where there's smoke, there's FIRE

getting ready to head out to Terry's, i hear a teaser on the noon news about a big fire a few hours ago over in oakland at musicians' studios. hmm. catches my attention. there is an invitation floating around & i am thinking of going to a party at a musicans' studio building on oakland on thursday . . . nasty fire, but not where the party is going to be i see.

i walk to Terry's. i need the walk. i want to walk. parking for more than 2 hrs at his place is a drag, next to impossible. along 7th i see the bright yellow of new framing in the skyline . . . they are moving fast in their construction down here. i step back two steps, back into a perfect framing for a photo, and pull out the camera. shit. change batttery pack. i forgot.

through another block, i have passed close to my own studio . . . where i have stacks of AA batteries locked up. i should be hoofing it. i turn back and head over to my studio, retrieve the batteries & load up.

shooting the train tracks and the curved building. moving around, step step shoot.


i hear a train and slip into movie mode, to capture the motion. i am standing in the perfect spot. really. slow steady breaths and try to hold still for the long shot, two minutes. the train is the motion, everything else is still. it seems so german, euro . . . the colors, the crazy construction. wow, that was gooood. today is . . . yeah, another brilliant day.

i head on up the street & notice a building i shot the other night is gone. removed. not there. gotta be quick nowadays i guess. shoot it when you see it, cuz it just plain old might not be there if you come back for it another time.


Jaron rings from SOEX while i'm walking. sure, yes. we make plans for me to do some collaboration with Artists in Education. the kids are designing 4x6 foot posters for downtown, a series for installation in December. i will document their work over the next few months & guide them in making a 'zine about it all. that's exciting.

a block from Terry's i see a small dark -- BLACK -- cloud begin to spiral into the sky. couple guys are out on the curb from their auto shop looking at the roof across the street, watching the spiral. one has a phone in hand. i ask them: did you call 911?

we watch the smoke. a blast. flames erupt, fireballs undulate in the thick blackness. smoke descends all around us. this turns into a four-alarm fire and later the roof collapses.

i shot some video too, will have to upload that



newspaper article about the SF 4 alarm fire (with news photos)