This photo is almost exactly as it came out of the camera.

I spent last Saturday in San Francisco on an urban hike walking for miles while doing street photography.

I almost always have a camera with me in case I run into something worth photographing. As I was driving back from a hike in the hills this morning I came across a parade walking to a beautiful Portuguese church. There were some strange sights – everything from giant bread hats to a camera drone. It was a good reminder that even close to home we can see glimpses of other cultures that allow us to take at-home “travel photos”.

These photos were all shot in manual mode, which has become my mode of choice because of the better consistency in exposure from photo to photo. The strong overhead sun, which I usually avoid, added color and sharp contrast which worked in this scene.

I love the reflection of the church in the tuba.

There were dozens of ornately dressed girls hanging around the church.

There were also some very large hats made of bread and flowers.

But the hat wearers didn’t seem too amused by their work.

Bread is clearly a big part of this celebration as there was also a long pole of large pretzels carried by some somber gentlemen.

There were some beautiful and happy princesses, and a man sagging his jeans.

And queens with ladies-in-waiting.

And the whole parade was watched over by a camera drone that hovered overhead. I don’t know if it was a police drone or private photography drone, but it was a little eerie and the first time I’ve seen a small one like this in use.

Before heading out for some beverages with my good friends Tim and Anthony we had a little impromptu photo shoot. Without overdoing it, I went for the toned, gritty, rugged look.

While driving back from San Francisco today, I was thinking about what makes a good photograph. I concluded, for now at least, that it’s any photograph that holds your attention without grabbing your attention.

Photographs can grab attention by displaying something disgusting or lurid, but in the end there’s no depth to these photos – it’s just sensation.

A photograph that holds your attention can do so for different reasons. Some just have dimensions or a shape that are pleasing to the eye – there’s no deeper meaning, they just have a gentle symmetry or form that we innately find beautiful. Others tell a story – they compel us to ask questions about what’s happening in the picture. And yet others are dynamic in that they have a main subject that attracts initial attention, and then they use spacing and detail make your eyes flow deliberately towards other parts of the picture in an attempt to gather more meaning. Finally, some pictures are more educational but can hold our attention because of a personal connection, such photos of the place we’re going on vacation of photos of our relatives. These are not “good” photos. but they are “good for us” photos.

I’m hoping that I’ll have some good photos among the ones I took today. I walked around San Francisco all day taking street photos on 35mm film. I’ll find out a week from now once they are processed.