I’ve finally caught up on all the editing for my personal work after many months of technical issues so I’m going to group 2 visits to San Francisco in this post. Brace yourself for another long one!

Some of the locations were for additional scouting for August’s workshop and some were a bit more out of the way and locations I was just curious about shooting.

First up, the de Young Museum designed by Herzog & de Meuron. I believe I mentioned this museum in a post I did earlier this year. The images from my first visit were made in some very overcast days. Quite different than this time around.

Outside the museum is a sculpture garden, with the highlight (IMO) being the Jame Turrell piece titled Three Gems.

These are just a few of many images of this. Certainly, a location to be visited over and over again to see how the light changes depending on the time of day and weather conditions.

Onto some locations that will be part of the workshop in August – City Hall. What a beautiful space this is. From the ceiling to the archways, not to mention some great shadowplay with the ironwork on the windows.

My first visit to the Salesforce Transit Center, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects (PCPA), I somehow missed this atrium view.

And a building I can’t seem to find the name of but love the facade.

Just next door is The Contemporary Jewish Museum by Daniel Libeskind. As with most of his designs, there’s great geometry and often an angular spiral staircase. This museum is no exception. However, when I visited I only had access to the first floor because they were installing an exhibition. It’ll be fun to explore the whole thing during the August workshop. For now, just a couple of shots.

Onto another museum, SFMOMA. The main atrium/lobby was designed by Mario Botta with an addition by Snøhetta. At the top of the atrium is an installation by Olafur Eliasson called One-way Color Tunnel. Such a fun piece to photograph. When I was there the museum wasn’t very busy but they only let you in the tunnel for a short period of time so you have to shoot quickly. And, it’s best from one side over the other, hence the name, I suppose. Oh, and near this installation is an exhibit of Neri Oxman’s work. Adore what she does so that’s also worth checking out. Honestly, the whole museum is. Their art collection is fantastic! From many Calder pieces to a great photography collection.

Okay, onto those Eliasson shots! First from the atrium looking up.

A couple more context shots.

Of course, this piece was so fun to shoot but let’s not forget the actual building. This curved skylight area is fantastic, especially on a sunny day.

Onto the Embarcadero for a little brutalism and a couple of John Portman designs. The Le Meridien San Francisco.

Another hotel, they Hyatt Regency San Franciso and Portman’s The Tulip.

So, that wraps up my February visit. Onto a few shots from March. I didn’t shoot much on this trip as I was in town for a client photo shoot. But I wanted to scout how we’re going to walk a portion of the Golden Gate Bridge. That whole week there was pretty gloomy and foggy but it made for some interesting atmosphere at the bridge.

These might be my favorite shots from this visit. The lesser noticed details can be an interesting way to see the bridge.

I lucked out with one sunny day while I was in town and decided to check out the Palace of Fine Arts. It was originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. It was rebuilt from 1964 to 1974, and is the only structure that remains from the expo.

On my last day in town, the gloomy weather returned but I checked out Nob Hill and Russian Hill. These shots are not-at-all typical of how I shoot but, for some reason, I find the mix of the SF architecture along with the city’s natural elements – trees, flowers, vines – so interesting. I guess because it’s so different than the Midwest.

Thanks for sticking around for yet another very long post. Looking forward to another visit this August for the workshop!