Over the past couple of years, I’ve slowly been building a visual record of San Francisco. Living in the age of smartphones and social media, pictures have become so ubiquitous—but what we gain in quantity, we lose in quality and sincerity.
So a few years ago, I bought an old film camera to be more intentional with taking photos. I recognize this can be seen as a total hipster move, but there are real benefits to shooting with film—namely, the limitations it places on me. Given that there are only 36 pictures in a roll, each shot is a gamble, unlike with my phone that lets me take dozens of pictures in a matter of seconds. I also can’t see if the images have turned out well until they’re developed, and the total cost for each roll of film is about $25. The constraints of time and money make me ask myself if the photo is even worth taking.
One of the places I want to remember most is the Richmond district. I lived in the Richmond for my first few years in the city. I loved the slower pace of life, the abundance of nature, and the hidden gems nestled around every corner. These 10 photos were taken while meandering my way around the Avenues, trying to document the beauty of living around this neighborhood.
This was a wonderful mistake from the first shot on a roll of film, where some light must have leaked into the camera creating this burned effect. It makes me think that the sun was a little too warm that day, unusual for the Richmond.
This is one of my favorite gems of the Outer Richmond. Many gloomy days were spent wandering with friends throughout the plumes of fog to eventually warm ourselves in this movie theater. It is a monument of Americana that has weathered the ages.
Each home here is wonderfully unique.
The great highway that parallels Ocean Beach always has me seeing life in slow motion. It makes me slow things down to appreciate that I’m casually driving by this amazing beach by beautiful houses along the California coast. I am living what many people dream of living. It continually invokes a sense of perspective which is seasoned by the windy saltwater air.
This is one of my favorite views of the city. It is at the top of Land’s End overlooking the Sutro Baths. I’ve traveled a healthy amount and I’ve yet to see another place that has so much breathtaking nature in such proximity to the city. It is such a wonderfully wild place.
Traipsing around the rocks at the bottom of Land’s End and the Cliff House makes me feel like a kid again. Being unleashed and unfettered in nature to climb, wander, explore, discovering different places and things with a childlike wonder.
When I’m up here at Sutro Park, I feel like a bird flying high above Ocean Beach. I have an amazing view of the beauty below and a type of serenity rarely found in a city. It is the perfect place to spend an hour or two watching the final moments of the day come to a gentle close.
I love seeing the Outer Richmond on a clear and sunny day because it doesn’t happen often enough. The frigid fog has dissipated, and everything has a warm golden tinge to it. It makes me feel that while nothing is perfect in this world, these days come pretty damn close.
The fog in San Francisco, affectionately known as Karl, helps define the city. It serves as a unique and poignant characteristic that can change the look and feel of the landscape in an instant. The fog can cocoon you in your apartment, blow frigid wind in your face during your morning commute, or add a level of mysteriousness to the streets.
Golden Gate Park is an astounding place. Larger than Central Park in New York City, the things to explore here are endless. One of my favorites is the Botanical Gardens, free for residents. These gardens have trees and plants from the far reaches of the world. Its diversity is only paralleled by its beauty.
While I was meandering my way throughout the Avenues, waves of memories started to come back. Distant memories of people, places, and events frozen in time. Memories of bonfires and burning Christmas trees at Ocean Beach, walking up hill both ways to go see movies at the Balboa Theater, and wasting a perfectly good day doing nothing in the park. Some of my best memories are strewn throughout the Richmond. Every time I walk around the Avenues, these memories start to thaw and I slowly step into a distant dream.
