2007
Dancing With Pelicans
I began photographing the Golden Gate in earnest in 2007, as a daily diversion whenever visiting San Francisco to see my 93 year old, failing mother. From the San Francisco side of the bridge, the Marin Headlands, the Presidio Cliffs and Baker Beach, the mile wide strait, the ocean beyond, the Bridge, and the ships all proved to be ready subjects.
Surrounded by this incredibly diverse and active landscape, pelicans are a reassuring constant, with their grinning profiles as they migrate north in the winter to breed. Brown Pelicans, even with their six-foot wingspans, are the smallest of the eight pelican species and the only ones that dive for fish. Surfacing with their enormous bills full, the water drains leaving the fish to be swallowed. Working the coastline at varying heights in squadron-like formation, upon spotting a school of fish, they skim the water in single file pursuit of their next meal.
Gliding high above the Bay, pelicans are a visual counterpoint to man’s incessant activity at the Golden Gate. Although prehistoric in nature, their peaceful flight is more efficient than man with all his trappings.
