Photography

The Only Thing Better Than This Photo of Bernal Hill During a Lightning Storm Is This Photo of Bernal Hill During a Lightning Storm with a Soundtrack

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Lightning Over Bernal-2

The lightning storm that passed through San Francisco on Monday night generated lots of excitement and some terrific photos from around town, but Bernalwood was slightly disappointed that we couldn’t find any good photos of Bernal Hill captured during the light show.

Turns out, we just needed to be patient. San Francisco photographer Steve Byrne just sent us this electrifying image of Bernal taken from Potrero Hill during Monday night’s storm, and it’s fantastic.

However, to make it even more fantastic, try this: 1) Imagine that somewhere high atop Bernal Hill there is a creepy laboratory where the diabolical Dr. von Bernalstein is attempting to reanimate an experimental undead monster he pieced together from salvaged human body parts; 2) Press the Play button below; 3) Stare at the photo above for a minute or so.

Amiright? Amiright?

PHOTO: Thanks, Steve Byrne

Photos of Cortland Avenue from A to Z

/ Todd_Lappin / 9 Comments

CortlandA-Z

In the realm of unsolicited creative awesomeness, your Bernalwood editor was thrilled to find this little gift waiting for me in the Bernalwood Pool on Flickr.

Flickr user bmeabroad has compiled a very sweet collection of 26 photos called “Cortland from A – Z.”

It’s terrific. And it teaches us that…

“J is for Jasmine”…
J is for Jasmine

“K is for King”…
K is for King

“N is for No Parking” (of course)…
N is for No Parking Tenants Only

“U is for Under Construction”…
U is for Under Construction

“W is for Waffle”…
W is for Waffle

… you get the idea.

Its wonderful. It’s cute. It wants to be a children’s book. Enjoy!

ALL PHOTOS: bmeabroad on Flickr 

Sutro Tower Blast-Off, As Seen from Bernal Heights

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sutroliftoff1

Last night, two separate photographers taking pictures from separate locations atop Bernal Hill noticed the very same thing: The sun had set behind Twin Peaks, creating the illusion that Sutro Tower was poised to blast-off into space (which, as we all know, it really wants to do anyway.)

Daniel Cohen took the photo above and posted it on the Instagram after noting that “Sutro Tower [is] ready for liftoff tonight.” A few moments earlier, @MrRoodog snapped the shot below, asking: “Is that the Sutro rocket launch?”

sutroliftoff2

PHOTOS:@Cohen and @MrRoodog

That Cold Chill Means Karl the Fog Is Visiting Nearby

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

nmckay.fog

Midsummer is upon us, which means the season is nigh for regular visits from San Francisco’s most famous uninvited guest: Karl the Fog.

As Citizens of Bernalwood, we are fortunate that the fog often avoids the skies over Bernal Heights — opting instead to lurk above the less-blessed terrain to our south and west.

And that, in turn, creates many photo opportunities for our local paparazzi. Here’s a great example from last weekend: A dramatic view of Nature’s Own Fog Lamp, taken from Bernal Hill by Nick McKay.

Oh, if you need even more fog imagery in your life, you’ll be glad to know that Karl the Fog also likes to post selfies over on Instagram.

PHOTO: Nick McKay on Instagram

Bernal Photographer Shows Awesome Images of New Bay Bridge Construction

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

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Speaking of Bernal celebrities… Neighbor Joseph Blum is a professional photographer who lives on the north side of Folsom Street. He was a boilermaker and welder for 25 years before he took up the camera, but his roots shine through in his photos, which capture the technical craftsmanship required to build large-scale, industrial infrastructure.

Fortuitously, then, Neighbor Joe has worked with Caltrans for more than a decade to document the construction of the new Eastern Span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. His photographs of the project are stunning, yet they are also intimate and iconic in a way that will be treasured by historians and infrastructure geeks for many decades to come.

That’s why we beamed with neighborly pride when Neighbor Joe sent us a note to invite all Citizens of Bernalwood to come see his Bay Bridge photos:

I have two exhibits now which honor and document the workers who have built the new East Span of the Bay Bridge.

I have lived on Bernal since 1975 and I have been photographing the construction of the new bridge since 1998. I have spent a lot of time out on the bridge, and it is always great to look out from top of the new tower at our beautiful Bernal Hill, where I often walk to renew and relax and view the rising of the moon.

(SIDE NOTE: Bernal does look rather glamorous from that angle, doesn’t it?)

Anyhow, you can see some of Neighbor Joe’s Bay Bridge work online, and here the details on the exhibits where you can see his mind-blowing photos in person.

He has a show up right now in City Hall (!!!), with an artist reception happening tomorrow, July 11:

The Bridge Builders by Joseph A. Blum
Exhibition Dates: June 24 through September 27, 2013
Artist Reception: Thursday, July 11 5:30-7:30 pm

San Francisco City Hall, ground floor
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102
Free and open to the public.

Then, in August, his second show will open:

A View from the Bridge:
Documenting the Construction of the Skyway and Foundations of the New East Span of the Bay Bridge 1998–2005
Black and White Photographs by Joseph A. Blum

August 3 – October 3, 2013
Opening Reception, Harvey Milk Photo Center
Saturday, August 3, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Harvey Milk Photo Center
50 Scott St San Francisco, CA 94117 • (415) 554–9522
Tuesday – Thursday: 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
*Please call ahead for viewing. Gallery is closed on Sunday, Monday & Friday.

PHOTOS: Joseph Blum Photography

Bernal Photographer Captures Alien Abduction of Oakland

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

oaklandabduction

From his observation post high atop Bernal Hill, Neighbor Michael captured the shocking scene this morning as a huge alien spacecraft abducted the entire city of Oakland.

The photographic evidence is incontrovertible, yet, oddly, there has been no mention of the news that the population of Oakland has suddenly gone missing in the mainstream media. That said, we would not expect the Citizens of Oakland to say much about their experiences aboard the alien spacecraft, as we are told that amnesia is a common side-effect of the bizarre scientific experiments the alien species likely conducted upon their human captives.

BART service to the East Bay is unaffected, and traffic on the Bay Bridge is expected to be terrible, per usual.

PHOTO: Michael Minson

Bernal Hill at Night Is an Island in a Sea of San Francisco

/ Todd_Lappin / 12 Comments

Bernal Hill by Night

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Last night was one of those nights — clear and warm with no wind — that proved perfect for a quick jaunt to the top of Bernal Hill for a little nighttime photography.

Those kinds of nights are magical, with Bernal Hill cloaked in darkness while all the bright lights of the City shimmer and flow in every direction as far as the eye can see.  It feels like being alone on an a tropical island in the middle of an illuminated sea, and the experience is even more magical when the weather cooperates to make the illusion complete.

So last night was one of those nights, and these are a few of the photos I took while enjoying a perfect evening adrift on our faux-tropical urban island.

Bernal Hill by Night

Bernal Hill by Night

Bernal Hill by Night

Spaghetti Bowl

Bernal Hill by Night

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Summeresque Weather Inspires Early-Morning Photographers on Bernal Hill

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Bernalmorning.tristan

bernalmorning.misosoup

bernalmorning.chuckb

Spring has arrived in Bernal Heights, which really means that quasi-summer has arrived in Bernal Heights, since the weather we get during the calendar months of summer tends to be far less warm, less clear, and less glorious than what we’re experiencing now.

To celebrate the faux-season, three vigorous explorers went for walks on Bernal Hill this morning, during which they captured the soul-warming photos shown here.

Savor the day!

PHOTOS: From top via the Instagram, @tristan, @littlemisosoup, @chuck_b

Mysterious Bernal Hill Tree-Shrub Thing Now Protected by Powerful Force-Field

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Bernalblownaway

It’s a well-known fact that the big tree/shrub thingy atop Bernal Hill plays host to many dark mysteries. But now it seems that the distinctive plant has also acquired supernatural powers.

Over on the Instagram, photographer Nick Hatamiya channeled the wonderful “Kamehameha” Dragonball photo meme coming out of Japan to show Bernal’s tree-shrub thingy repelling an intrusive bystander with a powerful blast of invisible energy.

Nicely done!

PHOTO: @nickhata

Strange Mist Is Revealed as “Karl the Fog” Expressing Affection

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

bernalmist1

bernalmist2

Yesterday, the Citizens of Bernalwood awoke to find a spooky mist hovering over Bernal Heights. It was unlike the thick soup of dampness that we often see during “summer” months, however, in that yesterday’s fog was more of a swirling vapor that looked bright and mysterious.

Fortunately, photographer Guillaume Lebleu brought his camera to the top of Bernal Hill to capture the wispy magic, and as you can see in the photos above, he nailed it.

Later that afternoon, however, the true nature of this odd meteorological phenomenon was revealed. Via Twitter, we learned that San Francisco’s favorite uninvited guest, Karl the Fog, had merely been expressing his affection for Bernal Heights in his own uniquely suffocating kind of way:

https://twitter.com/KarlTheFog/status/311959029956108289

PHOTOS: Guillaume Lebleu