Tag: pier 24

The Bittersweet Beauty of “Turning the Page” at Pier 24

Post author By Scott Loftesness
Post date May 1, 2024
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My good friend Doug and I got together yesterday to visit the latest photography exhibition – “Turning the Page” – at the wonderful Pier 24 on San Francisco’s Embarcadero, a venue that’s an old friend of ours.

From the exhibition description: “Turning the Page…celebrates the photobook, a medium that has undergone its own renaissance parallel to our years in operation. Each of the galleries presents works from a distinct photobook, whether an iconic volume or a recent monograph. The content, sequence, and design of each selected book guided our approach to that particular installation, aiming for a thoughtful translation of its overall tone and intent.”

In this exhibition, the works of several photographers I know are combined with many works from photographers I haven’t known, making for a very varied but interesting exhibition. One, in particular, I enjoyed was Donavon Smallwood.

As has happened each time we’ve visited exhibitions at this venue, we came away with our spirits lifted and new insights gained from studying these photographs. The idea of featuring a photobook in each of the galleries was unique and delightful. (Note: If you want to view this exhibition, you need to make a reservation on the Pier 24 website. One of the wonderful things about Pier 24 is how they use the requirement for advance reservations to limit the number of visitors in the museum at any time – making for a very nice, unhurried browsing experience! Just be sure to book well in advance of when you want to attend – and the museum is only open Monday-Friday so keep that in mind as well!)

The current exhibition – “Turning the Page” – runs through January 2024. Unfortunately, it will be the last exhibition in this wonderful space for photography, which opened in 2010. As discussed in this news release from January 2023, The Pilara Foundation, the sponsor of Pier 24, has been unable to successfully negotiate a lease extension with the San Francisco Port Commission after trying to do so for five years. Sadly, the Commission is demanding a tripling of the current rent charged to the Foundation for the space at Pier 24. As a result, the Foundation has decided to close the museum when its lease expires in July 2025.

This is such a sad event for photography aficionados in the San Francisco Bay Area. There is simply no other venue that has done such a superb job displaying photography exhibitions as Pier 24. I’m very disappointed in the actions of the Port Commission, which are forcing the closing of this exceptional museum.

Black and White Monochrome Photography Photography Photography - Black & White Photography - Fujifilm X-E2 San Francisco/California Street Photography

That Glance

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Today I joined a group of friends to visit the current exhibition of Paul Graham’s work at Pier 24 in San Francisco. Pier 24 is a beautiful gallery for the display of photography – with large neutral spaces in many different rooms – and controlled reservation-based entry to minimize any feeling of crowding the in the space. It’s a joy.

Graham’s work was organized into three bodies of work: American Night (1998–2002), a shimmer of possibility (2004–06), and The Present (2009–11). In his video, Graham talked about how each body of work was based on one aspect of the camera. American Night was based upon aperture – overexposing the images to create the soft white images. A shimmer was based upon time – snapping multiple images in a sequence to tell the story of something in a series of images. The Present was based upon the use of selective focus – or very shallow depth of field – to shift the viewer’s attention to a different point of interest in each image.

After watching Graham’s video explanation of each – and walking the exhibitions, I came away really liking his American Night collection best of all. These images at first look like nothing – you glance and them and want to move on. But when you stop and spend time with each image, your eye begins to see details that you originally overlooked. As you move closer to the image, the effect is enhanced – you start seeing more. A lovely treatment – and something I want to play with in the future.

Meanwhile, as we departed Pier 24, I came across this man walking toward me in the shadows under the pier’s overhang. I grabbed a quick shot and then he sat down. I continued walked toward him – and asked him – with a quick motion of my hand with my camera asking if it was OK to take his picture. He said yes – and then I captured him in this pose glancing off to his left. One of those great moments when it all comes together in street photography!

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The Magic of Photography at San Francisco’s Pier 24

Post author By Scott Loftesness
Post date January 12, 2014
No Comments on The Magic of Photography at San Francisco’s Pier 24

My friend Doug Kaye and I recently visited Pier 24 to see the current exhibition: “A Sense of Place”. We’d been wanting to go for several months but it’s a hard place to get into. They limit attendance and require an advance (but free) reservation. Only 20 people go in at one of three times each day. Once you’re inside, you really appreciate the lack of any crowds – so the reservation process definitely helps create a much higher quality experience. We got lucky one day and found a couple of slots open.

The space inside is just perfect for photography. The provide you with a booklet that provides the details for each photo – no little signs on the walls next to the photos.

My favorite photographers from the current exhibition are: Todd Hido, Stephen Shore, Jeff Wall, Andreas Gursky, Lee Friedlander, Eric William Carroll, Paul Graham and Rinko Kawauichi. Beautiful work from each of them! Doug and I spent the most time exploring a Vancouver nightclub shot by Jeff Wall – In Front of a Nightclub – a fascinating work! From a distance, the image seems flat but when you get up closer – within say 5 feet or so – it begins to really show some depth. Very fun!

Here’s another image shot inside Pier 24 – these are street shots of New York City by Paul Graham. I like how some of the images are mounted low. Graham’s using the “stage” technique – seeing first an interesting background and waiting for it to fill with subjects of interest.