BEAUTY: Photography--Fred Lyon

Photographer Fred Lyon has had an incredible life photographing presidents (he worked for a while as a photographer in the White House!), fashion models (for Life and Look magazines!), food, wine, and most importantly, San Francisco. Now 93 years young, Lyon still photographs his--and my--beloved City by the Bay. But the bulk of his very special early work has just been published in a book called, fittingly, SAN FRANCISCO NOIR. The tile references the moody, gritty, urban film style of detective and crime films from the 40s and 50s (see "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Lady From Shanghai") and Lyon's pictures predated many of them. His way of capturing a foggy night is just lovely. And interestingly, The City still looks like this! Lyon recently said in an interview, "San Francisco still has all of its stuff. Some of the older pictures could be shot today...It wears its history well." An he is right. You can still stroll down a foggy street or catch the neon signs of Chinatown amid some evocative, classic architecture.

http://www.fredlyon.com/

To purchase Fred Lyon's photographic book SAN FRANCISCO NOIR, click on the publisher's link below.
http://www.papress.com/html/product.details.dna?isbn=9781616896515&ipA25