THE BEST OF
"SAN FRANCISCO -
FROM THE TAXI DRIVER'S SEAT,"
Spring 2005 - Fall 2006.



I bought my Nikon D70 on Monday night April 18. The next day I had to go to work. My first oppurtunity to use my new camera was at the Veterans/Arrow Taxi garage. But I also took the camera with me when I drove my taxi. Since I had it with me anyway and I was really bored sitting at red lights, I decided to shoot whatever I saw while sitting at the red light. Of course if I saw something while I was actually driving I would quickly grab my camera and shoot.
I made the photos a monthly series on my other website, but felt I needed to do a tighter edit for the page on this site. I decided that I would just put what I considered to be the "best" or my favorite from the series.The following photos were edited from over 700 images. All of these photos were taken "from the driver's seat."


Bestof1 (78K) San Francisco's famous twins Marian and Vivian Brown take a stroll near their home on Nob Hill. The amazing thing about this shot is that I was waiting for the light to change at the corner of California and Mason Streets. I looked to my right and there they were waiting to cross. I leaned out the window and said, "smile ladies." They saw me with the camera and started laughing. This was the first shot of a five shot sequence.

Bestof2 (79K) Two office workers leave their building on Montgomery Street. I love the express on the face of the girl to the left.

Bestof3 (96K) I like the colors in this photo. All the red and white on the signs and the blue in the guy's shirt.

Bestof4 (30K) It's the Golden Gate Bridge in the fog at twilight. I think the cool thing is that you can actually see where the fog begins on the bridge.

Bestof5 (85K) I think it's so cool how all the people in the go-karts appear to be looking at the lady in the crosswalk crossing the street.

Spring065 (75K) This is probably the best of my "mirror shots." It's the cable car seen in my side view mirror at twilight on Powell Street.

Bestof8 (86K) Three motorcycles, in front of me, speed up when the light turns green. I like the feeling of motion in this photo. If it was a sharp focused photo of the three motocycles in front of me it would have been "just another photo of three motorcycles."

Bestof9 (96K) This does not look like your typical homeless couple. Hey, they're too good looking. There has to be more to their story. How did they run out of gas? Did they not plan their trip properly? Looking back, I wish I had parked the cab and found out their story.

Bestof10 (101K)
I like this shot of the TransAmerica Building because you can see Francis Ford Coppolo's buiding to the right.

Bestof12 (83K) I think I've seen this same composition on a post card. It's a good tourist shto, with the cable car on top of the Hyde Street hill facing the Hyde Street Pier and Fisherman's Wharf to the right and Alcatraz and Marin County in the background.

Spring062 (84K) A homeless man searches a trash can on the corner of 9th and Irving Streets.

Bestof15 (78K) I shot this on Nob Hill while sitting at a stop sign waiting for this family to cross the street. I shot right through the windshield. I like the expression on the older woman's face as she speaks to the girl and the laughing smile on the girl to the right.

Bestof16 (89K) People crossing Colombus Avenue at Broadway on a Saturday night.Shooting at night is a new experience for me. I love the rich colors you I can attain with available light. The yellow on the taxi really stands out.

Bestof18 (84K) Two Asian men (left) laugh as the "Silver Man" walks down Powell Street.

Bestof19 (80K) A couple (left) enjoys the view from the top of the "crooked street."

Bestof22 (83K) A couple of tourists again laugh when they see me driving a taxi with a camera in my hand. This one was shot at night with the small built-on flash.

Bestof23 (57K) Heading back to San Francisco from Mill Valley this is the view you see when you exit the Waldo Tunnel. I always thought it was cool that you don't see this view until you exit the tunnel and then - there it is - San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Bestof24 (87K) A woman holds a sign, "Honk 4 Hurricane Relief" on Colombus Avenue at Broadway. I don't understand what honking has to do with hurrican relief.

Bestof26 (94K) Three women cross the street and are about to enter my taxi.

Driver20 (52K) Believe it or not, this guy was walking around Fisherman's Wharf with his llamar. When the guy saw me with the camera he came closer to the cab and stood there with his llamar.

Bestof28 (79K) A man stands in front of Ghiradelli Square and looks at his baby. I like this photo because I feel a "sense of love" coming from the man toward the baby.

Bestof29 (98K) Three hispanic men enjoy a conversation on Valencia Street in the Mission District.

Bestof30 (76K) This woman is actually waiting to cross the street.

Bestof31 (81K) A girl skips past a candy shop in North Beach. This is one of the first photos I shot in this series.

BONUS PHOTO - A SELF PORTRAIT Bestof32A (60K) Here I am waiting for customers to come out of Gary Danko's Restaurant on Northpoint Street. No use wasting time, so I decide to work on a self-portrait. This was the best shot out of about twenty.


To see the complete "From the Taxi Driver's Seat" series go to the Philflash Website. The address is http://Philflash.tripod.com or click on to the link below.

The Phil Flash Website,(click here),   Photos of my series "From the Taxi Driver's Seat," Veteran's Taxi photos and other San Francisco photos.



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