A couple of weeks ago, unexpectedly, a professor at UIUC e-mailed me asking for rights to use some of my photos in a book he's finishing that studies daylighting use in architecture. The compensation: photo credit. I'm down. No question in my mind is this a yes. Unfortunately, none of my images fit the book perfectly.
Well, I happen to know the building fairly well, having worked at Webcor when they wrapped it and been involved in to the photo process (even though I didn't get to attend the actual shoot.)
Since none of my photos fit the bill, I volunteered to go take some more. I was going to be at Civic Center anyway, I said (that was a fib, though there are some great restaurants down there) and I would just do it while there.
It actually worked out VERY well. After the shoot I walked to my favorite camera store in the city and they had a Pentax 6X7 bellows WITH the double release for $99. My gut reaction was 'how many holes are in the bellows.' But Gassers is known for good stuff, so I looked at it and it's in mint condition, the bellows having been recently replaced. I mean, shoot, for this condition I couldn't buy one on eBay for less than $400, so, yeah, it's mine now and waiting for its firsts tests. One thing I'll be making is a 6X7-to-M42 converter so I can use my M42 lenses as macros for the 6X7. That ought to have some neat effects and produce good results as the M42 lenses are slightly sharper than their 6X7 counterparts (on a lines per millimeter basis.)
Anyway, the trip was hugely productive and here are some of my favorite photos.
This lady stopped me after the shoot and asked me to take her photo. Whenever anyone talks to me, even people I know, my gut reaction is abject terror. So being stopped by a stranger nearly sent me into cardiac shock. She wanted her photo taken and mailed to her (snail mail.) I figured why not. So I hope she liked the shot when it arrived.
Here is the SF Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) building. It's LEED Platinum and all kinds of great. There are some wind turbines behind the sculpture column but they don't actually catch that much wind (that's the building's dirty secret -- don't tell anyone.) That said, this is still one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in San Francisco, if not the most environmentally friendly. SF should be really grateful such a great building is in our city.
I bet those offices get warm in the evening.
I love the sun shades on the building. Here's a high-key version I edited in post that I'm fond of.
Different angle in mid-key.
Yup, that's where you're at.
Thank you for reading!
A Year in Photos
Photography, fiction, and personal essays form my three primary creative outlets. For this blog's first 18 months, I used it primarily for photography. As I've returned to creative writing, I'll use this blog for fiction, too. Sometimes, when reality needs to be discussed more than truth, I write personal essays.
This blog will continue to showcase as many above-average photos as I can muster. Hopefully my written work will be as good or better than the visual. Whichever drew you here -- photographs or fiction, I hope you enjoy both.
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