Paris Street Photography

Fine Art Photography - Paris, France

Photo Gallery

Emily and I recently took a trip to Paris, France and there is no way to overstate how much we enjoyed it. The city certainly doesn’t need endorsement from us or anyone else, but our experience greatly exceeded high expectations. We loved every bit of it and both agreed that Paris would be a great place to live for a year (or more). One of our favorite things to do while traveling is exploring a city on foot. So days and nights were filled walking through the different arrondissements, taking in everything Paris has to offer - cafes, restaurants, museums, galleries, and of course the undeniable tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower. All of the photographs you see here were made casually during walks. None of them were planned at all. They are just reactions to whatever we came across, which I find to be an incredible amount of fun, while also equally relaxing, and a great exercise in photography.

Contact me directly about photography prints of Paris, France for your home, office or commercial space. The images are also available for editorial/commercial licensing. rob@robhammerphotography.com

Fine Art Photography - Paris, France

The Seine River - Paris France

Paris Street Photography

Street Photography - Paris, France

Street Photography - Paris, France

Photograph of a couple embracing on the street in Paris, France

Photograph of two restaurant waiters in Paris, France

Cathedral surrounded by homes in Paris, France

Photograph of two women drinking at a cafe in Paris, France

Paris Fashion Photography

Paris Street Fashion

Photograph of a well dressed woman walking in Paris, France

The Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre

Hat shopping in Paris, France

Riding the subway in Paris, France

Parisian bicycle

Paris Fashion

Drinking wine and eating cheese in Paris, France

Looking at a Monet painting in the Louvre

Shadow the Notre Dame Cathedral on buildings along the Siene River in Paris, France

Hanoi, Vietnam Photography

Street Photography - Hanoi

Vietnam Travel Photography - Wall Art - Prints

Emily and I recently took a trip to Vietnam, and from the first 30 minutes in Hanoi we were both sold. The street culture there is infectious, if you’re into that kind of thing. We are. Our trip consisted of four major destinations - two in the northern part of the country, one central, and the last down south on the Mekong Delta. This post will strictly be showing street photography from Hanoi, but check back soon to see more from the rest of the trip.

From years of travel we learned a valuable lesson the hard way, that lighter is better. Now it only goes with us if it can fit in a carry-on, which has worked out really well for a number of years. For this trip it was the first time I limited my gear to one camera body and one lens (50mm). And I have to say it was amazing. Knowing that you only have one lens is actually quite freeing because you’re not overthinking each shot, and it forces you to shoot in a different style than all those times when you’ve got 3-5 lenses in your bag.

What about Hanoi? Loved it. Really loved it. We stayed in the Old Quarter for a few days and did all of our exploring by foot. Which, in my opinion, is the BEST way to see a city. You’re free to move at your own pace. Anywhere you’re willing to go is available to you. The first day we logged 16.5 miles and ate almost as many meals. Prior to this trip we’ve been lucky to visit places like Istanbul, Turkey, and New Delhi, India, so the chaotic street culture wasn’t new to us. One thing that stood out about Hanoi is the people and their general demeanour. The streets of New Delhi are pure chaos, filled with desperate people trying get your money by any means possible. (Side note: New Delhi might be my favorite place ever.) Hanoi was different. While most of the people are “poor”, they seem genuinely happy, and could have cared less that a couple Americans were wandering their streets. At the same time, they were also very inviting and happy to have us. There was no desperation in the people. They just do what they need to do with a smile on their face. Hopefully these images give you a feeling for what it’s like to be on the streets of Hanoi. If you need any more convincing, just look up what Anthony Bourdain had to say about Vietnam, and Hanoi in particular.

Hanoi, Vietnam street photography

A Vietnamese woman carrying food on her bicycle to sell on the streets of Hanoi

Hanoi, Vietnam street culture photography - Travel

The streets of Hanoi, Vietnam

Caged chickens at a restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam

A woman preparing dead chickens to cook at a restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam

San Francisco Photography

Street Photography - San Francisco

California Photo Gallery

Had another commercial shoot in San Francisco a while ago and planned a little extra time to play around in the streets. It’s always a fun way to relax and grow as a photographer. No idea what the bigger picture is for this ongoing series, but that doesn’t matter. Even if it’s just a personal documentation of the city, that’s ok too. This particular day got interesting about an hour in to the walk, when a women pulled up in her car and asked what I was doing. She didn’t like my simple answer and continued to disagree with everything that came after. So I went on my way, only to have her creep behind me for an hour, watching from a distance. At one point our paths crossed closely and her window was down, so I asked if she was having fun. She replied with an entitled grin as if she had cracked the case of the century, saying “I know what you’re after, mailboxes and garages”. I just kept walking. Eventually she couldn’t follow any longer after my path went through a park. People are funny. Did I handle the situation properly? Probably not. If there was a business card in my pocket it would have went immediately to her, but there was not. And her attitude was such shit, that it seemed like a losing battle to convince her of anything other than what she already had in her head. Moral of the story: always carry a business card to show Karen??

Click here to see more from my American photography series

Street photography from the streets and neighborhoods of San Francisco, California by Rob Hammer

San Francisco street photography

San Francisco street photography

San Francisco street photography

San Francisco Street Photography

San Francisco photography

San Francisco Street Photography

San Francisco street photography

Street Photography in San Francisco, California

Street photography - San Francisco, CA

Photography - San Francisco, California - Street Photography

San Francisco, CA

Street Photography - San Francisco, California

San Francisco, CA

Street Photography - San Francisco, California

Street Photography - San Francisco, CA

Street Photography - San Francisco, California

San Francisco street photography

San Francisco Street Photography

Street photograph of a San Francisco neighborhood

Street Photography - San Francisco, California

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco Street Photography

Photo of a beautiful home in San Francisco

Street Photography San Francisco, California

San Francisco street photography

European Basketball

Basketball Hoop Photography

European Basketball - Sport - Culture - Prints

A few days after Christmas in 2019 Emily and I took a trip to Europe. Little did we know it would be our last overseas trip for quite some time (COVID lockdowns). Since then we haven’t slowed down much, but the travels have all been domestic. Not complaining. If anything, I’ve fallen more in love with American over the last couple years than ever. It was fun to revisit these this time in our life though.

On another note, this is the first attempt at posting old images from the massive archive that has done nothing but gather dust. I’m guilty of many things. One to be proud of though, is shooting too much. Sounds weird but it’s true. The downside to that is getting bogged down and not having the time/priority to share said images. Trying to change.

Click here to see more basketball imagery from my American Backcourts series.

American Street Photography

Street Photography - South Lake Tahoe - California

Another edition of making time to shoot for yourself. There’s a book title in there somewhere actually. Had some free time on a multi-day commercial shoot up in Tahoe recently and put it to good use walking around the neighborhoods making street photographs. Specifically these are from South Lake Tahoe which has changed quite a bit since my first visit there 10-ish years ago. Not my favorite ski town, but damn is it gorgeous. Unbelievably so. When you take the time to get out and see the lake and all that comes with it, you’re appreciation for the place as a whole completely changes. It’s not a town where you could spend a lot of time unless your days are spent recreationally doing any of the countless activities that the lake/mountains offer. All that said, I’m starting to love it there.

Click here to see more of my street photography

Venice Beach Basketball

Basketball Culture Photography

Venice Beach Basketball Photography - Prints - Wall Art

There are plenty of people that would argue on either side, but regardless of which one you’re on, you’ll have to agree that Venice Beach is one of the street ball meccas of the USA? NYC obviously being the other. It’s my personal opinion that White Men Can’t Jump is the greatest basketball movie ever made. It takes place in a few locations around LA, but most notably Venice, and was certainly the thing that put Venice basketball on the map. The games that happen there today look a lot different, but I appreciate what’s happening either way. Nick Ansom is the one at the helm of the Venice Basketball League now. He is responsible for all the creative energy and growth that happens locally as well as across the country and overseas. If you haven’t seen what he’s done with the Hoop Bus, check it out. Very impressive. I linked up with Nick a while back because of our obvious shared interest in basketball. Yet another example of personal projects leading to fun outcomes/relationships. COVID was a strange time for the VBL because it literally couldn’t happen. The city put a device on all the rims that prohibited play. As the saying goes though, Basketball Never Stops. Instead of sitting around crying about it, Nick put his energy into another creative endeavor - Survival Hoops. Along with another artist friend, they started creating hoops out of junk. It started small, but after a while they had built and hung 100+ beautifully weird hoops all over the alleys of Venice Beach. About a month ago we linked up and documented their work. I really enjoyed seeing what they had created and am honored to be part of a piece of basketball culture. It would be easy to write this project off as someone just being bored and having time to kill during a pandemic. You would be wrong though. What they created is much bigger than that. It’s well thought out, deliberate, and has brought a lot of happiness not just to the people who have played on them, but also to the locals in Venice that walk by these hoops every day. And hopefully it will be preserved in some kind of document for people to see years from now.

Follow the Venice Basketball League on IG @veniceball

Contact me directly if you’d like prints of these images for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Street Photography - San Francisco

San Francisco Photo Gallery - Prints - Culture

Street Photography - San Francisco - California - Wall Art

Was back in San Francisco for a commercial shoot recently and made some time for some street shooting. Really love this city. Has it’s downsides like everywhere else, but damn is it an incredible place. The layers that show themselves as you explore are so much fun. And it’s got a texture to it unlike anywhere else in America. Already looking forward to the next trip.

Street Photography San Francisco

San Francisco Photo Gallery

From a few hours of aimless wondering around one of the worlds great cities - San Francisco. Feel so grateful to have a client up there that I shoot for on a fairly regular basis, and am always sure to make some free time to squeeze in some street photography. Would love to rent an AirBnB in the city for a couple months just to continue this series. The city has so much character and texture that I’m not sure there would be a point where I’d grow tired of photographing it. Wish I felt the same way about San Diego.

Click HERE to see images of San Francisco from the last trip.

Southern California Street Photography

There’s a long list of things that need improving around here, but organization and editing should be pushed to the top of the list. Although it’s certainly a plus having TOO MUCH imagery in my archives. Creating the images is fun, and sitting at the computer isn’t horrible, although my attention span for it needs help. So what happens is I build these series to the point where editing them down to a usable/publishable body of work is daunting. Overwhelming really. And if there’s one valuable thing I learned from publishing “American Backcourts”, it’s that you should leave the editing to a professional. Collaborating with a professional photo editor is priceless. We’re not talking about someone who edits each file in Photoshop or Lightroom, we’re talking about someone who can unemotionally create a cohesive body of work with your images. They aren’t attached to the work and will give it to you straight. The good ones will anyway. As of right now, I’ve probably got 2-3 more books sitting in my archives. If I was smart, I’d sit down with an editor ASAP to help sort it all out. This street photography series has been going on for about 5 years now. It started in one neighborhood near our old place in San Diego and has expanded all the way up to San Francisco. Sometimes I just walk around my neighborhood with a camera for fun, and then there are the walks during down time on out of town commercial shoots. Regardless of the situation, I get a lot of satisfaction from this style of shooting, and need to stop procrastinating on the archive.

Click HERE to see more of my Street Photography series.

Street Photography - San Francisco

San Francisco Photo Gallery

After college my mother lived in San Francisco for a few years and she still talks about her time there with a lot of fondness. Maybe that’s where my original fascination for the city came from? Don’t know. Although it’s really not a hard sell. Consider myself lucky to have spent some time there with my mother as well as numerous other trips over the years. And with each subsequent visit, my opinion strengthens that it’s one of the great cities of the world. Not just in the USA, but the world. These images certainly aren’t meant to sum up San Francisco as a city. Was more just stating my feelings. A few weeks ago I was up there for a commercial shoot, which was really great, but I always try to make time for personal shooting as well. It’s a fun and relaxing way to learn more about the place you’re in.

Click here to see more of my street photography.

Street Photography - San Diego

Just heard that Gov. Newsom is shutting down the majority of indoor operations for California again, so the strange times continue! Can’t say it’s a surprise. Walking around here feels just like a normal summer with tourists anywhere and everywhere. Just when things felt like they were getting better. I have (as of now) quite a few commercial shoots on the horizon, but who knows how far this will push them back? One thing that hasn’t changed is my street photography. If nothing else, the shutdowns have given me the opportunity to explore neighboring towns with the camera to continue this series. All of the images below were made in Cardiff by the Sea.

Click here to see more from this series.

San Diego Photography

San Carlos, California - Photography

A friend of mine recently bought a house in San Carlos. I went down there a couple weeks ago to help him with some grunt work and planned on a little extra time to do some shooting around the neighborhood - one I had never previously been to. Sure am glad to have found it though. The neighborhoods have a lot of character and color palette that was fun to play with.

Click here to see more of my street photography

Street Photography San Diego

Southern California Street Photography

San Diego - Orange County

Street photography is such a gift. You can do it any time and anywhere. Literally. No need to worry about call times, schedules, pre-lighting, or talent arrival. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of that, but this is the perfect balance. Almost meditative. The perfect thing to do in the middle of a long edit day, killing time before a meeting, or for an hour on vacation. So much fun. Most of these were done in various parts of Southern California, but there are also a few from a recent rip up to Portland, OR.

Click HERE to see more from this series.


Street Photography Southern California

Have been greatly slacking on posts about my commercial stuff, but will get back to that soon. Not sure you can classify the below images as "street photography", but I don't know what else to call them? Either way, this style of shooting is something I have really enjoyed doing in my free time. And think it's very important for a photographer to shoot locally. Most guys put so much emphasis on traveling to exotic places, and that's a lot of fun, but what about your backyard? There is so much character in Southern California that gets overlooked by all the beautiful tourist destinations. Those little pieces are what I enjoy focusing on, and have recently started putting more effort into this project not just in Encinitas (where I live), but in all of "Southern California". It's a unique pocket of the world that is fun to wander around in, and I'm excited to see what this body of images looks like in 10 years. 

To see more of this project click HERE. 

 

 

San Diego

I'm of the completely biased opinion that San Diego is the best place to live in America. Not that it's a stretch, but it's still biased. One of the things that comes along with living in such a beautiful place is tons of year round visitors who all seem to make the same pictures. Let's be honest, San Diego is a really easy place to photograph. Go to just about any landscape gallery in the country and you're sure to see a big framed image of Antelope Canyon (AZ), Horseshoe Bend(AZ), and Scripps Pier among many other overly shot landmarks. A long time ago I realized that I have almost no desire to photograph the landmarks. What's the point? They've all been shot a million times over. And I'm certainly not a landscape photographer, so I won't be making any money from the shots. I still think it's important to photograph the place you live though. So over the past couple years, I've slowly developed a body of images made in various parts of San Diego. You're not going to see any images of Scripps Pier or Lajolla Cove in this gallery, but they are still interesting in my opinion. And images that I feel are representative of San Diego. 

PRESS HERE TO SEE THE FULL GALLERY.   

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