I recently helped organize an event at the law firm I work at with renowned San Francisco-based photographer Fred Lyon.
Fred gave a fascinating slideshow presentation about his work on the streets of San Francisco in the ‘40s and ‘50s and talked about his life in photography. Photog or not, everyone in attendance was captivated by the discussion.
A fourth generation San Franciscan, Fred’s career in photography began in WWII, where he served as a Navy photographer in Washington D.C. covering White House press events. Fred has photographed five U.S. presidents to date. I found his stories about Roosevelt, Truman and Nixon particularly fascinating.
Over the years, Fred has worked for a wide variety of publications, including “Life Magazine,” “Vogue,” “Glamour,” “Seventeen,” “Mademoiselle,” and “Look,” amongst others. His work has also appeared in over 50 books.
More recently, Fred had a book published about his work on the streets of San Francisco in the ‘40s and ‘50s, which has been a smashing success. Titled “San Francisco Then,” the forward in the book is written by former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
With major gallery representation, Fred has his exhibited his work at renowned museums and galleries all throughout the U.S. For more on Fred, visit www.FredLyon.com/SF_BW.
I can’t recommend Fred’s book enough. If you’ve ever spent any time walking the streets of San Francisco, then this book is a must for you.
12:00 pm, August 11, 2011Stuart /
Hi Fred!
Great of you to do this Travis, Fred’s photography is indeed very special and should be seen by all.
12:42 pm, August 11, 2011Bob /
It was a great pleasure to meet Fred and his wife last night. Funny, earlier in the day I was poking around online and came across this video about Fred and his San Francisco photos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVYwLyiPhow
12:46 pm, August 11, 2011Donald Kinney /
What a treasure this man is. The site is out of this world, and so many new photos to drool over. And what a treat to meet him again at the opening at Ever Gold Gallery last night.
Actually I met him a few months ago at ModernBook — someone had given me a copy of his book but I had to go collect it at Modernbook, so imagine my delight when it turned out that Fred was at ModernBook that evening. He signed my copy, and then incredibly started going through the book explaining everything about this and that. What a treat! What a generous man! What a photographer!
Had a great time at Ever Gold Gallery last night — and youse guys, Travis and Brad, have got to be congratulated on your achievement — also you generosity in donating the profits from the sale of TenderloinUSA to the Larkin Street Youth Project. Youse guys is good eggs and incredibly insightful brotographers!
6:19 pm, August 11, 2011Brad /
@Donald Kinney
Don, thanks a ton for stopping by our launch party last night and for purchasing our journal. Along with your kind words above, Travis and I really appreciate it!
6:17 pm, August 11, 2011Brad /
Fred is a San Francisco treasure! Of course I love his photographs, owning one that’s on my wall, as well as his book. But what really sets him apart is his gentlemanly presence and charm. He’s also been a great supporter and advocate of the project Travis and I have been working on. That’s been huge to both of us!
8:24 pm, August 11, 2011SpilledInkGuy /
Oh, man…
how COOL is that!
Awesome!
9:34 pm, August 11, 2011Syncopated Eyeball /
Excellent portrait, Travis. I’m so envious of the tones you achieve, a particular case in point is that recent shot of a white t-shirt on a very dark wall.
1:20 pm, August 13, 2011Brandon /
I went to his “SF, Then” show opening, and loved his pictures of the SF that used to be. Very strong compositions, too — the man loves triangles!
When I chatted with him, he told me that while shows like this one were great, what he really wanted was to be out on the street with his camera — talk about winning over his audience.