April 21, 2009

Northbeach, San Francisco


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

One of my favorite things to do is to walk down Columbus Avenue early on a Sunday morning -- in that short hour or so before the crowds of locals and tourists start flooding the area.

Northbeach has more than it's share of little restaurants and bistros, and call me weird but one of my favorite things to do is to go around to all of them and check out their style of condiment caddy.

You'll probably never see the same exact style of salt and pepper shaker twice, and it's always interesting to see the oil container and how they deal with sugar and Sweet and Low.

Generally, you're not going to see catchup or mustard, and there may be, but I don't think I've ever seen a bottle of A-1 Sauce in Northbeach.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

I have a photographer-buddy in the Mid-West who is enamored by stacks of plates, so now, every time I see a stack of plates I have to pause and photograph it.   I aim to please...



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

There is a rather colorful history behind the founding and operation of City Lights Bookstore over the years, and you can read all about it on Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Lights_Bookstore

That tall pointy thing on the left is the Transamerica Pyramid.   I have absolutely no idea of what goes on inside.   One thing I'm pretty certain of -- they're not going to let me inside with my camera...



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

I've already forgotten the name of this Columbus Avenue Italian hangout, but it's the one with the checkerboard tile pattern on the sidewalk.   I'm guessing it's kind of on the expensive side...


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6 comments:

photowannabe said...

Fun eclectic series of photos Don. I think I might have to see about doing stacks of plates and condiment stackers too. That looks like a fun assignment.
Don't know the place with the bottles but I love the composition of the chandelier and backlight glass bottles. Very elegant.

Fish Whisperer said...

I love San Francisco. It has a little bit of everything.
Cheers

Tomate Farcie said...

They're not going to let you inside without your camera, either. They've gotten really, really strict downtown SF, since 9/11, but Transamerica and B of A are really on top of their security.

I worked at the Transamerica briefly a long time ago, just long enough to be able to send postcards to out-of-town people and say "see this ^ building? well, I'm in there now" - pre-internet days, of course ;)

You can probably still walk through the lobby, though. They used to have monitors and buttons you could push downstaris in the lobby to activate the cameras on the top floors of the tower, looking out to SF. I guess now you can do the same thing online:

http://pyramid.deographics.com/tourism/view_top.htm

when it works.

Great post on North Beach. Have you ever visited the Adler Museum? Hint: it's not exactly a museum ;)

Adam R. Paul said...

Great series! I think the City Lights/Transamerica Building photo perfectly captures the 'hood.

Your self-assignment to photograph condiment arrangements is indeed weird. In a good way, of course!

AphotoAday said...

HI PHOTOWANNABE -- My memory is like a sieve, but the name of that place is very simple -- I was sure I wouldn't forget it, but of course I have...

AND HI FISH WHISPERER -- Yep, San Francisco does have it all, and some of it is actually free...

AND YEAH, TOMATE FARCIE -- I seem to remember reading or seeing something on TV about the remote viewing cameras in the lobby... A few years ago one of the local TV stations was allowed to climb right to the tippy-top...
Doesn't look like they have the on-line camera thing working right now...

And wow, you're sure right about tight security around some of those buildings... One weekend I was shooting the flags outside the BofA Building and the security guard came out and told me to move along -- she didn't want to hear my plea that I was only shooting the flags...

AND THANKS FOR THE COMMENTS ADAM -- Always look forward to you stopping by.   Really enjoyed your new Point Bonita series on your blog.

Heidi said...

The patterns you capture are very inspiring. I'd love to see what you see. I think I need to open my eyes more :)

Great post Donald!

 
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