Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Silicon Valley Photography in SPUR & ZERO1 Exhibit

When someone says "Silicon Valley", what images, concepts, or names come to mind? 

Many people immediately start to rattle off the tech giants; Google, Yahoo, Apple... well you know, all of them. Technology! Cell phones! Semiconductors! 

But to some of us - it means your favorite taqueria, downtown festivals, movies in the park, or some of the many people that make up the South Bay. 

In partnership with Hipstamatic and ZERO1, SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Urban Research) put together an exhibit of Bay Area photographer's interpretation of the theme:


Untitled

I want to share my excitement, that -- I was part of the exhibit! I saw the call for submissions on Facebook awhile back and thought I'd go for it. So I put together some of my favorite photos I've taken here in the San Jose area. In the shots below, you might spy the Silicon Valley Roller Girls, the Alviso Marina, a scene from SubZero, and the Valet building next to the San Jose Stage Company. I really wanted to represent as much as I could of the San Jose area.

Me with my photos!
Posing with my photos. First time on exhibit!

My work is nothing compared to the other photographers featured at the event. It was an honor to be included with them. 

The exhibition photographers (and the theme of their work) are:

  • Michele Guieu - a "geek tour" of Silicon Valley, from the Hewlett Packard garage to the Google Campus to the Apple Store
  • Daniel Garcia - "Behind Everything is a Person", the talented people of San Jose that are changing the culture of Silicon Valley in less traditional ways
  • Thomas Rogers - glimpses and snippets of Menlo Park, a focus on things that people wouldn't normally see in passing
  • Barbara Boissevain - My Backyard to highlight environmental issues, with aerial shots of ponds along the bay's edge and mining in the South Bay
  • Michelle Oblena - "Valley of Stomach's Delight", shots of the diversity of restaurant owners in the Santa Clara Valley
  • Alex Chan - shots of Japantown performers, local painters and Color Me Rad in San Jose
  • Halie Kampman - video footage of the subtle connections between the areas of San Jose, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto


Here are some photos from the opening night:


Daniel Garcia from Content Magazine and his portraits
Daniel Garcia of CONTENT Magazine
UntitledDisplay in the front window


The exhibit is currently running up in San Francisco at the SPUR Gallery until October 20th. There has been some talk that a photo from each of the photographers will be featured in the windows of the retail establishments under the SPUR San Jose office (on Santa Clara Street) but I haven't gotten confirmation just yet. (I also haven't been downtown in the last week to check it out first hand.)

So you have a couple of weeks to jump on BART and head up to the SPUR gallery and check out the exhibition! 


A Peek Behind Silicon Valley's Digital Veil

September 19 - October 19
SPUR Urban Center Gallery
654 Mission Street,
San Francisco, CA 94105-4015


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