labellelettre.blogspot.com: Street Photography

There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Celebrating my birthday and Giant's shutout win.

AT&T Park, San Francisco 2011

August 13, 2014

Walking from Pacific Heights through the Tendernob to the FiDi I took my camera along as usual in case any good pictures presented themselves. I visited the Ferry Building then stopped at the long pier just south of there for a little picnic. I had my Swiss Army knife, the same one used on my first European adventure, and took it from my backpack to slice a piece of cheese to go with some crusty bread. Bright sunlight reflected off the bay as seagulls swooped over boats crisscrossing in all directions. The day was Mediterranean-like with gleaming white buildings looming majestically along the Embarcadero's west side. Despite all the changes, this City will always be the Land of Oz to me. I was headed to AT&T Park to watch the Giants and Chicago White Sox. Jake Peavy (See him on YouTube playing 'Pancho and Lefty' with Tim Flannery in hotel stairwell) was on the mound and fans were hoping they'd avoid a 7 game losing streak. I'd gotten a late start and stopped a guy walking towards me to check if the score was still 1-0 White Sox. He confirmed it was and asked if I was going to the game. I'm watching it from ‘the cage’ (aka PortWalk) I told him and he handed me a $102.00 ticket. Go play, he said. Stunned, I stood there for a moment staring at the ticket in disbelief then gave him a big thank you. I’d never been inside AT&T Park by myself but happily maneuvered past the kale garden and orange and black hyperactivity of it all. My seat was down in front behind the batter’s box and I'd barely sat down before the Giants scored 7 runs in the 7th inning! There was a lot of jumping up and down and high-fiving with neighbors. Finally, the guy next to me turned and said I was good luck. Later, it occurred to me that if I’d been plugged into some kind of device I would have already known the score and not had to ask the nice guy with the ticket. In short, I never would have had this amazing experience. There's a lot of magic in this world if we just take the time to slow down and notice it.

P.S. AND THEN THERE WAS GAME 7... CONGRATULATIONS WORLD CHAMPION SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS FOR ANOTHER SEASON FILLED WITH AN AVALANCHE OF PARTICLES AND GOOD DOSE OF TORTURE!!! LET IT REIGN! YES! YES! YES! 10/31/14

San Francisco Giant's Opening Day, McCovey Cove
AT&T Park, San Francisco 2014

Un Baiser Apres Boules

Loire Valley, France 1997

Bumper Cars

Northern California Fairgrounds, 1979

Young Girl in Union Square

San Francisco, CA 1979

Revelers on Market Street
Gay Pride Parade

San Francisco, CA 2011

Woman Waiting for Muni, Civic Center
St. Patrick's Day Parade
San Francisco, CA 2014

Man Under Umbrella, Civic Center
St. Patrick's Day Parade
San Francisco, CA 2014

Intersection, Civic Center
St. Patrick's Day Parade
San Francisco, CA 2014

Man Waiting for Ambulance

St. Patrick's Day Parade
San Francisco, CA 2012

Hopewell - Aim, Birthplace of Dashiell Hammet

Lexington Park, Maryland 2005

I walked past this sign every day on the way to visit my father in the nursing home. I hadn't seen him for 28 years and had never been to Southern Maryland. I was staying in a cheap motel surrounded by strip malls, liquor stores, auto dealerships, and other kinds of dealers. I had never rented a car before so I'd stuff my hair up into a baseball cap and listen to music while walking on a narrow path 45 minutes or so along a dangerous stretch of highway to the nursing home. The irony of this heating and air conditioning sign located next to a marker for Dashiell Hammett's birthplace never failed to lift my spirits.