We found these Dalias around the corner from Fred's Coffee Shop...
But, I'm getting ahead of myself! First, meet Philippe; I did.
Except, when I met him...
...he was on Market Street in San Francisco, waiting for his wife and daughters to come out of Abercrombie and Finch (where his daughter, C., was disappointed to not find a sweatshirt she traveled across the globe to find) and where he was doing some street photography. I was walking his way when two fellows in their birthday suits walked by...
...he was on Market Street in San Francisco, waiting for his wife and daughters to come out of Abercrombie and Finch (where his daughter, C., was disappointed to not find a sweatshirt she traveled across the globe to find) and where he was doing some street photography. I was walking his way when two fellows in their birthday suits walked by...
...You seriously thought I'd include that picture here? This is a family friendly photoblog. Anyway, these two guys walked by, carrying a sign for some politician (still can't decide if they were for or against), I snapped a few frames--you should see the lack of response on some people's faces--and then stopped to watch other people's reactions. As it happens, I stopped next to Philippe. He asked if I got the shot, and we were fast friends. We spent the next hour talking shop and comparing images from around town. Lots of fun. As we parted I invited him to shoot with me the next day early by the Golden Gate.
Later that night, I was enjoying the upgrade I received from Avis...
When Philippe called and set up a time to get out and shoot in the morning. What fun! Photographie with a français!
Of course, we took some pictures at the south end of the bridge, like the one above, but I really wasn't too impressed with what I got. Like I mentioned before, my sensor was dirty, and that was getting me down. Still, battling mediocre light, we sallied onward, searching for the perfect frame. We found Chinamen crabbing, and that was close enough.
We watched them haul in their catch.
They had to sort through to find the crabs large enough to keep, and get rid of any unwanted visitors. If it was too small, they tossed them back into the bay.
Mr Huo was extremely kind, and spent time telling us what he has learned about the different crabs, how to prepare them, and how to keep the sea lions from stealing the raw chicken used as bait. He brings his son (red sweatshirt) and his friend's son here to fish sometimes. It's good for families to have activities together.
So, I got to spend time with a frenchman and chinamen and learned some new things about crabbing. Now we were ready to get some breakfast.
Since I had no idea of where to go to find some food, I thought I'd ask the policeman sitting by the pier. I think I may have shocked Philippe a little when I approached him directly, asked directions, and then asked if I could take his picture; I was very glad that Philippe took the opportunity to shoot, as well. Though, one should watch one's terminology when talking with policemen...
We headed North over the bridge to Sausalito. That's where we found the Dalias, and Fred's. The breakfast was very nice, and though Philippe was a bit dubious of the French Toast, he dove right into his eggs and tomatoes and still had room for pancakes.
I don't know if this was Fred, but he was a wiz with the eggs.
Having stuffed ourselves, we headed back to an overlook on the North side of the bridge, which used to be an Army fort, used even in WWII. Don't worry, I convinced them that he was not a spy and got Philippe out of the brig, and we headed up the hill for some more bridge pictures.
Philippe and I really got a long well. The bridge was nice and all, but after a few more frames, we were both looking for people to add to the pictures. Cue the Germans...
And some more Chinese...
By this time, Philippes Girls were waking up and it was time to split. Too bad Philippe couldn't make it to the beach with me...
...but, maybe next time! Perhaps I'll look him up in Paris sometime. Thanks, again, Philippe!
I shot all day with my Nikon D700 with the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens, the 12-24mm f/4 lens, or the 50mm f/1.4 lens. Philippe was a happy camper as well with his Canon 5D MkII, 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens, and his 17-85mm lens. Makes me thing I should just bite the bullet and travel with my 70-200 as well--the extra sharpness and aperture would be welcome...if heavy. However, Nikon announced today a 28-300mm lens that might just fit the bill...
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