Photo by Plomomedia

Congratulations to photographer Stephen Thomson (website) whose photo of the raccoons communing with a MUNI driver at the Legion will be included in the new exhibition “Night/Light: Bay Area Photographers Take Aim After Dark.”

The exhibit runs from September 16, 2010 until January 14, 2011 in the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery on the ground floor of City Hall.

The work selected for the exhibition explores what happens after sunset and before sunrise, showcasing nighttime images ranging from landscapes to portraits, from photodocumentary essays to fantastical narratives.

Stephen has taken lots of wonderful photos of the Richmond District; check them out in the slideshow below.

In other night photo news, SFWeekly has a nice slideshow of “San Francisco At Night” images from photographer Joseph Schell.

Sarah B.

The dome of the Neptune Society’s Columbarium. Photo by Thomas Hawk.

That’s a cross section of a Humboldt County redwood tree on the right.

Our friends over at Inside Outside Lands posted about some new Sutro Baths photos that were recently added to the Cliff House Project website. I’ve lived in the city my whole life but not long enough to have experienced the baths. So I find them endlessly fascinating.

This latest group of photos are from a booklet shot by reknowned local photographer Isaiah Taber and include some rare views of the tanks, stands, museum and promenades in the Baths. You really get a feel for how large the place was.

The photos and booklet aren’t dated but according to the Wikipedia page on Taber, “the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed his San Francisco studio, gallery, and negative collection, ending his photographic career.” So these were probably taken at the turn of the century (Sutro Baths opened in 1896).

UPDATE: Commenter John Martini confirms that they were taken sometime during 1894-1895 (“One major clue is the “Greek Temple” entrance shown in the first photo. By 1896 this entry had been altered…”). Thanks John!

I’ve included a couple more below (is that Adolph Sutro himself in the last one?), but be sure to see all the photos from this booklet. Really, the entire Cliff House Project site is fantastic, so pour yourself a cup of coffee and start clicking through local history!

Sarah B.

Yeah, I’m griping as much as everybody about our lousy weather. But sometimes, the fog has its moments. And the birds at Mt. Lake Park don’t seem to mind it.

Sarah B.

In honor of the first real sun we had today. Photo by Butters.photo.

Because he’s got an au natural, balcony view? Photo by ofermod who says, “Yes, there is a bird in the cage.”

I suspect that bird knows better than to move around too much. A little jostling and whoosh, elevator down! This reminds me of the Michael Jackson baby dangling incident…

I just never know what I’ll run into when I’m in Golden Gate Park. Today I rode up on a celebration of the Hindu festival Ratha Jatra, associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India. More from Wikipedia:

Usually the deities – Jagannath (Krishna), Balarama and Subhadra are worshipped within the temple, but on the day of the Rath festival they are taken through the streets so that everyone can have the fortune of seeing them…

A glimpse of Lord Jagannatha on the chariot is considered to be very auspicious and saints, poets and scriptures have repeatedly glorified the sanctity of this special festival. The sanctity of the festival is such that even a touch of the chariot or even the ropes with which these are pulled is considered enough to confer the results of several pious deeds or penance for ages. In fact, there is a famous Oriya song which says that on this occasion, the chariot, the wheels, the grand avenue all become one with Lord Jagannatha himself. [Wikipedia]

I was told the chariot would proceed all the way down JFK Drive, ending in a vegetarian feast in the park. Also, the top part of the structure moves up and down – that’s how they got under the JFK Drive overpass.

Sarah B.

What kind of religious celebration would it be with limos for the dignitaries?

Photo by Edwård.