City By The Bay

I'm officially a huge fan of Pictory. I love this site!

The pictories have a way of immersing me to the point that all else fades deep into the background.

This pictory is about my adopted city, San Franciso. I lived there for a bit over four years until I met my wife and moved to the sunny side of the bay, Oakland. SF is an amazing city filled with hidden gems that will always hold a special place in my heart.

From Pictory, a few of my favorite images and captions that epitomize SF more than any picture of the Golden Gate Bridge or the Transamerica Building ever will...

In San Francisco, the art of seeing is easy to practice. It has something to do with that western light. Instead of “Golden Hour,” there are golden days. I sometimes wonder if the locals are haunted by the fact that they cannot always stop their busy lives in order to appropriately deal with the constant, quiet extraordinary. Or worse, if it loses its power over time. Unlike any city I have seen, the place breathes with a tone poem that is best encountered foot to earth and barely moving.


During my most recent visit, I decided it was time to see another side of San Francisco. Nostalgic for a summer spent in Central America, I pounded the sidewalks of the Mission, getting a feel for the city’s Latin street culture. I arrived with a vision of the Golden Gate Bridge, hilly streets, and the Transamerica Pyramid in my mind, and left with the taste of carnitas and horchata in my mouth.


A 75-degree day brought the crowds to a popular San Francisco sunbathing spot, Dolores Park. There must have been 1000 people drinking wine, chatting with friends, and blasting music. This pair, seemingly oblivious to the crowd and noise around them, lay quietly in the grass. At first I thought they were dreaming of somewhere far away, but they were probably just enjoying the moment: partaking in the sound of laughter, conversation, and song — the cadence of the city.


San Francisco has a special relationship with the sun. In the morning, it flirts with the city, burning off fog, warming up rooftops, and setting the hilltops on fire. At dusk, the sun leaves the city like a fond lover, unable to let go until the very last second, as it slips into a bank of earthbound clouds or, on a clear day, over the edge of the Pacific horizon.


San Francisco is a city of passionate people. They are passionate not only in their celebration of life — which is evident in the many street festivals that occur year-round — but also in their fight for social justice. On November 7th, 2008, three days after the election of President Obama, San Francisco citizens took to the streets to protest the passing of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. An electric feeling charged the air as the marchers circled back to block Market Street downtown for three hours.

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