Bernal Hill

2011 Bernal Hill Blackberry Crop a Sorry Sight

/ Bronwyn Ximm / 10 Comments

For months we’ve been hungrily eyeing that prodigious patch of blackberry bushes near the parking lot at the entrance of Bernal Hill Park. After all, what says “It’s summer on Bernal Hill” more than picking and munching your own blackberries while admiring the view of the bay?

But alas, it’s been the same thing since June: lots of unripe red berries, plus a smattering of still-unripe black ones. A recent visit revealed that a considerable percentage of the fruits have shriveled up. We’ve been hoping against hope that for some wacky reason, this year’s crop is simply taking its own sweet time. But the above shot was taken on Labor Day, so our hope is withering on the vine. Whither shall we go?

PHOTO: Aaron Ximm

He Liked the View from Bernal Hill So Much, He Moved Here

/ Todd_Lappin / 11 Comments

Remember that old TV commercial about the guy who liked his electric shaver so much, he bought the company? Well, in a similar way, photographer Adrian Mendoza visited Bernal Heights for the first time recently, and he liked it so much he decided to move here:

Hello, I am a Vernal Birgin – oops, I mean, Bernal Virgin…

Attached is a panoramic photo taken on July 23rd – the first time I EVER set foot on the hill. It is comprised of five separate photos.

Loved it so much, I just moved in on Labor Day (just off Cortland Avenue).

I spent a total of 23 years as a photojournalist in the Central Valley. Most of the photos at this link are mine, including the aerial photos of the California Delta and the portrait of jazz legend Dave Brubeck.

I’m ecstatic to be living here now with my partner, a newly hired editor in the S.F. office of the Huffington Post.

Cheers!

Here’s his panorama (click to embiggen):

Welcome to Bernalwood, New Neighbor Adrian, and thanks for sharing your photos. Keep ’em coming, please.

PHOTOS: Adrian Mendoza

The Thin Line Between Fog and Not-Fog

/ Todd_Lappin / 6 Comments

There Is No San Francisco Without The Fog. It Defines Us.

Last night, photostar Bob Horowitz snapped the amazing photo you see above. It was a clear night in Bernal, but when Bob looked downtown from Bernal Heights Boulevard, he saw that the skyscrapers were shrouded in a thin layer of spooky fog that covered the ground like a whispy blanket.

I know this because I happened to drive down Bernal Heights Boulevard just a few hours later, and the spectacle impressed me so much that I also stopped to take a few photos of my own:

Fogliner

DSC_0658.jpg

But the funny thing is… I didn’t know that Bob had captured a similar shot; it was only after I got home and took a peek inside the Bernalwood Flickr group that I noticed we’d both been beguiled by the same phenomenon. Great minds, blah blah blah…

PHOTOS: Top, Bob Horowitz. Below, Telstar Logistics

This Glorious Bernal Hill Photo Made My Jaw Drop

/ Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

I really can’t tell you how much I love love love this photo taken by Enzo Christopher Njoo and submitted to the Daily Secret. Over on Facebook, a viewer named Melinda cracked the code on the photograph’s subtle-but-clever color-coding:

Love the color contrasts…. red for the living , green for the one that sustains that life, and gray for the inanimate objects.

Click it to enlarge, then join me in a round of “Ooooooh! Aaaaaaaahhh!”

PHOTO: Enzo Christopher Njoo

Fog and Sun: Two Flavors of Bernal Hill Time-Lapse Video

/ Todd_Lappin / 17 Comments

Joe Thomas lives in Bernal Heights, and from his house he’s got a nice view of the tower atop Bernal Hill. He recently used that to good advantage by creating this chiaroscuro time-lapse video that shows the tower coming in and out of view amid the all-encompassing fog that is our fate this time of year.

For something a little warmer, Joe also made a sunny-day video taken from the same spot:

Also, following up on our previous post about how Bernal’s microwave tower needs a name, Joe proposes that we call it “Sutrito.” I quite like that, actually. “Sutrito Tower.” (The mini-me resemblance is undeniable.) Thoughts?

UPDATE: 23 Aug 2011

Rebel La Lenguan Burrito Justice shot some superb time-lapse video recently that shows Sutro Tower (aka Sutro Grande) floating in a river of fog. Behold:

Satanists Conduct Unholy Ritual on Bernal Hill!

/ Todd_Lappin / 34 Comments

When Agent Amy from the BIA went for a walk on Bernal Hill late yesterday afternoon, she discovered fresh evidence of unholy activities by Satanists in our midst. She says:

I saw this brand-spanking new pentagram at the top of Bernal Hill. The paint’s still wet! In the center there’s a red paper goat, but also charred goo and drip marks suggesting some mysterious satanic gore. At the points of the pentagram are playing cards and melted black candles.

And leading away from the pentagram, the cloven hoof-prints of Lucifer himself? Also in photo: An innocent three-year old, for scale.

Yikes. Frankly, I have no idea what to make of this.

Also, I admit that as soon as I saw Agent Amy’s photos of the pentagram, I pictured that old album cover by Rush, and “Tom Sawyer” began playing in my head. But that may just be a generational thing…

PHOTOS: Agent Amy

Bernal Hill Co-Stars in (Another) Music Video

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Here’s yet another MTV moment for Bernalwood.

Bernal Hill gets some key cameos in this music video for a romantic song that tells a classic tale of “artsy loner dude meets smoking’ hot girl, loses hot girl to douchebag other guy, gets hot girl back when douchbag guy reveals his douchey inner nature, but in the end it turns out the whole thing is just a made-up fantasy, because really, he’s an artsy loner dude.” In other words, it’s a very typical Bernal Heights relationship story.

The song itself is called “What If” by Summer Breeze. It isn’t as clever or as funky as that one from Jahmeel, but as we all know… that’s showbiz.

A Very Luscious, Very Brief Film About Bernal Heights

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Antonio Abadia recently had one of those “OMG! I just discovered Bernal Heights!” moments, so he made a (very) short film about it.

I went to explore I bit around my neighborhood, and I find out that just about 10min biking there is cool park called Bernal Heights where you can see such a nice view of San Francisco.

His video is swell, even though it feels like the opening montage for an entire, luscious film about Bernal… which, alas, it isn’t. Yet.