As I was getting an espresso at Vega on Folsom Street, I noticed that the winter sun hit was hitting the barrista right in the eyes, leaving the rest of the small cafe in shadows. I asked if I could take her portrait and she agreed. Unlike studio portraits, environmental portraits leave a lot out of your control – lighting, background, even the subject. In an ideal situation, I would have positioned her eyes to reflect in the shiny counter top and removed the rag in the foreground. For this shot, though, I was happy to just wait until her eyes entered the light. Her gaze to the left was not directed, but it made for an even better image than the others where she looked directly into the lens.

Rented a Canon 10-22 wide angle lens to cover a Jewish food conference in Pacific Grove, California. I’m very glad I did. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to capture the beauty of the Julia Morgan designed buildings and the sense of collaboration in the rooms. Images taken with the 10-22 below. More photos from the event can be found here.