Endless golden hour in California
Why does California light look like it's golden hour forever? Seven rolls of 35mm film exploring San Francisco. This is roll #1.
I shot 7 rolls of 35mm film across six days in San Francisco last week. Each roll tells its own story. This one begins the moment I landed.
There’s something about arrival that sharpens everything. You clear customs (which was not the case, but you know the vibes…), grab your bags, and step outside into a place that’s completely new just to breath fresh air. The light looks different. The air feels different. Your eyes want to eat everything.
I got an Uber at the airport and waited. Hungry. Already scanning my phone for somewhere good to eat. Already looking. Finally got in the car and saw a bunch of U-HAULs.
That’s when I noticed that the light in California doesn’t behave like light anywhere else. It’s golden at 10am. It’s golden at 4pm. It’s golden when you’re jetlagged and confused about what time it even is (which again, was not the case because I come from NY, but you got the vibes!)
People say Hollywood chose California for this exact reason. The light just works. It wraps around buildings, softens shadows, and makes ordinary street corners look like film stills.
By the time I checked into the hotel, I was back outside with my camera. Walking. Shooting. Following that perpetual golden hour through the streets that seemed to last forever.
The below photo caught two people crossing the street near a restaurant I’d marked on my phone. The light was doing that thing again. Casting long shadows. Making everything glow. That energy of exploration, the hunger to see and taste everything new, it’s all there.
I took the photo of these guys, and then the following one from the window outside, looking to the interior of the restaurant.

Later that day, I stopped by the Leica store in San Francisco. Bought more film. They had everything. The kind of place that reminds you why shooting analog still matters. They had expensive and fancy lenses and cameras, of course, but also film, bags, chemicals (!), and literally everything I would need to build a developing Lab in my hotel room if I was maniac enough.

Then, finally, time to eat. Check out these colors and most importantly, the light!

This is just the first roll. Six more coming, full of California vibes, incredible lighting, and van life!
California Diner (Golden Hour Edition) • Fine Art print available now

Sizes
Prints will be available in two sizes, offered both unframed and framed by myself.
Quality
Printed on museum-quality matte Japanese paper
Archival pigment inks
Color-calibrated workflow
Ships worldwide with protective packaging
Would you like to get a print that is not the above? Let me know!













I agree with you. California has the most beautiful golden light. I often refer to it as The Truman Show because the lighting and weather are always perfect. I guess it’s not called The Golden State for nothing!