SF.
Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 5:31PM 
SF. I have gathered a healthy amount of photos from this city over the past few weeks and wanted to share some of them.
I've also had my Cube for a few weeks now. Still liking it. Here are some quick thoughts for those interested:
- The CVT is not a driver's choice of transmission. It's plenty for normal humans like me.
- The driving dynamics is certainly not sporty but still surprisingly nimble. Wind noise and resistance is clearly noticed on the freeway - after all, it is a box.
- The car doesn't want to go fast. I was normally the driver that passed people. In the Cube, I'm the relaxed driver getting passed.
- I've never had people look at or ask questions about my car. With the Cube, it's common place. I'm surprised.
Once again, the car shines in the interior. Comfy, huge and welcoming. It's definitely cute in a very Japanese way. If that's not your thing, this car will turn you off.
I'm sure most people that come to the blog have been reading/read the Walter Isaacson biography on Steve Jobs. I've shamefully not completed it yet - too busy with projects...
I've been exploring SF in the most touristy fashion.
The San Francisco cable car is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car. There are things like the cable car in San Francisco that have truly deep cultural and historical influence that's certainly interesting.
These trams are also quite fitting into the city. I find it fascinating that these are still operational in a city that has become packed with cars.
Everything seems to have connections to the old. Being a lover of cold modernism, my heart is still in a city like Tokyo. But something has to be said about the warmth this city holds.
I'm reminded of Vancouver quite often here.
Parks and water are never out of reach. Everything is certainly more dense and gritty here but still very familiar as a Vancouverite.
What's great about SF is the density. There's always something interesting to see or take photos of.
But I'll be totally honest. I was disappointed when I arrived at San Francisco. I expected something more clean and polished. As someone that's still getting used to the American grittiness and "harshness", it began to feel like the other US cities I've lived at. It's hard to explain but I'm sure most foreigners will feel something similar. Maybe we're just all wimps.
With my negatism aside, this really is one of the finer cities I've had the chance of visiting. It's full of life.
I've gotten an appreciation for the architecture here. Normally not my cup of tea but when an entire city has a similar aesthetic, the result is profound.
Profound.
And it's pretty dense here. I love density.
Some of these buildings look almost like a movie set in appearance.
Apple Store SF. I had to come here a few times to buy my phone and get my laptop repaired. This is definitely not the Apple Store to come to. Way too many people and way to noisy.
The employee to customer ratio is almost 1:1. Still hard to get attention.
Packed.
Being a flagship Apple Store, there were plenty of people meeting at the Apple Store to mourn for Steve Jobs. The amount of love being shown was exceptional.
A very minimalist SF Fire Department building. I like this.
Every time I see that iPad 2 ad, it reminds me that the first sign of Apple going bad is if their ads become more complex than this. The ad is insanely great. The single photo says everything it needs to.
Union Square. One of the most dense concentration of department stores and upscale boutiques in the US.
FIDM, is a college focusing on fashion and seems to be located near Union Square. I saw a few students carrying the same bag; issued by the school I'm guessing.
When you see a pack of students carrying the same bag, it's great advertisement.
San Francisco is famous for its hills.
Photos do not do justice of how steep these hills really are. Impossible to pedal up these with my folding bike.
China Town. It's the biggest I've personally seen. I'm pretty sure this is not road legal.
San Francisco has a high density of classic cars.
Thought it was the 2002, a quick Wikipedia search seems to indicate that this is a 1600. Nevertheless, good looking.
Land Rover Defender. Reminds me of the red one in Vancouver.
There's also plenty of cars that show love from their owners. Like this diligently detailed 911.
As far as classic cars go, there are lots of Mustangs here than anything else. This was the cleanest I've ever seen. I have a soft spot for Ford muscle.
Everything is meticulously restored/maintained. I don't know enough to say if things are original or not.
A good photo to end on.
Reader Comments (12)
As usual, great photography.
San Fran looks great! Wish I had the time to go there when I was at Art Center! Next time I'll get to the US I will make sure to visit it! :)
What camera did you use to take these?
한국과는 다르게 인상깊은 차들이 많이 다니네요.
interesting note about the griminess of major US cities. i think you have to take into account our history as a country. we were founded by rebels - specifically, rebelling against the cold, impersonal British monarchy. "freedom" was our rallying cry. freedom of religion, of taxation, of personal expression...
so when you get a bunch of freedom-loving rebels together to form a country, it's gonna get a little messy.
i, personally, love that cities like NYC and SF are more folk art than cold modernism. it does need to be reigned in a bit sometimes - New York in the 80s got out of hand - but the dirty, loud, uneven, multi-colored, misshapen landscape of our great cities is what makes them unforgettable.
i love your photos of san fran! gorgeous..
Great pictures dude. I love those classic cars. Great photography...
I love the colors in your pictures! Are you using straight-out-of-camera jpegs, or do you apply post-processing?
Just got a Fuji X100 and playing around with all the settings and film simulations.. and need help :)
Thank you :)
Actually, having grown up in the US, and particularly just outside NYC in the ultra-gritty 70s, I was surprised by how clean Toronto wasn't when I first visited there, in 1999. Maybe my expectations were unrealistically high (I think I was picturing Singapore levels of cleanliness, which may simply be incompatible with Anglo democracy), but it didn't strike me as obviously cleaner than comparable areas (that is, I was in reasonably nice parts of TO, and therefore comparing it to nice parts of NYC or DC or Pittsburgh) in contemporary American cities. Zürich may be the only city I've visited that really struck me as clean, although still not sparkling. Never been to Asia.
Anyway, thanks for the pics; your brief comments on them are very good expressions of yourself.
Did that BMW have a 1600 or 2002 emblem on the rear?As a lover of 2002s and an owner of a '68 1600, I would take a guess that is a Golf Yellow '74 or later 2002. It has the beefy bumper that was required starting in '74.
Anyways, I've never posted a comment on here, so I might as well make the most of it and also say that your work is exceptional. A lot of inspiration to be found here and I absolutely love reading your reviews and opinions on products.
Thank you for visiting my city, and I'm glad you liked it despite its grittiness. I personally prefer SF's architecture over "cold modernism" and actually lament the fact that West Coast states don't have as much history in their cities as they do in the East Coast. SF is an exception to this, which is why I'm so proud of this beautiful, diverse city.
I like SF. Thought about moving there after graduation as I wanted to live in a real city™. Decided to move to Tokyo instead.