San Francisco Portfolio - 1972-1980

After photographing war and death for 18 months in Vietnam, I wanted to shift to photography as a fine art and enrolled using the GI Bill at the San Francisco Art Institute in the fall of 1972. A more dramatic change of environment from Vietnam cannot be imagined. San Francisco in the 70s exemplified much of the legendary free-spirit movement of the 60s -- with some of the negative aspects as well. Moving from photographing aircraft in the Air Force, I switched to images of friends in the Bay Area and coastal & mountain landscapes. The images here of the body immersed in or near water are part of my senior portfolio (and a solo exhibit at the Art Institute) titled Swimmers. In the portfolio I wanted to explore floating or swimming as a metaphor for human dream states -- and to capture the effects of light reflected and refracted by water on the body. The other photos are of friends.

Immersion. Swimmers portfolio. (1975) Cathy Larcom.

Pamela Francis [Bonino]. Clay Street apartment, San Francisco. (1979)

Elizabeth Jones. (1974)

Roommates Patty Hosley and Jane Cunningham. Clement Street, San Francisco. (1977)

Solange Marzouk. (1977)

At the old house in Saratoga, California with Erik Olson and Brian Moran. (1976)

Liquid aura. Swimmers portfolio. (1975)

Patty Hosley sunbathing on the deck. (1977)

On Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park. (1975)

Luminous Jan. Swimmers portfolio. (1975)

Elizabeth Jones, Monterey. (1974)

Below:

At the house on the lake in Providence in the fall of 1974 while studying with photographer Aaron Siskind as an exchange student at the Rhode Island School of Design. At far right is painting major (and now film director) Gus Van Sant. The eyes of all look a bit odd as this image was taken with black and white infrared film -- something we experimented with at the time.

Portrait of Panthea McKnight, San Francisco. (1975)

Dreaming of distant seas. Swimmers portfolio. (1974) Phil Rosenberg at Lands End, San Francisco.

Portrait by Elizabeth Jones. (1974)

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