New York/San Francisco

I’m back in New York after a wonderful, but busy trip to San Francisco. I Fedexed the 4×5 film ahead to my lab here, so the pictures were ready to work on when I arrived. I will be chained to my computer for several days.

Here are a few random views made with the digital camera while traveling around the Bay Area.

Under I280 in San Francisco — © Brian Rose

Oakland overpass — © Brian Rose

Alcatraz — © Brian Rose

San Francisco/The Mission

David Baker house, the Mission, San Francisco — © Brian Rose

My wife Renee and son Brendan stand in front of David Baker’s house on Shotwell Street in the Mission. On the street side, the house retains much of its original facade, but Baker’s intervention is clearly visible on the ground floor. An office entrance is to the left, the house above is accessible through the center door, and our rear apartment is reached through the wood slatted gate to the right, originally a carriage passage way. Solar panels can just be seen on the roof.

According to Baker in Dwell magazine:

“There were about 20 people living in this warren of windowless rooms,” recalls Baker, “along with assorted pit bulls, cats, and chickens. Whenever someone wanted to expand, they just nailed on some Sheetrock and a new roof.”

David Baker house, rear yard — © Brian Rose

David Baker house, rear yard — © Brian Rose

The back courtyard is covered in a thick carpet of loose pebbles. There is a workshop behind sliding wood and plastic doors, a spiral staircase provides access to the main living space, and very tall bamboos shield one side of the yard. Hovering over it all is the word “why” apparently taken from an old sign. Reminds me of “Hell Yes” on the New Museum in New York. But I much prefer “why.”

San Francisco/The Mission

Shotwell Street — © Brian Rose

Staying in the Mission in San Francisco in an apartment in architect David Baker’s house, a Victorian converted into a sheltered oasis in this sometimes rough edged neighborhood. One block may be full of beautiful houses with lushly flowering landscapes, while another is made up of warehouses and car repair shops like the one above.

I’ve finished the architectural projects I came to photograph, and when I’m back in New York, I’ll be chained to the computer for days working on the images. As some of you know, I’ve continued shooting 4×5 film, but scan it at high resolution, and then import it into Photoshop. I do this for my client work, which is delivered  directly as digital files, and for exhibition prints, which I make at a rental lab.

This, however,  may be the last batch of QuckLoad 4×5 film available–the prepackaged film I’ve been using for something like 20 years. First Kodak, and now Fuji, have dropped similar versions of this film packaging. They both still make 4×5 sheet film, but–stepping back a couple decades–it has to be loaded into holders in total darkness. Carrying holders means an extra bag, more weight, and a tendency to get dust on the film while loading or unloading. We are being driven to digital, like it or not.

San Francisco/Projects

Ironhorse at Central Station, Oakland, California — © Brian Rose

I’ve been working every day since arriving in San Francisco, squeezing as much shooting in as possible before the weather deteriorates. I’ve had mostly sunny dry conditions, though there have been a few stray showers. The shot above was taken just after a brief downpour early in the morning.

The projects I am shooting are mostly affordable housing–except for a market rate loft building–and all of them exhibit the high quality of subsidized housing in the Bay Area. David Baker, the architect I am working for, is a large part of the story. He has brought design excellence and a sense of urbanism that one rarely sees in such housing. Certainly not in New York City.

Tassafaronga Village, Oakland, California — © Brian Rose

Paseo Senter, San Jose, California — © Brian Rose

San Francisco/Oakland

Former Oakland train station — © Brian Rose

One of the housing complexes I’m photographing is located in West Oakland adjacent to the former train station. It’s been abandoned for years. This was the terminus of many of the great transcontinental trains like the Zephyr. Amtrak still runs a train of that name, but it’s just another generic Amtrak service. The new housing is the first phase of an urban renewal plan that will encompass the station, which will be preserved and adapted for some undefined use. As much as I like the new development, it seems a bit alien to the gritty surrounding neighborhood.

San Francisco/Oakland

Kids playing in a housing project — © Brian Rose

I’m photographing several projects across the Bay in Oakland. This one is low income housing–the kids came out to play while I was shooting the courtyard.

West Oakland — © Brian Rose

The area nearby is gritty, but interesting. Small gingerbready houses, heavy industry, entrepreneurs and artists, and blocks of abandoned and underused land.

Mandela Parkway — © Brian Rose

At one point while making pictures, two of the meanest looking pit pulls I’ve ever seen came wandering through the housing complex. They were wearing spiked collars, and seemed to have gotten loose, maybe from a nearby yard. They came directly toward me, and I froze in my tracks. They loped on by without incident, but for the next hour or so, they kept reappearing. One time I fled up some stairs. It was unnerving.

San Francisco/On Assignment

David Baker housing project — © Brian Rose

Just a quick post. I’m in San Francisco shooting a number of projects for architect David Baker. The photo above is a scouting shot. I’m off to Oakland now to look at another housing complex. For the moment, the weather is beautiful.

New York/AIPAD

AIPAD photography show — © Brian Rose

I went to the AIPAD show at the Armory with Eve Kessler and Art Presson, good friends who have a wonderful collection of photographs. It’s fun seeing what the galleries are putting forward, though not always particularly illuminating. New technology showcased by a few galleries in which still and moving images were combined was mostly embarrassing–especially in the company of classic 20th century black and white photography. Color images by Robert Voit–centrally placed cellphone towers disguised as trees–and distantly held landscapes by Sze Tsung Leong–consistent horizon line–continue the Becher inspired, gallery-friendly, trend of typologies. I like their images, but but find the approach self-limiting.

The image above by Will McBride jumped out at me because of its kinship to my own Berlin work. It’s John F. Kennedy in an open car with Willy Brandt and Konrad Adenauer in front of the recently walled off Brandenburg Gate. That photo was made in 1963. Here are two images of the Brandenburg Gate from 1989 and 2009.

The Brandenburg Gate a short time after the opening of the Berlin Wall (4×5 film)
— © Brian Rose

The Brandenburg Gate on the occasion of the 2oth anniversary of the fall of the Wall (4×5 film)
— © Brian Rose

http://www.brianrose.com/lostborder.htm
http://www.brianrose.com/infromthecold.htm

Oh, and just a little perspective on the healthcare legislation that passed Congress last night. The Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant in the subheading of its lead story states: “America took a historical step toward a European tinted healthcare system.” It may seem a radical step to some in the U.S.–but to much of the world, it’s seen as a belated catching up.

New York/Random Views

Houston and Lafayette Street — © Brian Rose

Williamsburg Bridge — © Brian Rose

Two faces.

***

I receive an email newsletter about Amtrak from a cousin who believes fervently in open market solutions to what ails American rail transport. Although I don’t generally agree with his take on things–knowledgeable as he is on the subject–his newsletter often provides interesting inside information.

Earlier this month there was a “town hall” meeting in Chicago hosted by the top brass of Amtrak in which several topics were discussed, one of them being Amtrak Photography and Videography Guidelines. I recall reading somewhere that rail buffs have sometimes been hassled by Amtrak police for taking photographs in and around stations and other facilities.

It seems, according to the newsletter, that Amtrak is trying to strike some kind of reasonable balance concerning photography–they would like to be notified in advance if one is planning on taking pictures beyond casual travel photography. The newsletter states: “Given the proven use of photography by terrorists in preparation for attacks on infrastructure, it is not unreasonable to have a few, simple, reasonable rules.”

This statement, which I assume echoes something said by the chief of Amtrak police, is an example of the very slippery slope we continue to cascade down as a society. All photographers are suspect because one might be a terrorist on a scouting mission. Inevitably, the most serious photographers with expensive equipment get singled out–God forbid the use of a tripod. Never mind that would be terrorists have no need of tripods, view cameras, or gigantic zoom lenses. They can easily get by with cell phones or invisible spy cameras. They can even walk around using the unaided eye to check things out.

There may be legitimate reasons to limit photography in public and semi-public places like train stations. Commercial photo shoots and film productions are potentially disruptive. But ordinary picture taking–documenting the world we move around in–should be encouraged, not considered subversive.

New York/Berlin: In From the Cold

I’ve been working on my Berlin photographs since my trip there in December, which coincided with the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. I have integrated those pictures into the series, and have decided to put it all up on the web. Here is the title web page:

The website is more or less done, although the photos are not clickable for larger images yet. Nor have I linked the site to my homepage. But here is a sneak preview. Or click on the image above. UPDATE: images now clickable.

I have also updated my Blurb book proposal, which has been changed to a smaller size–8×10–and currently available for purchase as I cast about for a publisher or exhibition opportunity. The 8×10 version of the book is much more affordable, and is available in soft and hardcover. If it ever gets published it will likely end up altered in some way. So this is my unedited presentation of the photographs. Since I did the book without a graphic designer, I kept the layout simple. Feel free to preview the book below. Click on full screen to see it properly.

This website and book represent a huge effort on my part done over a long span of time–1985 to 2009. About 14 trips all together. About 1/3 of the pictures were included in the Lost Border book, but the rest have never been published or exhibited. It only became clear to me that I had a separate story focused on Berlin after I had completed the Lost Border.

I’m off to San Francisco in a few days to photograph some buildings for architect David Baker. I’ll be blogging from the Bay Area, one of my favorite places.

New York/Soho

Prince and Greene Streets — © Brian Rose

My morning walk across Lower Manhattan, sometimes Houston Street, sometimes Prince. This is the Richard Haas mural going all the way back to 1975 when Soho was still factories and artists’ lofts. I’m not sure of its current status–but it’s clearly in need of restoration. It’s a bit kitschy, but that’s always been something Haas flirts with.

Prince Street and Broadway — © Brian Rose

Prince and Mulberry Street — © Brian Rose

The recent northeaster left a lot of damage in the area, trees down, flooding. But this appears to be an umbrella disaster. An accumulation of broken umbrellas blown into a vacant lot. Or rather placed there. I once thought of photographing broken umbrellas and juxtaposing them with pictures of an elephant graveyard in the manner of Peter Beard–but wisely didn’t do it.

Houston and the Bowery — © Brian Rose

Walking figures. We’ve been here before. You can see a similar view taken with the view camera from my Lower East Side series.

New York/Chelsea

W21st Street — © Brian Rose

W21st Street — © Brian Rose

Waiting with other anxious parents in front of Clinton Middle School for my son who was taking an entrance test. Nothing else to do but take pictures.

Story about the Kahn’s Trenton bath house  with my photographs in The Architect’s Newspaper here.