Photographer Travis Jensen (whose work is frequently featured on SFist) recently teamed up with Greenlabel to highlight parts of the city that don't frequently get that postcard treatment. Their focus? The Excelsior.
The video is part of a series titled "Hidden," a project which has the goal of "[exploring] the cities you thought you knew from perspectives you didn’t know were possible."
"We make our way through the city starting at the iconic Ferry Building and continue through the Tenderloin, The Mission, and ending in the Excelsior District, one of the city's last 'true' neighborhoods," explains Greenlabel.
Jensen explained his love of the Excelsior in conversation with Complex.
“I started taking photos in Excelsior about four years ago, and it started out being a project of exploration,” said Jensen. "I always felt like that was the last real, true San Francisco neighborhood that was left."
Jensen further detailed his approach to photographing subjects.
“These photos aren’t staged; it’s not like ‘Okay, we’re going to have a photo shoot out here today and you’re going to spin this Mustang,’" he notes. "When it happens, it just happens, and you have to be ready with your camera."
"I moved to San Francisco nearly two decades ago fresh out of high school, with a duffle bag, skateboard and $800 cash," Jensen writes on his website. "I paid real dues to establish myself. I love everything about The City: the people, sights, sounds, smells, oddities all of it."
That love of the city comes through both in the video and his photography.
Related: S.F. Through The Modern Lens Of Acclaimed Photographer Arthur Tress