Legible Light

Cole Street warrior

Posted in Photos by William Poole on January 19, 2010

Not sure if I should recognize this warrior princess (if, in fact, she is a princess) getting ready to lop-off the head of an unsuspecting passerby. Maybe she is an original creation by the artist.  There are several new murals in the Haight Ashbury district, at least two of them featuring militant women.  I love photographing the vibrant colors of San Francisco’s many murals but always try to place them in context by adding some of the surroundings.

Flying figure – Boston MFA

Posted in Photos by William Poole on January 16, 2010

Reaching back a few months to a trip to New England last October.  Whenever I am in Boston, I try to spend a day at the  Museum of Fine Arts, where this  juxtaposition of the flying figure and an earthbound one caught my eye.  My recollection is that the flying figure is by Kiki Smith — it reminds me of her work in the San Francisco MOMA –  but I am unable to confirm that from here.

Bookstore cat

Posted in Photos by William Poole on January 14, 2010

I try to get to Aardvark Books on Church Street at least once or twice a month.  The big attraction?  A wonderful selection of used photo books.  And on a sunny day in January — a basking cat.

RIP James Gurley

Posted in Photos by William Poole on January 13, 2010

The sign mourns the death of James Gurley, a member of the rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company and “instrumental in the formation of the Hippie counter culture that began here in the Haight-Ashbury.”  The Haight is one of the closest neighborhoods to my home.  I was photographing the sign when this gentleman stopped to light his cigarette, and I thought it looked like a picture.

A few from the mountains

Posted in Photos by William Poole on January 10, 2010

We were invited to this cabin perched above the Yuba River over the New Year holiday.  My custom when traveling is to arise early and take a camera for a walk before others folks are awake.  And this is what greeted me New Year’s morning.  Because of the snowstorm, I kept my digital camera zipped under my jacket.  The snow was very deep, but the road near the house had been packed by snowmobiles, so I was able to walk to a bridge over the river.

The next day dawned bright and sunny, and I was able to shoot some black-and-white film around the cabin.