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San Francisco Photography

The Visionary State: A Journey Through California's Spiritual Landscape
book cover5 stars by Eric Davis
(Author),and Michael Rauner (Photographer)
You will find in this gorgeous book wonderfully told stories about places unfamilar to may of us who live here. A big thank you to Davis and Rauner for giving me a new goal in life- to go and see for myself every place pictured in their sensational book. ...nicole, sfheart.com

starSan Francisco Photos
A Telegraph Hill Gallery
Eminent San Francisco Victorians
San Francisco history
Bandit Notes Photo Gallery
San Francisco Full Moon Photography Tour
by Philip Greenspun
QT Luong
Photo Arrow
Wild Nature Bay Area Indymedia Media

 

book coverSan Francisco, Portrait of a City: 1940-1960 by Fred Lyon 5 stars
Princeton Architectural Press (Sept. 2014)
Photographer Fred Lyon, age 90 is still going strong after seven decades behind the camera.
Though Lyon is one of America’s leading advertising, interior design, architectural,food, wine,
and travel photographers, he is best known for his mood-soaked street photography of San
Francisco in the ’40s and ’50s.
His new book includes the 60"s as well and  includes his
anecdotes and personal remembrances that add an artist's first-hand view of a
classic American city.

Fog City* Fog City: Impressions of the San Francisco Bay Area in Fog -5 stars
by Galen Rowell (Photographer), Harold Gilliam (Photographer)
World-renowned photographer Galen Rowell captures the ethereal beauty of San Francisco's most notable feature, fog, in 80 full-color photographs. Quotations from some of America's most beloved writers accompany the photos.

Hidden Alcatraz The Fortress Revealed - Hidden Alcatraz: The Fortress Revealed
five stars Deborah Roundtree, (Editor) Forward by Peter Coyote
100 Photograghs, many never seen before, were taken by 34 different artists including Steve Fritz, Deborah Roundtree, Robert Dawson, Alex Fradkin, Thom Sempere, and Michael Venera, presents
many images never seen beforewhich give much deeper, often haunting view into its history.
University of California Press; 1 edition (April 25, 2011).

San Francisco Love Affair * San Francisco Love Affair: A Photographic Romance
- Gene Wright Images 1949-2000 Five Stars
San Francisco is surely the most photographed city in the world and this book of photographs by Gene Wright spanning
50 years in The City is very exciting.Gene Wright was an elegant man who spent a half
century documenting the flavor and changing forms of the city he adored -- the vanishing
alleys and rising Transamerica Pyramid, cable cars that seem to float in space, plunging streets, fog-shrouded bridges, Italian barbershop singers and beret-wearing Beats.
read more.
  Often referred to as the Ansel Adams of San Francisco, the S.F. Board of Supervisors

proclamed him a "living legend'' in 2002. Having collected books on all subjects of San Francisco
for many years, this book is one of my personal favorites.

The Sixties Robert Altman* The Sixties: Photographs by Robert Altman5 stars
Sensational Book of photos from the Daze!!! Robert Altman is a photographer who studied with Ansel Adams and is best known as a photojournalist for Rolling Stone magazine. A leader in embracing digital photography, his recent work appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Mojo, The New York Times, People, San Francisco Chronicle, and San Francisco Examiner. Ben Fong-Torres worked as a writer and senior editor at Rolling Stone in the 1960s and as a rock deejay for San Francisco radio station KSAN-FM in the 1970s. He is the author of The Doors by the Doors, Hickory WindThe Hits Just Keep on Coming, and
The Rice Room. They both live in San Francisco.

Harlem of the West* Harlem of the West - The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era by Elizabeth Pepin and Lewis Watts 5 stars
The author of this fine book, Lewis Watts, a UCSC Art professor and photographer, and Elizabeth Pepin, a photographer, public television producer and former manager of the historic Fillmore Auditorium chronicle the jazz scene in San Francisco's Fillmore District during its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s. Two hundred archival photographs accompany a nostalgic look at the San Francisco jazz scene during the 1940s and 1950s, taking a fascinating tour of the city's Fillmore District in its heyday, including its restaurants, theaters, shops, and nightclubs, and the great musical legacy of such performers as Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and others.

Gables and Fables * Gables and Fables: A Portrait of San Francisco's Pacific Height by Arthur Bloomfield 4 1/2 Stars
Gorgeous houses with 'soul'
Author's walks in ritzy Pacific Heights lead to new book on the history of stately homes whose magnificent architecture has stood test of time.Pacific Heights means Old Money, especially along the blocks of Broadway and Pacific Avenue. Here there are mansions based on fortunes made in 19th century California, from gold and silver, from sugar, and the homes of merchant princes.
Full Review   by Carl Nolte, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/5/07

San Francisco Chinatown* Genthe's Photographs of San Francisco's Old Chinatown5 stars
by Arnold Genthe, John Kuo Wei Tchen
Genthe (1869-1942) came to San Francisco from Germany in 1895 as tutor to the eldest son of Baron and Baroness von Schroeder, who belonged to one of San Francisco's wealthiest and most influential families. Genthe was a classical scholar who had recently earned a Ph.D. in philology from the University of Jena, and he quickly became a part of San Francisco's thriving artistic and literary scene.
In the 1890s nearly every major city in the United States had a neighborhood known as "Chinatown." San Francisco's Chinatown, however, was the Chinatown, a distinctive, semi-mythical urban district of national renown. To the Chinese, it was known as "Tangrenbu," or the "port of the people of Tang."

100 Views of the Golden Gate* 100 Views of the Golden Gate 
by Harold Davis Five Stars
Bay Area native Harold Davis lives in the hills of Berkeley, California with his wife directly across San Francisco Bay from the Golden Gate. Harold Davis' collection of over 100 striking digital photographs of the Golden Gate are a beautiful feast for the eyes. Also included are back stories on each photo. The photographer kindly shares how 100 perfect photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge are possible no matter what th eweather which we al know in highly variable. 1st edition-June 30, 2008-hardcover-full-color-176 pages

Street Art San Francisco Mission* Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo- 5 stars
With 600 stunning photographs, this comprehensive book showcases more than three decades of street art in San Francisco's legendary Mission District.

sf-street-art* San Francisco Street Art - The alleyways and hidden side streets of the Haight, the Tenderloin offer unexpected treats to visitors lucky enough to stumble upon them. Photographer Steve Rotman has obsessively documented this scene as it evolved on walls, sidewalks, billboards, fences, doors, and other public spaces.
Historic Photos of San Francisco* Historic Photos of San Francisco (Historic Photos.)by Rebecca Schall
Historic Photos of San Francisco captures the evolution of this great city in still photography from various collections of the San Francisco Public Library. The book follows life, government, education, and events spanning two centuries of San Francisco’s history. It captures unique and rare scenes through the original lens of hundreds of historic photographs.

Four S.F.ArchitectsOn the Edge of the World : Four Architects in San Francisco at the Turn of the Century by Richard W. Longstreth 5 stars
Richard Longstreth provides a detailed picture of the early careers of four architects Bernard Maybeck, Willis Polk, Ernest Coxhead, and A.C. Schweinfurth who had a decisive impact on the course of design in the San Francisco Bay Area and who stand as significant contributors to American architecture. 0ut of print
National Trust* National Trust Guide / San Francisco: America's Guide for Architecture and History Travelers
by Peter Booth Wiley
Explore the remnants of the Gold Rush era city and the early neighborhoods of Telegraph Hill, Chinatown, and South of Market. Enjoy the beautiful Beaux-Arts mansions of Pacific Heights, the striking Queen Anne residences of Haight-Ashbury, the converted warehouses of the Multi-Media Gulch, and much more. Filled with historical and contemporary photographs as well as helpful maps, this unique book offers a comprehensive architectural guide to the many distinctive communities of one of America's most popular cities.
20 detailed neighborhood walking tours and easy-to-follow maps
Colorful stories behind the city’s best known landmarks
200 vintage and contemporary photographs

Photosecrets* Photosecrets San Francisco and Northern California: The Best Sights and How to Photograph Them (Photosecrets (Series).)by Andrews Hudson, Galen A. Rowell, Dianne Brinson, Andrew Hudson
Over 400 pictures in glorious color, this is the first all-color travel guide for photographers. Maps and text describe the what, where, when, and how of each shot, with tips and ideas to spur creativity
San Francisco's Castro* San Francisco's Castro (Images of America Series)
by Strange de Jim 5 stars
This book charts the neighborhood's progress from inception as a rustic, cow-dotted area in the late 19th century through the tumultuous 1960s, the gay liberation 1970s, the AIDS-ridden 1980s and the activist 1990s. In the book's introduction and photo captions, Strange weaves commentary and history with whimsy and wit...Dave Ford, Chronicle Staff Writer.
Visit website for more about Strange d Jim and his wildly popular 'San Francisco Castro' book

* San Francisco Victorians [Hardcover] by Randolph Delehanty, Mike Blumensaadt, Illustrator, Photographer 5 stars
Mike Blumensaadt is a San Francisco-based photographer and Randolph Delehanty has written over a dozen books
including San Francisco Victorians.

Not Fade Away* Not Fade Away by legendary photographer Jim Marshall5 stars
His camera caught Jimi setting his guitar on fire at the Isle of Wright concert and he captured Janis in the panhandle while she was still so young amd fresh. And Santana right here in Golden Gate Park. He was th ephotographer allowed to photogragh the Beatles at their last concert out at the Cow Palace. I always admired his photographs because so many of them were taken here in San Francisco and show the people and scenes that I remember from my own youth.
by Jim Marshall
He had this book out that I really admired. Every time I would see it at a friends place or in a bookstore,
I would look through it. It was one of those books I wanted to have but never did buy. Just thought to myself 'one day I will buy that book"and the years passed on. Now Jim Marshall has passed on just as the daze of my youth passes on and I decided yesterday that I would buy that book. And I did. It is wonderful!

Photographs, 1854-1856 * San Francisco Album: Photographs, 1854-18565 stars
by G. R. Fardon, Rodger C. Birt, Fraenkel Gallery, Jr. Hans P. Kraus
Originally published in 1856 this book is an unmatched historical document of San Francisco during its years of rapid growth and burgeoning prosperity in the wake of the Gold Rush. The plates themselves are some of the oldest surviving photographs on paper made in the United States.

Vintage San Francisco* Vintage San Francisco by Peter Beren 5 stars
A unique portrait of America's favorite city--from the building of the Golden Gate to the classic images of the City by the Bay. Chronicled in dramatic duotone photographs, taken by three generations of gifted San Francisco photographers from Moulin Studios, this indelible portrait of the cool, gray, city of love, comes alive in history, legend, and lore. Quotations will be included from such San Francisco writers as: Jack London, Frank Norris, Mark Twain, and Rudyard Kipling, 10,000 first printing.

Above San Francisco* Above San Francisco:
A Collection of Historical and Original Aerial Photographs by Robert Cameron
With introduction and text by Art Hoppe

S.F.Sights and Secrets * San Francisco: Sights and Secrets
By Leah Garchik
A lovely book.
Five Stars!!

San Francisco on My Mind* San Francisco on My Mind
A wonderful collection of spectacular images that celebrate the "City by the Bay" by the nation's top photographers. The ideal keepsake and a valued gift for all those who love and long for the special spirit that imbues San Francisco.

Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas*Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas by Rebecca Solnit
5 stars published Nov.r 2010 (University of California Press) For a lover of San Francisco like me this book is a dream come true. Creative, ununusal full of surprizes just like San Francisco creative and wonderful, fanciful and fun! I would give this book even more stars. ~nicole, sfheart.com

S.F.Then and Now* San Francisco Then and Now5 stars
by Eric J. Kos and Dennis Evanosky
Seventy modern color photographs are compared side-by-side with seventy archival photographs from the 1850s to the 1950s.
California Impressionism* California Impressionism 5 stars
by William H. Gerdts, Will South
Lavishly illustrated, meticulously researched, and gracefully written, this is the definitive study of California's distinctive style of Impressionism.

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