“Bubble Gum Body Horror”: The Gooey Delight of the 90s in Spencer Mann’s Illustrations
Spencer Mann is a San Francisco-based artist recognized for his vibrant, “bubble gum body horror” style blending cute and gross elements, featuring drippy, gooey creatures and surreal, playful forms. Continue reading »
Amazing Found Kodachrome Slides Capture San Francisco Street Scenes in the Early 1960s
San Francisco in the early 1960s stood at a cultural crossroads, quietly shifting from postwar tradition toward the vibrant awakening that would soon define it. Continue reading »
Paper, Flesh, and Urban Myth: Dissecting the Darkly Surreal Collages of John Vochatzer
John Vochatzer, (aka Calamity Fair), is a San Francisco-based collage and mixed-media artist whose surreal, corporeal imagery explores the contradictions of contemporary life. Continue reading »
Spectacular Award-Winning Photos from the Sublime Photo Awards 2025
1st Place: “Leaving San Francisco” by Ari Jaaksi
The Sublime Photo Awards 2025 honors photography that stirs emotion and captures moments with profound impact. Continue reading »
Amazing Winners of the 2025 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition
1st Place: “Rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae) on a grain of rice” by Zhang You
The 2025 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition has unveiled its winners, revealing astonishing images of life at the microscopic level. Continue reading »
“Beneath the Desert Moon”: The Dark, Surreal and Fantasy Artworks of Xavier Ortiz
Xavier Ortiz (aka BUILTFROMSKETCH) is a Sacramento-based watercolor illustrator and stay-at-home father who specializes in dark fantasy themes, drawing from his background in animation and storyboarding at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco to craft intricate, atmospheric scenes. Continue reading »
Stunning Winning Photos From The 2025 Audubon Bird Photography Awards
Grand Prize: “Ringed Kingfisher” by Felipe Esteban Toledo Alarcón
The 2025 Audubon Bird Photography Awards just dropped a jaw-dropping collection that redefines avian photography across the Western Hemisphere. Continue reading »
Spectacular Street Winning Photos From The 2025 Minimalist Photography Awards
1st Place Winner: “Together” by Selaru Ovidiu
The 2025 Minimalist Photography Awards have once again celebrated the elegance of simplicity, especially within the Street Photography category. Continue reading »
Beautiful Winning Photos From The 2025 Audubon Bird Photography Awards
Grand Prize: “Ringed Kingfisher” by Felipe Esteban Toledo Alarcón
The 2025 Audubon Bird Photography Awards expanded internationally to include Chile and Colombia, spotlighting the rich biodiversity and shared responsibility of bird conservation across the Americas. Continue reading »
Striking Art Nouveau Posters of the Late 19th Century by Nicolas Francisco Tamagno
Nicolas Francisco Tamagno (1862–1933) was an Italian painter and lithographic poster artist who worked in France between 1880 and 1914. Continue reading »
Spectacular Award-Winning Street Photos from the 35 Photography Awards
1st Place Winner: “Photo” by Chris Panas
The 10th Annual 35 Photography Awards featured a stunning collection of contemporary images, highlighting some of the most compelling visual storytelling. Continue reading »
Spectacular Award-Winning Nature Photos From the Fine Art Photography Awards
1st Place Winner: Flower Portraits by Tim Platt
The Fine Art Photography Awards celebrate the stunning wonders of nature through the lenses of some of the world’s most gifted photographers. The collection “20 Award-Winning Nature Photos From the Fine Art Photography Awards” presents a captivating selection of images that merge artistic creativity with the untamed beauty and tranquility of the natural world. Continue reading »
Photographer Don Hong-Oai Captured Traditional Chinese Aesthetics with Imaginary Landscapes of Timeless Beauty
Don Hong-Oai (1929–2004) was a Chinese-born photographer renowned for his distinctive style that melded traditional Chinese painting aesthetics with photographic techniques. Continue reading »
Beautiful Paintings of Women by Harrison Fisher in the Early 20th Century
Harrison Fisher, born around 1875 in Brooklyn, New York City, began drawing at an early age and launched his illustration career in 1898 with the *San Francisco Call* and the *San Francisco Examiner*, becoming renowned for his captivating portraits of women that earned him acclaim as the successor to Charles Dana Gibson. Continue reading »
Absolutely Superb Minimalist Black and White Photos Captured Winter Scenes in Japan in the 1950s and 1960s
Asano Kiichi (1914–1993), born in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, moved to Kyoto City as a child, where he was deeply influenced by the city’s arts and traditions. Continue reading »
Spectacular Winning Photos From The Black And White Photo Awards 2024
Absolute Winner: Destroy together by Haikun Liang
The Black and White Photo Awards 2024 highlight the best in monochrome photography, featuring an impressive array of images that masterfully tell stories through the interplay of light and shadow. This year’s winners and finalists, encompassing diverse themes from landscapes to portraits, exemplify the emotional depth and artistic power of black and white imagery. Continue reading »
Amazing Winning Images From The Siena Drone Photography Awards Showcasing Nature’s Beauty
1st classified: New generation by Fabio Savini
This year’s Siena Drone Photography Awards showcase breathtaking aerial images that capture the awe-inspiring beauty of nature, revealing landscapes, wildlife, and natural wonders in ways that highlight both the photographers’ artistic vision and the remarkable power of drone technology. Continue reading »
Spectacular Nature-Winning Photos From The Fine Art Photography Awards 2024
1st Place Winner: Flower Portraits by Tim Platt
The 2024 Fine Art Photography Awards celebrate breathtaking nature photography from around the world, showcasing awe-inspiring landscapes, intimate wildlife moments, and striking natural phenomena, with entries for the 11th Edition contest open until October 13th, 2024. Continue reading »
Horrible Photographs of Damaged Cars From the 1994 Northridge Earthquake
The 1994 Northridge earthquake struck the San Fernando Valley in southern California on January 17, becoming the most destructive quake in the state since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the costliest in U.S. history. Continue reading »
The Surreal Trees Of San Francisco Shot By Kelsey McClellan
While walking through her neighborhood in San Francisco‘s Outer Sunset area, photographer Kelsey McClellan (previously featured) is constantly surprised to detect the odd foliage adorning her neighbor’s lawns. Trees neatly trimmed into vertical piles of pom-poms plants which swirl such as ice cream cones, or branches which length garage doors such as giant green mustaches. Continue reading »
San Francisco-Based Artist Alexis Arnold Grows Crystals On Books
People will spout about impermanence of digital records, but books are really fragile, too. Alexis Arnold from San Francisco wanted to illustrate that with her project The Crystallized Book: collecting books and growing Borax crystals on them. Books range from literature classics to magazines, and there’s even a mysterious and arcane tome called “Linux: The Complete Manual”. Continue reading »
Nick Steinberg Captures Breathtaking Landscapes Of Foggy San Francisco’s Climate
Nicholas Steinberg is an award winning landscape photographer from California, who is obsessed with the San Francisco fog waves. Nick has spent the past 8 years shooting the fog waves in this area. Continue reading »
San Francisco’s Chinatown In The Early 1900s Through Arnold Genthe’s Lens
Arnold Genthe (1869 – 1942) was a German-born American photographer, best known for his photographs of San Francisco’s Chinatown, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and his portraits of noted people, from politicians and socialites to literary figures and entertainment celebrities. Here are some from his photos of everyday life in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the early 1900s. Continue reading »
12 More Differences Between Living In San Francisco Versus New York City
After a year hiatus (and a lot more living), comedian and comic artist Sarah Cooper is back with yet more illustrations highlighting the subtle differences between living in NYC and SF. The New York transplant who spent 5 years in the city before moving to SF certainly notices the quirks of each, pointed out hilariously in this new set of comics below. Continue reading »
San Francisco’s Homeless Get Showers-On-Wheels With Transformed Old Buses
US non-profit organization Lava Mae is transforming old city buses into mobile bathrooms to give showers to around 200 homeless people in San Francisco every week. Lava Mae, which roughly translates as Spanish for “wash me,” has installed ‘hygiene pods’ with showers, toilets, sinks and hair dryers in the decommissioned buses. Continue reading »
