. The lights are especially amazing. You can have a real fun shoot here. Just work light!

If you go down the hill even further, you run into the Financial District. I've had some fantastic shoots here! Fantastic architecture. The lighting can be awesome especially in the morning. If you go on the weekend, you basically have the whole area to yourself!

The image with Brooke was quite funny. It was later in the day and people were starting to head home. I thought any second we would cause an accident with everyone who was looking out their car window wondering what was going on. It happens in New York though with about 1/4 the interest. I didn't even use lights for this shot. Perfect light.

One of my most favorite image: my first shoot of many with Chalyce. We did this shoot on a Saturday morning which couldn't have been more perfect. A very slight breeze. Perfect temperature. Clear sky which allowed for a great warming color to blanket everything. This was an alley and if you look past her, that's Chinatown up the street. Fantastic shoot.

I have a love/hate relationship with the beach in San Francisco.  When it's great, it's fabulous. But when it's not.... Like on this day with Catherine. There was an incredibly heavy fog and it was borderline cold. Thankfully the fog lifted a bit and we got to see some of the ocean. 

Sutro Baths, where I photographed this is quite stunning. The remnants of a bathing area back at the turn of the century. The background makes for a fantastic backdrop. Look at the structure she's sitting on....

So there you have it. Just a fun article remembering some fun and old shoots!

There are some places I would love to do a fashion shoot or maybe even photograph a fashion show. The War Memorial building where San Francisco Ballet performs is incredibly beautiful and classic. I'm watching Hitchcock's "Vertigo" and they've shown the Legion of Honor museum. It would make a perfect fashion show venue. Like Oscar de la Rent did at the 5th Avenue Library a year or two ago. 

And the beach on a sunny day!