Found

I’ve become increasingly intrigued by the notion of found objects; those under appreciated gems lying right under our noses that, when recontextualized in a meaningful way, take on a specific type of beauty. From the inspiration of seeing the creative minds at Droog Design, to the dogged pursuit of sublime writings collected in my perennial favourite, Found ...

On Hubris

Woof

Mid Term

Mid term goals: stay afloat, build up while there is downtime, look for the right job even when these are scarce, produce daily, stay mentally active, engage, keep focused, don’t stagnate. Long term

Mercy

My father worked for many years as a welder, one of thousands of workers at the Port of Durban, South Africa’s busiest harbour. I remember he would take the family there on Sunday drives, and as a child I would look out the window and stare at the massive cranes, or the moored container ships, ...

Takes The Cake

I’ve seen some pretty incredible architectural solutions over the years, mostly in European cities. Modern amenities were never part of the grand scheme of things in buildings that are often centuries old; coming across a wall that veers wildly off-axis, or stairways that require mountain climbing gear were always tolerated, even if borderline dangerous. Having said that, ...

Passing By

Warehouse Of Memories

Sitting on a train, speeding past derelict warehouses, music in my ear, on the way to an airport, bags packed to the brim, thinking about the hassle of security, cursing the fact that I didn’t have time for a proper breakfast and will need to rely on Starbucks coffee and pastries to stock up against ...

Stacked

The economics of parking in Manhattan offers fascinating insights into land use in dense urban environments. With monthly parking rates in some neighborhoods rivaling average studio apartment rentals in most other major US cities, the tension between owning a car and using mass transit takes on a particular resonance in New York. Hence the rise ...

Cruise Alcatraz

Seeing Alcatraz from above, surrounded by numerous sailboats, I couldn’t help but wonder: how close could waterborne vessels get to the island, back in its prison days, and how did such outward displays of the good life make the prisoners feel?

Nuts And Bolts

Cacophony

Contemporary New York is all about the shiny skyscrapers, the sanitized Times Square and the glitz of Madison Avenue. Wandering around for a few days, I came across myriad examples of the New York I love; the jumbled juxtaposition of shapes, colours, forms and materials that I still believe reflects more of the city’s character ...

30-Something

On the 30-something floor of a New York Tribeca district apartment building, inhabited by a 30-something couple, a few shorts blocks away from Ground Zero, there was a cold sting on my face as I took this photo. It dawned on me that there aren’t too many apartment buildings that tall in Manhattan, and even rarer, ones ...

Japan, Big In

This image, taken on the PATH train to Newark International Airport, reminds me of a long time ambition to get myself to Japan. I’ve never been, but I’m certain I would make hay there, photographically speaking. Plus, I enjoy good ramen and sushi, a taste I picked up here in San Francisco, thanks to the ...

Portal

When I first saw the Weather Project at the London Tate back in 2003, I was immediately struck by the all encompassing architectural nature of Olafur Eliasson’s work.  The 2007 retrospective of his work, shown at the SFMOMA, included further explorations by Eliasson: a dark padded corridor; a mist chamber with a rainbow; an assortment ...

Barragan

The Luis Barragan house, located in Mexico City, is deservedly appreciated but somewhat underwhelming. I wasn’t very enamored with the low freestanding bookshelves organizing the large open living/work area of the house; these furniture elements were quite reduced in relation to the very tall ceilings, yet oddly claustrophobic. Secondary areas, such as a central stairwell and studio, ...

Cubism

Daniel Libeskind’s Contemporary Jewish Museum, located in the heart of the budding gallery district of Yerba Buena in downtown San Francisco, has enjoyed a remarkably smooth transition into the urban fabric. In a city that tends to be relatively conservative when it comes to architecture on the edge of mainstream design, the museum has not ...

No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn

Brooklyn’s elevated train tracks, part of the New York subway system, fascinates me. Like triumphant herds, the thundering trains pop out the underbelly of Manhattan to strut their rumbling stuff, dominating people and buildings alike. The resulting structure, clad in a mysterious black finish, defines an underworld of storage facilities, parking lots and an eclectic collection of ...

Damned, They Are

Dams have come under ever increasing scrutiny; critics routinely weigh in with arguments about the negative environmental impacts of such endeavours. These include premature silting, altered erosion patterns up and downstream, and the interruption of animal migration with its subsequent damage to ecosystems. Closer to home, the debate over one of San Francisco’s major sources ...

The Giant Cross

I’ve always been fascinated by a rather large cross located in the heart of San Francisco, on Mount Davidson. Not knowing much about its origin brings me to speculate on what possible reasons could have brought this giant symbol of religion into a famously non-religious city. A quick search would no doubt render me an ...

Augmented Reality

Hot on the heels of the news event that finally toppled Haiti out of the 24 hour news cycle, was the oh-so-important, oh-so-relevant announcement of the iPad. Right on cue, howls of discontent populated the blogosphere about supposed lack of features, one of which stood out to me; the lack of a camera, and therefore ...

Decisions

Encountered in one of Oakland’s epicenters of crime. Some places are worse than others to sow confusion, even when after some thought it all turns out to make sense. . .

Up.Down.

Noah Should Have Been An Architect

Part of an ongoing series of images of Noah Purifoy’s work, I expect to regularly post examples of this artist’s fascinating collection of sculptures and architecture made out of found debris. I’m certain that had he had the opportunity to train as an architect he would have produced more interesting work than 99% of the ...

Eiffel’s Apprentice’s Elevator

Designed by Raul Mesnier de Ponsard, apprentice to that other engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Santa Justa Elevator located in the heart of downtown Lisbon continues the fine tradition of moving lazy or delayed commuters from point A to point B. It’s rather slow, and the persistent line of tourists means that you wait for a ...

The High Line, Again

The High Line is well published, and overly exposed at this point. After visiting it myself I was intrigued by how it intersects buildings along its route, something which was not quite so obvious to me in all the reporting about what now has quickly become a New York City icon. This large Modernism-inspired building ...

Bridge Surfing

Another week, another bout of inclement weather in Northern California. Despite the persistent rain, San Francisco fortunately has hardy residents who are always willing to make lemonade out of lemons. .

In The Howling Wind

A New York City snow/rain storm, late last year, with our gracious host Bernie Dechant (a fine photographer, no less) offered some fantastic photographic opportunities, despite the howling wind. As it turns out, going out in Manhattan on this particular occasion was a lot cheaper than my typical night out in San Francisco. Naturally, I ...

Earth House

Further expanding on a recent post describing the house made out of sandbags, some additional images for your viewing pleasure. .

Puff Piece

Noah Purifoy relocated to Joshua Tree from Los Angeles to pursue his art, drawn by the openness that the desert afforded him. His work is wildly eclectic, predominantly an exercise in assemblage of found and salvaged materials. The scale and quantity of the art is substantial, and allowed for many hours of photographic exploration under the desert ...