palm shadows and woman on the phone

The palm trees in this picture are so California to me, even though palms aren't native to this country. They either say Florida or California (or other places in the US that have palm trees that I haven't been to...)

ocean creature sculptures

These amazing sculptures with their shadows are on view at the De Young museum in the exhibition space at the bottom of the elevators up to the tower.

Rodeo Beach

Another dark sanded beach on the Pacific. If you cross the Golden Gate Bridge and wander into the Marin Headlands, you might come across this lovely beach. Just nearby is the marine mammal conservancy where they tend to injured seals, sea otters, and the like. It's currently under renovations, due to reopen next June.

road in the Presidio

view of Bay Bridge from halfway up Telegraph Hill

Taken on a morning walk up towards Coit Tower. There was a foggy view of the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island (on the distant left).

Sentinel Building

I love this green copper-trimmed building. It reminds me of Europe. It houses Francis Ford Coppola's movie production company, Zoetrope. And on the ground floor is his Italian restaurant.  

sunset at Ocean Beach

Two people frolicking on the beach at sunset (and some pelicans above).

curvy bike rack

This amazing shadow was cast off a bike rack along the Embarcadero. Now that the fog has receded, we get this really lovely evening light.

house on Chrissy Field

This house is part of a marine conservancy at the very West end of Chrissy Field. It's a strange mixture of New England style building and West coast palm trees. These days the skies are very clear. The foggy "summer" is over, and now it's time for the summery fall months.

view of the I.M. Pei building from the pier

Sutro baths at Land's End

I still can't believe this is in the city of San Francisco. Seems much to wild and unspoiled to be so close to a big city. That's sort of what makes SF so special - its proximity to lots of beautiful nature. 

This is taken from outside the Cliff House at the edge of a park called Land's End - on the Pacific coast and between the Presidio (North) and Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach (South). In the distance you can see the hills on Marin County - to reach them you need to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.

 The sun was about an hour from setting and the pelicans flew across as if on cue.

City Lights bookstore

This bookstore is a gem. It's famous from the days of the Beat generation when the likes of Ginsberg and Kerouac used to hang out there. There still hold regular poetry readings on the top floor.

statue at the top of Dolores

Summer mornings often start like this: fog everywhere and a wet chill in the air. It makes this statue at the top of Dolores St look pretty dramatic.

mural by night

It was barely light enough to still see this mural, but I liked the lady's expression on this otherwise faceless building.

twilight view of downtown from North Beach

mural in North Beach

This mural is near Columbus and Broadway, just where Chinatown meets North Beach.

family walking on Bernal Hill

A San Francisco family taking a weekend walk at the top of Bernal Heights. I love this hill.

bicycle on Abbey Rd

from Bernal Heights

From the top of Bernal Heights, you can get a bird's eye view of the city from an interesting angle. In this photo you can see Twin Peaks and Sutro Tower in the distance. Downtown would be to your right (out of the frame.)

This photo was taken in the spring when the grass was still green. Seeing how dry the grass is now, it's hard to believe it was this green only a few months ago...

deserted house

I don't know why, I kind of like the way this façade looks with the different unfinished paint jobs, and the forlorn yard space... There aren't many houses like this on Dolores Avenue. Maybe it is or used to be a squat?

floral balcony

The flowers on this balcony cheer up the otherwise drab colored row of houses on Guerrero.

fuzzy pink flowers

Does anyone know what these tree blooms are called? They come out here in the spring, either pink or red, and I've never seen them before. A West coast tree, I'm guessing...

esta noche

Sutro Tower through the glass

I was riding a bus into San Francisco from the Peninsula (south) and got a good view of Sutro Tower through the window pane. 

view of downtown from Dolores Park

When the weather is nice on weekends, this park gets super crowded with picnickers and frisbee players and people with their dogs. It's a fun and colorful place. And the ice cream around the corner is fantastic  (Bi-Rite creamery).

South San Francisco

This is just by the bay in South San Francisco where you can watch the planes taking off and landing into SFO.

palms at 16th St bart station

This was taken going up the escalator as I exited the 16th Street bart station (BART is Bay Area Rapid Transit - the public rail transportation system). The skies were unusually sunny for late July - usually this is heavy fog season...

electric wires

Some of the streets here are so full of electric wires, it's a whole landscape in itself when you look up at the sky. It's very different from New York City where I used to live, where all the wires and everything are underground.

Harlequin VW Polo

This car immediately caught my attention because I had seen a photo of a very similar one posted on The Berlin Image daily photo website a little while back. This one looks a lot more beat up...! but it kind of fits SF with its many colors.

bookmobile

While the public library branch in the Mission is closed for renovation, there is a Bookmobile parked outside. I wonder what books are inside.

rainbow world fund bus

I spotted this Rainbow World Fund bus as I was walking up Market towards Castro. I hadn't heard of this relief organization before:
www.rainbowfund.org

street at dusk

A man was sleeping next to his bike on this quiet street.

Golden Gate bridge in fog

Sometimes it gets so foggy you literally can't see the bridge until you're on it...

enormous kite

I have to admit this photo was taken a few months ago, in spring when the grass was still green and the wildflowers were out, but it is so cheerful in that SF-in-the-spring way that I had to post it. Took this out the window of our car as we drove by - this guy was flying the most incredibly huge kite and tons of kids were chasing after it. I only wish I could have captured them too.

7th St at dusk

I took this is on a quiet and eerie bike ride. I like the evening light reflecting off the painted arrows. The 80 freeway is above, to the right. 

Takahashi building

A rare example of a brick building. Most structures in SF are built out of more flexible material such as wood, due to the risk of earthquakes.

house on fire mural

This mural covers an entire block just off Harrison, near 15th Street. It's a cool one - quite a crazy scene. I couldn't even fit it all into one frame, standing across the street.

swooping freeways

This was taken in SoMA (south of Market) where the 101 and 80 freeways come into the city. 

nightfall

doll on dashboard

This doll was sitting on the dashboard in an electric van belonging to a handyman in the Castro.

zipcar and a shack

Urban parking lot scene... a strange mixture of order and desolation.

Alemany graffiti

Graffiti is somewhat of a fixture of this town. You see it everywhere, and some of the murals are pretty amazing. This modest example is right by the Alemany market, just southeast of the city.

house in Bernal Heights

There is a row of little houses snuggled together towards the back of Bernal Heights. This one had caught my eye several times before. It just looks so cute and homey. 

on Harrison around 20th

Harrisson St at the East edge of the Mission. The streets around here are kind of quiet and a mixture of residences and old warehouses. And this street has a good bike lane too.

farmer's market

This weekend I did one of my favorite things, stock up on delicious fruit and veg at the farmer's market. I recently moved here from the East coast, so California really does feel like a cornucopia produce-wise.  

the apple store staircase

I went to the Apple Store in SF and took this pic from behind the glass staircase. On either side of the stairs you see people milling about in the store, and straight ahead,  you see people on the street walking by.

ferry building

One of the main ferry terminals at the Embarcadero, with downtown buildings in the background. The clock tower belongs to the main ferry building, which houses a farmer's market, shops (mainly gourmet foods), and restaurants.

technicolor house

While I'm on the subject of Painted Ladies, check this one out. SO ridiculously colorful! 

painted ladies with people walking by

The Victorian style houses of San Francisco are often painted in super bright colors, usually with a different color for the window frames and architectural trimmings. These 3 "Painted Ladies" are located on Valencia St.

Mission pool

This is the last outdoor community pool in San Francisco. And it has such a cool mural on the front. It is usually only open in the summertime.