Behold, an Elegant New Photo of the Mysterious Tree-Shrub Thing on Bernal Hill

November 13, 2014November 13, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Over on the Twitter, Neighbor Tim shared this super snap of the spooky tree-shrub thing on the eastern slope of Bernal Hill summit.

It’s long been known that Bernal’s tree-shrub thing has supernatural powers and functions as a gateway to the afterlife.

Some say it’s a California Buckeye, but no one seems to know exactly definitely for sure.

What we can say for sure is that Neighbor Tim has captured the beauty of the mysterious tree-shrub thing, in a very elemental way. Lovely!

PHOTO: Neighbor Tim

This Is What It Looked Like at Fiesta on the Hill When Bernal Neighbors Discovered Their Inner Race Car Drivers

October 27, 2014October 27, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 15 Comments

Sunday’s Fiesta on the Hill was rather exceptionally fantabulous.

For 2014, Bernal’s traditional street fair on Cortland got a thoughtful makeover, with a strong emphasis on local character and creativity. The generic street fair vendors and beleaguered farm animals were gone, and in their place Fiesta 2014 gave our neighborhood fest a more homespun feel, with smiling goats, and historic surrealist Doggie Diner Heads, and happy parents steering happy children on mechanized ponies by remote control:

It was a Main Street USA celebration of 21st century urbanism, and the crowds on Cortland were bustling:

People looked like they were having a good time. There was even dancing in the streets. REPEAT: Confirmed dancing in the streets!

Truth be told, however, your Bernalwood editor was unable to make his usual quasi-journalistic rounds at Fiesta on the Hill, because as part of this new 2014 emphasis on local flavor, I was recruited to babysit the two mutant race cars operated by the Bernal Dads Race Team.

So for most of the day, I was parked on Cortland, right in front of Andi’s Market.

Playing chaperone for America’s Most Badass Volvo Station Wagon and a Alfa Romeo disguised as a cookie was a hindrance to my wanderings. But it turned out to be a great way to meet a lot of awesome Bernal neighbors.

In particular, it was fun to watch Bernalese of all ages as they sat in the Volvo and visualized the adrenalin-fueled excitement of driving the car in wheel-to-wheel combat on a race track.

Here are some of the dashing future racers I met:

Thanks to everyone who made Fiesta on the Hill 2014 so much fun. Bravo, stay sexy, and can’t wait until 2015.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Bernal Street Photographer Exhibits Work in Glamorous SoMa Parking Lot

October 22, 2014October 22, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

During a brisk constitutional on Second Street in SoMa yesterday, your Bernalwood editor stumbled across a rather gorgeous photo exhibit in the parking lot across the street from the (so classic) Adolph Gasser Photography store at 181 Second.

It’s a series of photos wheatpasted onto the parking lot’s brick walls, and it looks fantastic. The show is called “City at Large,” and wouldn’t you know it… Bernal neighbor and superstar street photographer Troy Holden, a resident of Cortlandia, has a few images on display.

That’s Troy’s work, in the photo above. Beautiful!

Check out Neighbor Troy’s photos if you’re taking a constitutional on Second Street, or peep his feed online.

PHOTO: Troy Holden’s photography on display in City at Large, by Telstar Logistics

Let’s Enjoy Some Recent Bernal Heights Photography, Because We Look Totally Fabulous

October 3, 2014October 3, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

It’s been a while since we last did a roundup of Bernal Heights images submitted to the Bernalwood photo group on Flickr, so let’s remedy that.

Per usual, our local shutterbugs have been capturing some amazing scenes from around the ‘Wood, and as you know, we just keep getting sexier and sexier.

For example, Neighbor Markus took the gorgeous photo you see above. He also captured a shot of one of my favorite cars in all of Bernal Heights — that amazing old Pinto that lives on the east slope. Notice the awesome Keep Bernal Clean license plate frame? Love it:

Ed Brownson’s Flickr account is full of beautiful images, and this snap of a little ad hoc yoga session on Bernal Hill is wonderful:

Here’s another one from Ed, with a raven on Bernal Hill:

Neighbor Jane Underwood took this wonderfully Hopper-esque photo of the Moonlight Cafe on Cortland:

Here’s a rainbow view as seen from Jane’s window:

Daniele Mils took this timeless shot of some Bernal back yards:

I also love Daniele’s shot of a Bernal neighbor experimenting with new colors:

Sean Timberlake took this stunner of a moonrise behind Bernal Hill:

GPS photographed this classic Bernal scene:

Suegol Malek shared this one of a perfect sunset moment from Bernal Hill:

There’s lots more where all this came from, so please do spend some time browsing the Bernalwood Flickr group. Also, if you’ve got any photos of your own… please share them with us!

Here’s the View of Bernal Hill from the Other End of South Van Ness

September 24, 2014September 23, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Yesterday I went to a meeting at 1455 Market Street, a big high-rise right at the corner of Market and 11th Street. The office was in one of the building’s upper stories, and it had incredible views of Our Faire City.

As I gazed south, I realized I was staring straight down South Van Ness to Bernal Hill, which looked particularly rakish and handsome.

In other words, I was basically eye-to-eye with Bernal Hill from a vantage point directly opposite those stone benches at the curve in the closed section of Bernal Heights Boulevard. You know… the ones that look straight up South Van Ness. Because when you sit on one of those benches, here’s what you see:

That’s South Van Ness slicing through the center, and the photo at the top of this post was taken from the building highlighted by the arrow.

To see both vantage points, let’s take in the view from the Bernalwood SkyCam:

Bonus Fun Fact! As the crow flies, the distance between the benches on Bernal Hill and 1455 Market is about 11,427 feet, or 2.16 miles.

And now you know how we look from that distance when workers inside 1455 Market look back (enviously) at us.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics. Aerial image courtesy of Google Earth

Last Night’s Supermoon Looked Super from Bernal Heights

September 9, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Did you see the rather super supermoon last night?

Don’t worry if you missed it, because your neighbors had it covered. Gary snapped the tight shot of the supermoon over the 280-101 Spaghetti Bowl, while Rachel snapped the wider shot of the same scene shown below. Super-duper!

“Gatsby Complex” Yields Beautiful Photos of Bernal Hill from Noe Valley

August 18, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

It’s a well-documented fact that many people in Noe Valley experience a “Gatsby Complex” when they gaze at Bernal Hill — our proud-but-distant profile seems to trigger deep-seated feelings of admiration and longing among our neighbors to the west. That’s perfectly understandable, of course, given Bernal’s famous glamtasticness. But it must be hard to live that way.

Fortunately, Noe’s Gatsby Complex tends to generate some wonderful photography, and these two images prove the point. The photo at top was captured at dusk last weekend by Luke Spray, and the one below was taken at dawn on Sunday by Steve A.

Frankly, we don’t envy them — the whole Gatsby Complex thing must be a difficult burden to bear. Yet at least these shutterbugs have found a productive way to transform their psychological torment into beautiful art. Lucky for them — and even more lucky for us.

Hat Tip: MissionMission

Neighbor Chuck Finds New “Everyday Sights in Bernal Heights”

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Neighbor Chuck got a job, which has been great for his finances but bad for fans of his blog. Luckily for those patient fans, Neighbor Chuck found some time recently to go for one of his horticultural walks around Bernal Heights, and the result is a new installment in his occasional series of posts on “Everyday Sights in Bernal Heights”:

I don’t get to do this much anymore — walk around my neighborhood. Because I work all the time. Well, it’s nice to be wanted (for work). Up to a point. And then, blech.

This edition is huge and beautiful and full of gorgeous Bernal perspectives, so put on your virtual walking shoes and let Neighbor Chuck show you around.

PHOTOS: Neighbor Chuck/My Back 40 (Feet)

Let Us Now Enjoy Some Recent Photography of Bernal Heights

May 23, 2014May 23, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 7 Comments

Let’s have another photo show! We begin with a big round of applause please for Ed Brownson, who snapped this classic California flaming sunset from atop Bernal Hill. Someone needs to reproduce this image in airbrush on the side of a 1970s custom van. Or an iron-on t-shirt graphic.

Sean Timberlake captured this jaw-dropper during last week’s full moon. Pour yourself a bowl of wow:

Want another one from Sean? Of course you do. Encore! Encore!

Here’s the glorious sunrise of May 14, brought to you by Gaelen:

Gaelen! Encore! Encore!

And finally, Neighbor Boris demonstrates some very strong photo kung-fu, and Sutro Tower appreciation:

Photographs from Last Night, or, Earthquake Weather on Bernal Hill

May 15, 2014May 15, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 9 Comments

It was warm last night, with a full moon, no wind, and not a cloud in the sky. In other words, classic earthquake weather, as Neighbor and Rockstar Matt Nathanson recently taught Bernalwood’s Cub Reporter.

There were no earthquakes last night, thankfully. But Bernal Hill is always a magical place on nights like last night — a warm island of darkness in an ocean of city lights.

So, as is our custom, your Bernalwood editor headed up Bernal Hill last night to take some snapshots, including the ones shown above.

Here are a few more. Enjoy this weather while is lasts, because July will be here soon enough:

UPDATE: Looks like I wasn’t the only one up on the hill last night with a camera. Neighbor Boris had the moonrise covered as well:

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics and Boris Kostaglatov

Small Dog on Bernal Hill Ponders Sublime Secrets of the Universe

April 16, 2014April 16, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 7 Comments

Thanks to Brian Christensen for sharing this awesome Bernal Hill labyrinth photo in the Bernalwood Flickr group.

Clearly, someone needs to get this doggie a drone!

Man Experiences Double Rainbow Moment on Bernal Hill, Without Double Rainbow

March 21, 2014March 21, 2014 / Todd_Lappin

Brian Hollinger snapped this stunner on Bernal Hill last night, just as the sun was going down:

@Bernalwood one of those #doublerainbow moments up here.

Potrero Photographer Captures Spooky Bernal Hill Moonrise

March 17, 2014March 20, 2014 / Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

Bernalwood loves the work of photographer Daniel Leu, because he doesn’t live in Bernal.

What we mean is… it would be great if he did live in Bernal. But he doesn’t. Instead, Daniel hails from Potrero, so instead of taking amazing photos from Bernal Heights, Daniel instead takes amazing photos of Bernal Heights. Which actually works out rather well for us.

For example, last night, Daniel set out to take a photo of the moon rising behind Bernal Hill:

A low layer of clouds blocked the moonrise a bit, but eventually the moon showed up. The bottom part of the moon is still hidden by some clouds. But this makes it a bit more interesting as well than just having the plain moon.

Boom! Right? It’s all about the perspective.

Check out his blog post; Daniel also took a dusk photo of Bernal Hill that’s so beautiful it will make you crave a chilled glass of fine white wine.

Meanwhile, we would like to nominate photographer Daniel Leu to become an Honorary Citizen of Bernalwood. Is there a second?

PHOTO: Daniel Leu