Let me say right up front that I am a minimalist in life, meaning I live by the “Less is More” motto, and am a photojournalist at heart. It was my major in college which fit as I began documenting my life, in pictures, at an early age.
With that in mind, I’ve heard it said that the best camera you own is the one you have with you or the one you actually use. For example, if I own a heavy full-frame camera with equally heavy lenses but do most of my shooting with my smartphone because of the weight, then, in my opinion, my best camera is the phone camera. This theory brought me to minimalism in photography. I reduced my gear down from the Canon line to the mirrorless Lumix brand. It serves me well and more often than not I take a lens attached to a camera body attached to a sling and go out shooting for the day. In my pockets, I have an extra battery and a lens cleaning cloth. No pack full of extra lenses, and all the gear that might distract me. I also have just quit bringing a tripod as it always seemed to be an exercise in futility, I NEVER used it.
You now know enough for me to get to the actual subject of this blog…photographing San Francisco with an iPhone 8.
Last summer, August 2021 to be exact, we finally made it to Northern California to see the family after a two-year Covid hiatus. The family lives in Marin County, north of the Golden Gate Bridge. One day a group of us decided to take the ferry to the City then spend the day hopping on and off cable cars. I was torn as to whether I would capture this adventure in a “real” camera or “live it” and just go with grab shots with the iPhone. I chose to live it. Here are some of my images:
This is the crew we went with: my mom, step-dad, sister-in-law, and her two kids, granddaughter, nephew, and my cousin’s kid. It was a formidable team.
We spent most of the day in Chinatown where I found some amazing murals.
My wife, Ellen, and I with our granddaughter. It was her first trip to see the family in eight years.
I love wondering unfamiliar cities and finding treasures like this parking garage entrance.
We HAD to stop by the fortune cookie factory!
We grabbed lunch inside this giant mall and did some quick shopping.
Our two youngest team members were SUCH troopers.
After lunch, we boarded the trolly and headed to Fisherman’s Wharf where we ended the day. From there we walked back to the Ferry Building and headed home. 
Our crew hanging off the trolly as we pass one going in the opposite direction. You can see the Bay in the distance.
I wasn’t preoccupied with photo gear and was able to be present and spend a glorious day with my family while still documenting the day. And it was a single-lens iPhone 8! Not even the fancy three-lens 13 (or whatever generation they are on to).
Have a great time on your next family adventure and remember, it’s okay to live it. 😉
Happy Shooting!
Here is a classic spray can mural I found while wandering the streets of Parasi on the Azuero Peninsula.
I’m always interested in the graphic art that can be found in license plates. Oddly enough, Panamanians have to get a new license plate every year. Not a new number, just a new plate because, apparently, the color strip at the top changes every year. The excess plates are then sold to vendors to sell to tourists. Or, as you see here, you can save your old ones and decorate your bicycles. What’s weird is that this one is from 2018…which is THIS year! Ha!
Here is some handy work used to decorate the top of a cushion at covering a chair at a local coffee shop.
We spent three days in the town of Cambutal, a sleepy little beach town with dark sand beaches and miles of surf. On one of our excursions, we came upon this old fishing boat that was being reclaimed by the jungle. The paint mixed with the old weathered wood was really cool. I took several shots of this boat.
This Buddha statue was sitting outside in a beautiful yoga retreat in Cambutal. The retreat center can be rented out for yoga and surf instruction. It was amazing.
Here’s some more beach art. This pattern was built and designed by some sort of crab living in the hole at the bottom of the image. the hole is surrounded by little
This guy was painted onto the outside of a building in Parasi where we stopped for lunch on the way home from the beach.
Panama is known for the art of their public buses. I found this flat tired, VW bus outside a surf shop in Parasi. The Day of the Dead images were fantastic.
These two wall hanging were outside a souvenir shop. The one on the left is commonly found throughout Panama. I remember images similar to this from our trip last year as we walked through Casco Viejo. I’m curious as to what the story is of such a horned and teethy looking mask.
As we headed out to the Azuero Peninsula we stopped at a roadside store for breakfast. This gentleman was selling lotto tickets outside of the empanada store. He was quite popular. This image of him sitting by himself to some patience.
These are the hammocks hanging outside our hotel room with lovely views. The early morning light was pretty amazing.
This is the view from the far end of the hammock picture. It’s the same time of day as the hammock image but zoomed in to catch the water and hills in the distance. The haze of the humidity creates a cool look.
Here’s the same image but at a different time of the day and zoomed out a little more to include more of the trees.
Our hotel was perched high on a hill. This little home was off the side of the dirt road we walked down from our perch to get to the beach.
The beach is my happy place, and this little guy’s as well. The sand here was dark and very solid in the surf, which made it easy to walk for hours. It was best to stay where it was wet so as not to burn your feet!
Low tide gave us miles and miles of beach to explore. The sand was flat and packed down which made for easy walking and exploring.
One of the highlights of the weekend was the sheer amount of coconut we ate. Ed and his son Aven were constantly opening another one with their machetes. The coconuts were so fresh and the coconut water so refreshing.
The coloration of the sand made for some great patterns.
Here’s an example of how low the tide gets. This anchor is barely getting wet. At low tide, it was probably 100 yards out of the water. The fisherman’s home is in the palm tree jungle behind the boat.
Facing west, as the sun is going down, I caught this boogie boarder sizing up the waves. There were several women surfers and boarders in the water which I was glad to see.
I always enjoy watching surfing.
The explosive joy of an eight-year-old in the surf. Priceless.
I love bicycle images and this one just happened to match the outdoor wall color of the home it was parked in front of in a little town called Parasi on our way back to Gamboa. We had stopped for lunch and I wandered up and down a couple of streets to see what I could see.
This is Sabu. She is a 125 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback that came with the house our friends are renting for the year in Gamboa. She is a love of a dog and a good walking partner. Her fur is turning white due to some sort of “condition”. She’s eight.
The interior of the Azuero Peninsula is agricultural. We passed many small farms, herds of cattle being moved down the road and even saw an ox drawn cart.
These chickens and rooster were wandering the grounds of a thatch roofed coffee joint near the beach. He was a big, handsome fellow and the black hen looked cool against that black and white pillow on the bench. At one point she jumped up there.
The haze at the beach was pretty constant. We attributed it to high humidity. It made for some pretty cool shots as the sun set lower in the sky in the afternoon. One afternoon we were slack-lining under some palm trees (I know…right?) when we hear a commotion on the beach a short distance away. We caught a glimpse of a mad on a horse HAULING it down the beach. Another horseman soon followed but not nearly as fast. The shot down the beach with the haze and afternoon light turned out pretty cool I think!
Beach walks were a daily occurrence. But, notice the black sand? It was HOT! We burned our feet unless we were walking in wet sand. As we walked down the beach we came across a whole section of sand that was FULL of little hermit crabs. Everywhere we looked there they were. And it was really funny because they would be moving on the beach until we approached. Then they would freeze and hunker down under their shells.
I looked down and low and behold there was a ladybug on a rock. Kind of a random sighting.
Ahhhh, my favorite birds, the pelican. I LOVE how close their wings get to the surface of the water.
I have no idea who these guys are but I thought they were cool. I think the local seagulls are standing with them but I love their bright orange beaks and black caps.
This thing was hanging out on an outside lamp one evening. It looks just like a leaf!
We went on President’s Day last February and found some pretty good water. During peak run-off the water flows all the way across the canyon.
There is a trail that takes you to the bottom of the falls but beware of your camera gear. There is significant spray that comes off the falls and it is full of brown dirt. It also gets quite slippery and muddy to walk very close to the falls itself so I tend to stay downstream a bit.
This image shows a big black volcanic rock in the foreground. Also be ware of these rocks as they are quite sharp!
I, however, love photographing people, even when the scenery is amazing. If you take kids here keep a close eye on them lest they fall in and be swept away. There is plenty of mud to play in and spread around as my granddaughter is showing. 
This composition presented itself as I realized the possibility of silhouette shooting. The falls were in full sun but our side of the canyon was full shade…perfect. I had Akacia climb the rock and strike a pose. I had my other favorite model, my wife, do the same with her beautiful yoga poses. 
This is what happens when Dad is in charge. This man had about five kids with him with no mom in sight. The little girl on the left, BAREFOOT! was crying her eyes out. The little guy on the left had fallen a few times in the mud. They were working their way toward the trail to head out.
This is a clear view of the Little Colorado River Gorge heading west. This water will eventually go under ground and emerge again a teal blue color at the confluence with the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. It’s crazy to think this is the same water…
If plan on spending a day at the beach be sure to have a safe, dry, sand free place to store your camera. Don’t make it too obvious and be sure someone is with your gear at all times. It is too easy for someone to bend down, grab a bag and walk off into a crowded beach with your belongings. I have been successful shooting beaches in Rio, Costa Rica, Panama, Hawaii and Florida. The smaller unassuming Canon helps. 
Happy shooting! I’d love it if you could share some of your beach photos in the comments section!
