Yesterday we spent some time in the Lower Haight on a photo walk hosted by one of our favorite people, Brian Brooks. After a mural tour, stocking up on supplies at Glass Key Photo, record hunting at Rooky Ricardo’s, playing tourist in Alamo Square, and pigging out at Wing Wings, we have to say we’re a little jealous of all you Lower Haighters. Your neighborhood is where it’s at.

Community Outreach: Matt Osborne of Glass Key Photo

Matt has been keeping the analog dream alive here in San Francisco for several years now with his Lower Haight shop Glass Key Photo. Formerly occupying a tiny corner in the back of Rooky Ricardo’s record store, Matt and co. have moved next door to an amazing new space with a lot more leg room. Enough room, in fact, that they’ve also launched a new photo gallery called the 4x5 Gallery. Glass Key is a favorite of ours for reasonably priced new stock film and even the hard to find expired stuff. They also carry a ton of vintage cameras, papers and chemistry. Stop by and check them out, just leave some expired film for us!

Bad Dogs

Community Outreach: Kapten Hanna

Being a city covered in tattoos, San Francisco plays host to more than a few formidable tattoo artists. Perhaps one of the most talented, and definitely the most photogenic, is Kapten Hanna. Originally from Sweden, those eager to go under the needle are lucky she now calls SF home. Hanna was kind enough to pose for a Polaroid and answer our questions.

Q: How long have you been tattooing?
A: In 2004 I started a traditional tattoo apprenticeship under Marcus Kuhn in Portland ME. I worked with him for five and a half years before the shop closed. I then co-founded Squid & Whale Tattoo in Portland ME with my dear friend Cyndi Lou and stayed there until my move to SF two years ago.

Q: What’s the best part about working in the Lower Haight?
A: The neighborhood feel. There’s not a lot of solid close-knit neighborhoods anymore, but Lower Haight is a family, we all know each other. Also, the location is gold. It’s the geographical center of San Francisco so you’re close to practically everything. It’s just busy enough, without being hectic.

Q: What inspires you?
A: Right now, California. I travel a lot, and since I moved here its been mainly road trips and camping around the state. I’m an outdoors nerd through and through, and the wilderness of California is a huge source of inspiration for me. Also, my coworkers. I am so fortunate to be working with such an amazing group of talented artists. They all work so hard, and we truly are a family, and they push me to be a better artist every day.

Kapten Hanna can be found tattooing at Idle Hand in the Lower Haight. Check out Hanna’s blog and follow her on Instagram (kaptenhanna) to keep up with her latest work.

Jeremy Fish’s Silly Pink Bunny sculpture in the Lower Haight.

Community Outreach: Jeremy Novy

SF street artist Jeremy Novy kindly welcomed us into his studio workspace so that we could photograph him for the site. Passionate and personable, Novy is at once warmly inviting and brimming with ideas and anecdotes from his years as creator of one of SF’s most iconic street-art stencils, the ubiquitous koi fish. In addition to the koi, Novy has generously colored the city with drag-queen murals, giant ants crawling through Dolores Park, and is now priming a new crop of street artists in his weekly stencil workshops at 1AM. He may have to keep his face hidden to continue his spray-paint endeavors, but his presence is felt invaluably.

OPEN.