Ice Cream Vendors (Heladeros), San Francisco Street Photography

I have a lot of respect for many of the ice cream vendors who push their carts up and down the streets of the Mission District. Watching some of them  brought to mind the movie/documentary  “Romántico“, about two struggling mariachis working the bars and restaurants of the Mission District. These heladeros no doubt have their own equally noble, humble, and poignant stories.

Seeing how they all seem to be working for the same company, it made me wonder how much they get paid for a long, laborious day.

Valencia Street Musicians, San Francisco Street Photography

I enjoy the relaxed latin atmosphere in the Mission District. I listened to these guys play for quite a spell, while the world marched by. Click to enlarge.

Looking back at these is making me salivate for some more Mexican food at Restaurante El Delfin. They have superb mole enchiladas and seafood dishes using lots of old family recipes handed down from their Guanajuato roots. A little pricier than most of the local taquerias, it’s well worth it for the great meals and shade tree ambience of 24th St.

Restaurante El Delfin

3066 24th St
San Francisco, CA 94110-4130
(415) 643-7955

Mission District, San Francisco Street Photography

For my tastes, the Mission District proved to be more fertile grounds for street photography than the downtown area of San Francisco. Even though I know I was only scratching the surface, it seemed liked I was closer to the underbelly of things.

I’m still working out the kinks with my Sigma DP1, especially in lower light. ISO 400 or less seems best.

Balmy Alley Mural Project

Our next stop on the photowalk was to Balmy Alley, a block long corridor that in the early 70’s, began filling with murals on the back of garages and walls, and where in 1985, 27 murals were painted. The murals are diverse stylistically, yet seem more traditional than most of the murals in the Mission District, with Latin American culture and politics being the theme.

Balmy Alley is located off of 24th Street in The Mission. It is parallel to Treat Ave and Harrison Street between 24th & 25th streets.

This next work in progress I found interesting, because on further research, I gleaned that it was inspired by the novel,  “Enriques Journey” , a great book about a young Honduran traveling atop the trains through Mexico in search of his mother, who left years before in search of work in the United States.  It was done by a young artist named Josué Rojas, and who recently went back to Honduras and helped townspeople paint a mural at the site of one of the largest massacres in Honduran history, in hopes that gang culture might turn more towards artistic culture. Kudos to you Josué !

It’s been fun and a real treat to take photos (with my new/used Sigma DP1) of the murals around the Mission District.  There’s been a bit of a learning curve, but the camera makes one think, unlike most small point and shoot cameras.  I’m amazed at the detail, (click on the photos) compared to my old Canon SD750.Well, I have a bunch more to share and  I’ll try and post some more soon – tommorow is a commercial fishing day and my eyes are getting tired. Make the effort to check out all the great street art in the Mission District.  It’s fun, free, and there’s some great food to be had in the area.

Clarion Alley Mural Project

First stop on our photowalk was Clarion Alley, a visual feast in the Mission District of San Francisco. It runs between Mission and Valencia, parallel to 17th and 18th streets, and is open 24 hours.

The Clarion Alley Mural Project was established in October 1992 by a volunteer group of six North Mission, and drew its inspiration from the murals of Balmy Alley a few blocks away. Unlike the Balmy Alley murals, the Clarion Alley murals chose not to focus only on Central American social struggles, and exhibit much more eclectic themes by artists from many different cultural backgrounds.

Though I didn’t much appreciate some of these great murals being defaced, they still shine through the spray can tagging. As Allen Hough aptly writes in his SF Weekly blog, I Heart Street Art, “The mural is still the main thing. The mural is still the thing that passersby see, and take in, and appreciate. Like, if it’s a worthy piece of art, then it’s got heart. And if it’s got heart, then some little inky blemish isn’t going to stop it from conveying its message.” Hopefully there will be many more to come.

Click on the photos to see more detail.