East Bay

Cheap Thrills

 

Cheap Thrills IV (Sequence Series), Oakland CA, Summer 2016.

It’s amazing how much fun a kid can have with a hill and a bit of space to run on.

I like how the only person aware of the lens happens to be kind of shy, yet friendly. We can’t tell if the mother is totally unaware or if she is also totally enjoying the cheap thrills being had just above her.

I happened to be moving around this day from an estuary clean-up to a visit to an Outdoor Afro program out on Oakland’s Lake Merritt when I saw the kids taking turns making a roller coaster out of the steep ground. Covering this much ground yields little gems like this.

— JMG

OLYMPUS MIRORLESS DIGITAL, M5 (ISO 200 / f.5.6 / 1/4000)

The Magic Carpets of Town Park

Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.
Untitled, Oakland CA, Fall 2016.

Oakland’s Defremery Park has a special place in Oakland history because of the role it played in the late 60s to convene Oakland’s black community in defense of Huey P. Newton when he was charged for the murder of a police officer.  Town Park’s history is relatively recent but the spirit of the Black Panthers struggles for equal protection and civic participation is not lost since the funds to build out Town Park were raised by and for the West Oakland community.  Empowering projects like this are remarkable because they also empower those who both work on and benefit from opening public space.

Taken during one of Oakland’s most meaningful, community driven festivals, Life Is Living, this set captures the dynamic energy and form.    Beside the main stage, good food, and healthy, balanced living theme, I often visit to see the Extreme sports that go on in a section of Defremery Park known as Town Park.  In true gonzo photography fashion, what the camera froze on frame shows that the lens is an active participant in the way subject’s act and react in front of it.  I went of my way to publish some of these because it was evident the young men in them went out of their way to give me fabulous shots.  I was very appreciative of their “hard skating” and the way they tolerated an intruding eye as they glide and bust tricks on their magic carpets.

–JMG

Romance By the Bay

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Romance by the Bay, Berkeley CA, Summer 2016.

One of the things I think photographers like Cartier-Bresson had over many American street photographers is the fact that outward displays of affection are hard to find in the U.S. Growing up in Los Angeles I know the quip “get a room” all too well because it’s the off-handed observation most make when they presence public displays of affection. This became starkly evident on trips to Mexico city, where there seems to be more of an outward expressiveness between couples– young and old. Plaza’s, restaurants, train stations, lovers seem to be

This scene revealed itself once I made it up the hill as I was trying to get closer to the kites in the background there at Cesar Chavez park in Berkeley. I had to make sure not to make them self-conscious as I waited for some folks to clear far enough to set of the foreground from the background. I did the classic look to the opposite direction and walked back to get enough space to get a wide shot. The day was extremely sunny so getting the contrast right in post was the toughest in this shot.

–JMG

Shot on Olympus OMD-EM5 / LUMIX G VARIO 14-45/ F3.5-5.6

Sun Kissed Hill Tops & Bay Panorama

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Sun Kissed Hill Tops and Bay Panorama, Oakland, CA, Summer 2016.  OE-M5 1/100, f.14.0, ISO 200.

I was driving home after a party at Tilden National Park when this panorama opened as I cleared a curve on the road. I had to pull over to take a few frames with my EM-5. Without a tripod in hand, I rested the camera on a guard rail stump.

The sun kissed tree tops of the Berkeley Hills are my subject, the gratuitous back ground was a bonus given how clear the day was. The photo also shows the most significant land marks of the SF Bay, including the Berkeley Hill tops.

–JMG

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Zeta’s Lupe

Zeta's Lupe, Oakland, CA, Fall 2014

Zeta’s Lupe, Oakland, CA, Fall 2014

 

Unique threads out on Oakland nights. I noticed this young woman and could not get my eyes off her unique sense of style. I had to work up the courage to see if she would humor me when I asked if I could shoot some of her tattoos and unique top. She told me the top was hand made by her grandmother and was handed down to her recently. She was more than happy to let me shoot her with my HTC One (M8).

I wish I would have had my Nikon, but this worked good enough as I could not let the opportunity go by without a shot. Since she was happy to pose, I regret not asking her to give me a profile of her face with this pose.

Alas, on the pursuit of the aura on the street and dive bars of San Francisco Bay area.