Firecracker San Francisco California ©1984 Firecracker is a funny story. I was on Howard Street (near 8th) talking with my friend Mark Kuhn. Mark (now living in N.Y.) is a great painter and a very funny guy. I’m sure we were both laughing at something when a car passing by on Howard Street backfired. Suddenly, this huge flock of pigeons took to the air. We were both watching them as the circled the area. They flew past an old building that had an aging Par-T-Pack Cola Ad painted on the sun lit side. I watched and thought, what a great image. I asked my friend (Fashion Photographer) Kingmond Young to help me with the photo. We went back to Howard Street at about the same time the next day. During the Summer the weather in San Francisco is fairly predictable. I used a tripod, a Nikon F3 Motor and a 180mm lens; Kodachrome in the camera. I made my composition and set the motor to high speed. I gave Kingmond a “thumbs up” and he lit off a firecracker. When the birds were in front of the wall I started the motor drive. We had fun and the shots were great.I mention the names of some of the Artists who lived in the South of Market Area back in the mid 70s to the early 90s, because it was a great place to live and work back then. All but a few have moved away. The Dot-Bomb plague drove the Artists out of the area. It was a great time back then, we really had a lot of fun. |