WHITEWATER--AND UNDERWATER--BIRTHDAY RAFTING ADVENTURES

Thought I'd share what we did for my birthday: I think you'll be able to tell the moment where I lost contact with the raft and felt completely enclosed by water--amazing, (literally) breathtaking, beautiful, and incredibly fun--and all David's sweet idea based upon me deciding to jump into the 42-degree Virgin River when we were in Utah.  I was scared before, but not at all once we were on--and in and under--the water.

The water was running incredibly fast, high, and cold--making this stretch of the South Fork of the American River Class III+ whitewater rafting.  Even the guides were surprised by power of the river, and we almost tipped over.  David said it was more exciting than the week-long whitewater trip he did in Idaho years ago.

Obviously not my photographs: I thought it was pretty funny--and pretty smart--for them to have a camera set up at the wildest rapids.

Quick Pic Pix From Our Utah Trip

PLUGGED-IN BY REQUEST: On-Line Art Show of The Photographs From My Recent Gallery Shows

Friends beyond the Bay Area have been asking to see the photographs in my recent one-person show, "Catching the Sun," and the pieces Ken Baker chose for the recent show he juried, especially since there was some new work they hadn't seen before.  So here goes (in no particular order):

 

"Tram Man" 

This is a photograph I took during a 2007 trip David and I  made around Oregon, of the newish aerial tram line between Portland's South Waterfront district and the OHSU campus.  I was drawn to the confluence of angles and lines that cause you to question the perspective, and the various yellow-greens and blue-greys and the glow of reflected sunlight.  The title can refer to the singular pedestrian or the anatomical likeness of the tram supports.  I chose this image to be used for the printed material for "Catching The Sun."

"Elevated A"

I took this photograph on a stay in Chicago in 2007, while doing some consulting for the Kellogg Foundation. As a native New Yorker, I'd always looked down on the Second City, and on this first of many subsequent trips I fell in love with the muscular physicality of the place and its buildings and structures.  I was drawn to how simple AND complex, and how gritty AND elegant this elevated train station structure was, and the blushes of color in the light on the almost-monochromatic surfaces.

"Crimson Stride"

This is the earliest work in the show--from my second visit in 2002 to two of my favorite places--Lisbon and Portugal. By then the country was modernizing quickly, but still had a feeling of a place left behind in its history, almost like a Mediterranean Vienna.  I've always been attracted to taking pictures of people using public places, and the black-and-white, marble mosaic pavements in Lisbon were the perfect background, and the strong Iberian sun and shadow the perfect context.  You may notice these particular mosaics also bear an anatomical likeness...

"Metal Man"

Taken on a visit to Minneapolis in 2007 this was shot in the interior of an old flour mill.  I loved the subtle differences in and relationships between the light and shade, the materials and textures, and the shapes and scales, as well as the reflected light in the darkened industrial interior. And yes, another anatomical likeness...

 

 "Arcs, Lines, + Grains"

This image is from that same 2007 Twin Cities site visit, and was taken along the St. Paul waterfront.  What pulled me in was the monolithic grain silos, the juxtaposition of structural lines and arcs and those formed by shadow, and the how the beam angles amplify the foreshortening between the silos, waterfront, and bridge.

 "L.A. Rising"

This photo was taken at the new wing of the L.A. County Museum of Art in 2008 when I started a longt-erm TOD planning project in L.A. for Metro and CalTrans. The main circulation path is a series of metal pavilions connected by outdoor stairs and escalators; and the escalators and terraces and palms; and the drama of the sun, shadow, and vanishing point seemed so quintessentially L.A. 

 "Autumn Rust"

This piece and the next were taken in Seattle in 2008, when I started a year-long, light-rail planning project there.  They were both shot in the late afternoon in Olympic Park, a multi-level, sculpture space built on a remediated waterfront brownfield.  I was caught by the firey, setting sun etching the shadow of the plum tree into the Serra sculpture.

"Urban Divide"

I seem to have an affinity for shooting chairs in public places in the afternoon sun; I'm drawn to the shadows the chairs cast, but also the patterns, placements, and combinations that the chairs  were left in by their last occupants when the sun was higher and temperature warmer.

"Mayne Stairs"

This interior shot was taken on one of the upper floors of the brand-new, Thom Mayne-designed Cooper Union academic building in New York in 2009. It was great fun to move around and through, and shoot all of the planes, materials, angles, turns, and surfaces, and the interior partitions lit from within were great to work with at night.    

 

"City Views"

These three images were taken during walks along the newish High Line in New York in 2009.  In this one, I was taken with how people were gathered in a small amphitheatre area, mesmerized by watching traffic and pedestrians.

 

"Coming Soon"

This was taken inside one of the old warehouses that open onto the High Line that are being renovated into upscale lofts, hotels, condos, and shops.  It kind of captured for me this really palpable zeitgeist I was feeling of everything being  in the midst being rebuilt, and redone, and re-branded.

 

"Night Security"

I was drawn to the dramatic light and color and perspective in this night scene, as well as the isolation of the spotlit security guard necessary in this stage set of a park that's locked up at night.

"Mimickry of Nature"

This older photograph from 2003 wasn't in "Catching The Sun;" but along with "Arcs, Lines, + Grains" and "Urban Divide," it was chosen by The San Francisco Chronicle art critic Ken Baker to be included in the show he juried. 

P.S.  While these shows are over, you can still purchase framed photographs at Awaken's on-line store; we're also talking about another show for summer!  I'm also working on  a San Francisco gallery show, and etsy and cafepress sites--I'll keep you posted!  

WHAT KIND OF SHOWERS COME OUT OF A GOLDEN HYDRANT? (A Quick 'Where Is This? Post)

Okay, a quick, sidewalk-themed, two-part-er.  First, an easy one (you should know this one); it's in San Francisco (and no, it's not a prop for the big Academy of Friends party):

And the real quiz; it's on a pavement in San Francisco (and they're not some fish that fell out of a bin in Chinatown and onto the sidewalk):

Just like last time, the first person to come up with the right answer gets a prize (the first person to guess the first one'll get something).

And the winner of the last "Where?" is...my dear friend Kali!  Sorta.  She guessed that she'd seen this view from somewhere around 16th & Valencia in San Francisco (because it was "close, but no cigar, she gets a set of postcards instead of notecards :-P ):

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In reality, it's on Capp just south of 18th; it was interesting to see how the three small cottages had been placed on one standard lot with a small alley entrance and a small garden in back, and the view to the church just closed the deal.  In the great way that histories and peoples and communities overlap in an older urban neighborhood, the 19th century religious structure is now the Korean United Presbyterian Church; the corner of Capp and 18th houses Balompie Cafe, a great Salvadorean eatery; and out of view to the left of the church is the classic early-60's era Whiz Burger Drive-In.  Anyone know if these may be "earthquake cottages?"

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CAVORTING AT BAKER BEACH (WE'RE TALKIN' 'BOUT... DOLPHINS*)

Did you know there's a regular pod of dolphins hanging out at Baker Beach?  Pretty damn amazing.  I saw these three in November when I was doing site visits as a committeemember advising the Presidio Trust about changes to the Coastal Trail.  

(My main recommendation was to start with a matrix of users and place typologies because, like so many other natural and coastal areas in San Francisco, there's such a broad range of visitors, i.e. tourists, birders, seniors, hikers, nudists.  And then the best re-design would address which places are best for what mix of users, rather than broadly making this narrow, steep ribbon of coast just a little better for everyone.)  

I'd read about the dolphins, and arrived early before the trail got busy and was just scanning the water while I waited.  And then they were there: jumping and moving about 150 feet offshore.  It was pretty amazing and really makes me appreciate how close nature is here in our city.

What reminded me about the Baker Beach dolphins were two separate radio interviews on KALW today; the local "Your Call" and "Earthbeat," a great Dutch environmental program, both featured the makers of "The Cove," the Academy Award-winning documentary about dolphin hunting in Japan, that we haven't seen yet, but want to very much (and are simultaneously a little afraid of--can anyone vouch for it???).  

What they described about the hunt was pretty frightening, and what they described about dolphins was pretty amazing.  Which reminded me of a great David Attenborough documentary on dolphins (with clips here in three different parts).  And an on-line conversation I'd had with my dear friend Dena about a scientist who considers dolphins "non-human persons" because of their intelligence. What do you think, or have you seen them?

*I'll do a post soon about a great hike we enjoy on a recently-reconstructed trail leading down to a small, beautiful, clothes-optional beach in the Presidio.

KNOW WHERE THIS IS ??? GUESS CORRECTLY AND WIN A PRIZE...

 Ah... an early-spring view of picturesque whaling cottages set in a salt-air swept Nantucket garden, with the village Congregationalist church in the background.  

NOT.  It's in San Francisco.   Do you know where? 

I realize I've been collecting these unexpected glimpses as I explore and photograph the Bay Area, New York, and other places.  And I thought a fun way to share them would be to see if anyone else recognizes them.  Then I can give you the skinny in an upcoming post.  

So if you think you know your city, and are first to guess correctly, you'll get a prize: a limited-edition set of four notecards and envelopes from my recent photography show.  Hey, people paid ten bucks for them during the show (and they'll soon be available on etsy)! 

(P.S.  Keep posted: Awaken's asked me to create a new show for sometime in the summer!)

THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING HAS NO CLOTHES: THESE DEVELOPMENTS ARE NEITHER TOD* OR GREEN

I like local architect David Baker: he runs a cool firm, supports good orgs and causes, bikes everywhere, and has designed a lot of in-fill, multi-family projects around the Bay in recent years, with a lot more on the drawing boards.

And I'm a big supporter of SPUR--the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association--and their work and programming, which until recently was headed by the amazing Jim Chappell.

But two recent SPUR events were billed as tours of new green, *transit-oriented development (TOD) projects designed by Baker: Ironhorse in West Oakland and Tassafaronga Village in East Oakland. And I would venture that ultimately, because of where they are and how unconnected they are, they are definitely not TOD, and ultimately not green.

Ironhorse is one of the new developments around the historic, but still abandoned, Central Station in West Oakland. The tour included a twenty-five minute walk through blocks of empty lots, warehouses, and manufacturing from the West Oakland BART station--how is that TOD? We know there are few places to build new, affordable housing in the Bay Area, and I believe fervently in brownfield remediation, but how green is it--in fact how healthy is it--to build new housing between manufacturing, the Nimitz Freeway, and the Bay Area's major shipping port?

It's nice to see that the tour of Tassafaronga Village involved getting SPUR members out on their bikes, but that's probably because again, it's a twenty-five minute walk through warehouses, empty lots, manufacturing, and major trucking routes to the Coliseum BART station.

I'm not saying that these are not worthwhile, well-designed, and much-needed affordable housing developments; but they are not TOD; and I think we need to have more thought and discussion about the inaccessible, unhealthy places we build new affordable housing in the Bay Area, and that ultimately, 'affordable' housing where residents need to own cars isn't even affordable housing.

And in case you've never seen the inside of Central Station, abandoned since rail service was discontinued in the 70s, here are some pictures from a recent event I attended there--pretty amazing:

DOES THOM MAYNE HATE BICYCLES??? (and insider photos from special tours of two Thom Mayne-designed buildings)

A short piece in Momentum, a magazine for urban cyclists, about the struggle by employees to get bike racks installed in San Francisco's newish Thom Mayne-designed Federal Building, made me remember these posters I saw put up by frustrated students advocating for bike racks in the brand-new, Mayne-designed Cooper Union academic building in New York.

We know that architects can only design in response to their clients' project programs, but Mayne and his morphosis architecture firm--who have utilized their starchitect heft to ensure specific design elements remain in their projects--pride themselves on their progressive green and urban vision. But how sustainable and connected can new, large-scale, central city projects be without secure and accessible bike storage for tenants?

I actually love the overall aesthetic and design vocabulary for both these projects (I grew up in a mid-60s Brutalist/Corbu inspired building so I get my affinity for raw concrete honest) the way they fit into and relate to their urban contexts, and the attempt to create gathering spaces within the buildings. But I think the bike issue is a good example of a lack of follow-through: I saw first-hand that the implementation isn't well-done, detailing and construction are not top-drawer, and most importantly, many of the spaces and connections within the buildings don't work well for users.

I also got a look inside the newish, Caltran Los Angeles District headquarters when I was working with the City, Caltran, and Metro on a Los Angeles TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) Strategic Plan.

THREE GREAT WEST SONOMA FINDS: RECENT GETAWAY PART I

We recently had a great getaway in West Sonoma County, and on our first day's transition to a slower pace, we made a couple of stops along the way:


A winery, a general store, day spa, and Wild Flour Bread make up the entire town of Freestone, but it's worth a detour just for the bakery: all of the baked goods that come out of their wood-fired, brick oven are incredible--we stocked up on savory breads and sweet rolls that we enjoyed our whole trip--and the staff is so warm, they have a beautiful organic garden to tour, and the place is a treat for all your senses.


The old railroad town of Occidental isn't much larger, but it is at one end of my favorite country drive in California--Coleman Valley Road--and home to two, competing, old-fashioned, family-run, Italian-American, red-sauce eateries of the kind that have disappeared from San Francisco's North Beach. They're both good, fun, and historic, but my vote goes to Negri's: it's not fancy or specifically organic, but it's incredibly good, generous, and everything's served with open arms and smiles, original 50's decor and music--and it's the kind of honest, homemade food I remember feasting on as a kid on visits to New York's Little Italy. Full dinners are served family-style with (a tureen of) minestrone, salads, antipasti, salami, ravioli, and zucchini fritters, all included and brought to the table to share. And it's reasonable and they work hard to accommodate any dietary needs.


Patrick Amiot is a Sebastopol artist who works with found objects, and his larger pieces can be seen all over town and West Sonoma. A great treat is to stop at Screamin' Mimi's for some all-natural ice cream cones and walk down four-block long Florence Avenue, where Patrick lives and works, and where he creates smaller-scaled sculptures for his neighbors' front lawns. Neighbors bring him parts, and many of the sculptures reflect his neighbors' vocations or avocations.

At the south end of the street are the Florence Lofts, a well-designed, small live-work development that nicely separates and integrates retail, offices, and homes; public and private space, parking and walkability, and storm and graywater remediation. The aesthetics aren't mine, but the design and scale are great, with a larger building with retail facing busier Bodega Avenue, and the office/residential along Florence, with good land-, hard-, and waterscape details throughout.

A WILD STORY

I have another piece in another show: I created the hand-made book,"the seasons of point reyes" for the 2010 Wild Book Show on exhibit at Gallery Route One in West Marin through March 28th. The Wild Book Show was created by our friends Steve Costa and Kate Levinson at Point Reyes Books as a fundraiser for G.R.O.'s Artists in the Schools program.

This is the most recent in a series of handmade books I've created using my words and photographs; I'll do some short posts on some of the previous ones soon. The theme for this year was "Rain or Shine: The Atmosphere," and I decided to focus on the seasons and what created their distinctive weather patterns of wind, fog, sun, and rain. The design concept arose from one picture of Schooner Bay off of Drakes Bay that seemed to include all the seasons in one image; I used that on the frontispieces with windows cut into the cover showing different types of weather. From there I decided to create windows through the pages to tell the story. Here's a quick video walk-through:

These are some photos from the exhibit opening this past Sunday; there are many beautiful books to see if you happen to be up that way, and bids can be placed any time in person or by phone or email for the silent auction closing on March 28th.

QFP: ACTUAL PIX FROM THE OPENING OF MY SHOW

Cortt, the great owner of Awaken Cafe, took some fotos at the very beginning of the opening of my photography show at Awaken on February 5th, and just forwarded them to me:

Thanks again to everyone who came out that night and those who sent long distance good wishes (and siblings!). This first one-person show, and my first juried show were both big steps for me, and your support meant everything.

ANOTHER QFP: KATE KENDELL HONORED (AND HANGING AT THE CITY CLUB)

Last night, David and I went to help celebrate Kate Kendell, NCLR's amazing executive director, being honored by the San Francisco League of Women Voters as one of their 2010 "Women Who Could Be President."

As you probably know, Kate has led NCLR in its seminal work advocating for LGBT civil rights and equality. As usual, she made everyone teary-eyed when she spoke. And afterwards, Kate and David tried to convince a skeptical group of the merits of "The Office," and I pointed out that it's not cringe-inducing for her because she works at NCLR with so many great people like my dear friend Dena.

And since the gala was at the City Club, I got to pause and appreciate the Deco beauty of the lobby and club--it's one of my favorite spots in San Francisco. Kate and I were talking about how it's classically San Francisco: this old, WASPY, men's business club that's now led and used by members who are women or LGBT or people of color.

A QFP (QUICK FOTO POST): RIP SF's CARNELIAN ROOM

I was very sad to find out yesterday that the Carnelian Room, the restaurant and bar on the 52nd floor of San Francisco's Bank of America Building, had finally closed on January 1st of this year.

I remember going there as a little kid with my parents on my very first visit to San Francisco, not long after the building opened in 1969, and falling asleep at cocktail hour because of the time difference between here and the East Coast.

Reading that the Carnelian Room's close was imminent, David and I decided to go for cocktails this past September on our anniversary, before an as-always perfect, celebratory dinner at Delfina. It was a beautiful evening and a great way to start the evening. The decor, staff, menu, and cocktails seemed unchanged since my first visit, which helped to explain the plans to close and the primarily-tourist crowd, but it was also slower-paced, retro, and with service that was comfortably clubby: you expected to see Karl Malden and Michael Douglas shooting a "Streets of San Francisco" chase scene when we peered down into the city streets.

Anyway, it was a beautiful evening and we're very glad we got to enjoy it once more before they closed the doors. And here are a couple of quick snaps from that evening.

P.S. Know why it was called the Carnelian Room?

AND THREE OF MY PHOTOGRAPHS IN MY FIRST JURIED SHOW!

Three of my photographs were also chosen by Ken Baker, art critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, for inclusion in Gallery Route One's 2010 Annual Juried Show. The show is up through this Sunday, February 14th.

I had a great conversation with Ken Baker at the show's opening reception on January 17th: I had submitted four pieces and he said that as he kept going through the submissions it had been impossible to eliminate any of the three photographs of mine that he had chosen in the first round, so he decided that all three had to be in the show. And that he really loved my work and my eye: my choice of subjects, my composition, and the vibrancy of the color and light. I also got kudos from other photographers and artists. Take a look at my art website to see the pieces in this show and other new work.

G.R.O is a great gallery in Point Reyes Station that does great artist-in-schools programs in West Marin, as well as great thematic group shows. They have a great annual "Wild Book Show" of environmentally-themed, handmade books that is a fundraiser for their school programs; I've participated in the past and I'm planning on creating a book again this year.