I remember reading a tip in a book on photography that an overcast day is an invitation to take pictures of things that are nearer the ground. The light and shadows are less harsh that way. And it was an overcast day in San Francisco on Saturday, when it wasn’t outright drizzling; and as I walked up 4th towards Market I passed a sign for the “XYZ” restaurant, which is at the “W” hotel. Each had a fine, distinctive sign, and suddenly had me in an alphabetical mood.
I was obsessed with the alphabet at a very early age. I had record collections with alphabet songs on them, checked every alphabet book out of the library repeatedly. I have 26 lovers, and “Y” swings both ways, baby.
So suddenly I’m noticing all the stylish, strange, or otherwise splendid letters sitting in plain sight all over the city. San Francisco has such dense layers of history and culture packed into so few square miles, and yet it’s never solidified – it’s always churning. And a lot of that energy is reflected in its signage. Suddenly, an “A to Z” photo collection seemed like a fabulous way to capture a city.
At first I hesitated about whether I should actually do it that very day. I had places I wanted to get to, and the sun was setting early, and so I wasn’t sure I could get it done to my satisfaction and still hit my other destinations. But then I thought about how little value there was letting the perfect be the enemy of such a good little adventure. And once I left the museum I started snapping away.
It didn’t take long for me to think there would be a couple of rules to this. One – that this quest should be conducted on foot. Two – that you should endeavor to capture all 26 letters on a single trip if possible. Three – places that are local or unique to the city should be emphasized. Sure, you could make your life a lot easier by shooting a picture of a neighborhood Quiznos, but what fun is that? And Four – you shouldn’t get more than one letter from the same sign/location. Now, a few times I certainly found multiple letters in very close proximity, but considering this was all done in about 3½ hours, spreading them all too far afield risked missing some.
And I even did miss one. I’m cheating twice in this collection – once by using a letter which is not actually the letter as it is written; it’s just a fluke of positioning that makes it resemble a different letter. And the other cheat is one letter that I didn’t capture on the walk, because I got it mixed up in my mind with one I’d already captured. Anyone with some knowledge of San Francisco geography ought to be able to call me out.
And a final caveat – I know that some of these pictures are blurry or dim – the limitations of time and my camera were rough on this kind of work and so I don’t think they’re up to the standard of what I usually post here. I’d like to do this again, with a DSLR and a good lens, and a full day devoted to the quest. Could be San Francisco again, could be another city. But this filled an already-great day with so many extra pleasures.
