Category Archives: San Francisco 49’ers

The Phone to the Bullpen at Candlestick Park

02 Thursday May 2019

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This was the scope of the technology for the phone to the bullpen at Candlestick Park. When the manager or pitching coach wanted to call down to the bullpen so a relief pitcher could start warming up, this wall telephone was it. This photograph was taken in the late 1980’s.

I’m sure there are some younger folks or children who never saw one of these old phones. It is interesting to contemplate the evolution of the telephones. At least, this one had push buttons instead of the old dial.

Now practically everyone is carrying some sort of smart phone with the ability to surf the internet, call folks, text contacts, stream media, listen to music and whatever functionality an app can provide.

It is nice to reminisce about the old fashioned phone – when a phone was just a phone. Candlestick Park represents a simpler time. We could enjoy a baseball or football game and just focus on the game. We could enjoy a good time with those who attended the game with us. We did not look at our cellphones to see our emails, look up something on the internet or text other friends.

What is our lesson from Candlestick Park? Maybe we should try to focus a little more on the primary task at hand. Can we just focus to watch the SF Giants play baseball now without looking at other distractions?

Let’s try it and see what it is like to focus only on the SF Giants play baseball.

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What is the Glow behind the double doors?

30 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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This place does not exist anymore in physical form. It does exist in our memories and pictures.

The Glow is back-lit sunlight streaming through the door windows and cracks of a set of double doors to a lost ballpark that was demolished in 2015.

This is the entrance to the lower reserve and lower box section behind home plate at Candlestick Park. This was about two hours before game time for a SF Giants game.

My wife said this photo reminds her of something from the “The Twilight Zone”. It makes you curious and a little afraid to find out what is on the other side of the double doors. The glow makes you fearful to discover the cause for the glow.

A good photograph causes people to think and use their imagination when contemplating the meaning of the image. It should make people think beyond what they physically see in the image.


Massive Scoreboard in Candlestick Park in 1988.

27 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by in Candlestick Park, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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Here’s 2 views of the same scoreboard with the welcome to Candlestick Park.

I shot the scoreboard as I was walking behind the general admission section. The second shot occurred right in front of the scoreboard .

It is interesting how the old scoreboard had many bulbs embedded on the sign. It was about 30 to 40 ft wide. I can imagine there were lots of bulbs to give the different lettering, numbers, and patterns for the scoreboard.

It is always a good idea to shoot an object from different positions as I did with the scoreboard. The different shots of the same scoreboard show the dimensions for the bulbs when looking up versus looking from the side. From the side, the scoreboard shows a little bit of wavy texture due to the bulbs. Looking up, lining up the bulbs gives a polka dot effect.

Next time you see something interesting you want to take a picture of, take a few photos from different angles to see all the perspectives of the object.

Who was the biggest Free Agent to sign with the SF Giants?

08 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by in 49ers, AT&T Park, Baseball, Candlestick Park, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, niners, Pacific Bell Park, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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The answer is one of baseball’s all time great, Barry Bonds. I took this photograph at Pacific Bell Park during Fuji Photo Day.

Barry Bonds signed with the Giants in 1992. The Giants were still playing at Candlestick Park. He was playing with the Pittsburg Pirates before becoming a free agent. He was the most sought after free agent available in 1992. He signed a record 6 year $43.75 million deal. The deal was orchestrated by Peter Magowan. He became the highest-paid player in baseball history. Barry Bonds played for the Giants for 15 years.

Barry Bonds played left field at Candlestick Park. Al Michaels, the ABC broadcaster for Monday night football, stated left field at Candlestick Park was one of the most expensive piece of real estate in any sports stadium during a 49’ers game in 1992. Al was referencing the large contract paid to Barry Bonds who would play in left field (the north end zone) of Candlestick Park for the 1993 season.

Here’s info about Barry Bond’s deal with the Giants

I was thinking about the Barry Bonds deal as the Giants are contemplating signing huge free agent Bryce Harper. Let’s see where Bryce Harper signs.

What Lights and Sounds do you Remember from Candlestick Park?

03 Sunday Feb 2019

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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  • SF Giants Night Baseball Game
  • Game 4 of the NLCS game with SF Giants vs the Cubs on 10/8/89 at Candlestick Park
  • SF Giants vs Montreal Expos on 5/20/88 taken from Left Field General Admission area
  • SF Giants vs Montreal Expos on 5/20/88 taken from the Upper Deck
  • Demolition of Candlestick Park in 2015 with Stadium Lights behind the fence
  • Stadium Lights taken down from the towers sitting in the parking lot
  • Zoomed in Photographs of the Stadium Lights

I remember going to SF Giants night games and being impressed by the bright stadium lights that turn the darkness into the light of day to a certain extent at Candlestick Park. When I arrived early before the game started and before the crowd and stadium music were in full affect, I could hear the buzzing sounds created by the stadium lights. It was a pretty cool sound. It was not too loud, but was noticeable. The buzzing sound of the bright lights is one of my significant good memories of Candlestick Park.

I am not sure how many fans noticed this sound from the bright lights. During a game, you could not notice this sound because of the cheering crowds and the stadium music.

I love the photograph with all these old lights group together behind the gate. I spotted these lights as Candlestick Park was being demolished. I wish I knew if they kept these lights in storage or were they all disposed.

Why did I love this buzzing noise of the lights? As a photographer, I have always enjoyed lights. I photographed images from night lights throughout the city for a college project. I am a stickler for having enough lights throughout our home. I guess I associate the buzzing with the brilliance and spotlight effect of these lights. It reminds me these lights were powerful and could show us the details of the evening games.

Bright lights reveal what is going on in the darkness. The right lighting makes all the difference in a good or bad photo. We need more light in our life to see more clearly our weaknesses and to reveal how we can do things better. I would like to hear that buzzing again to signify the revealing lights are on again. What sound would you like to hear to remind you of a significant part of you life?

It Will be Nice when the Saint Francis of Assisi Statue Sees the Light of Day Again

09 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in 49ers, Baseball, Candlestick Park, Football, Former home of the San Francisco 49'ers, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, niners, San Francisco 49'ers, San Francisco Giants, sf 49'ers, SF Giants

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Back Lit Statue of Saint Francis of Assisi was photographed in front of Candlestick Park in the late 1980’s. The steel and concrete statue by Ruth Wakefield Cravath was  moved from the ballpark when it was torn down in 2015. It was put in storage in Oakland and will be refurbished. The new location for installing the statue is to be determined. The statue was installed at Candlestick Park in 1973 after the project to add seats and enclose the stadium for the 49ers.

Mass Transit to Candlestick Park Back in the Day

09 Friday Mar 2018

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This was the Double Decker Escalator which was going up to the main concourse area at Candlestick Park. I remember going to Candlestick Park a long time ago and marveling at the escalators there. They were extremely impressive in moving large amounts of people to and from the parking lot to the stadium concourse areas. They were very reliable as I don’t remember them being broken for any SF Giants or 49’er games I went to back then. They transported us quickly to the concourse levels so we could get our food before the games started. It is too bad all six of the escalators were torn down when Candlestick Park was flattened.

The image was photographed using color film with a 35mm Canon camera mounted on a tripod utilizing a slow shutter speed to get the blurred effect of the people moving.

Candlestick Park’s Eye Catching Red Exterior

07 Wednesday Mar 2018

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Candlestick Park had a very distinctive exterior look because of the support beams, light standards, and the red color. The support beams and light standards were painted dark green in the 1990’s. Candlestick Park was visible from US 101 for over a mile away before it was torn down. It was torn down in 2015 but it is still strange when driving down US 101 and seeing an empty space where it used to be.

I hope they will create a Candlestick Park museum on site when they build up the area in the future. There is so much history there and a lot of stories to tell.

Red Chairs at Candlestick Park

24 Saturday Feb 2018

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The unmistakable Red Chairs at Candlestick Park in the lower box seat area photographed in September 1989 before a night SF Giants game. I have so many memories of going to SF Giants and 49’ers games and sitting in either The Red or Orange Chairs.

There were red and orange chairs in different parts of the stadium.

It was sad that Candlestick Park was torn down and that all the Red and Orange Chairs were removed.

I bought an orange Candlestick Park seat bottom to use for a background for taking my product photographs.  Due to expense and lack of space, I did not buy the entire chair.

Perhaps in the future, I will purchase a Red or Orange Chair from Candlestick Park for sentimental purposes.

Did You Notice the Night Glow at Candlestick Park?

09 Friday Feb 2018

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This is an exterior view of Candlestick Park’s upper concourse level during a night game. Candlestick Park had a distinctive look that separated it out from all the other stadiums.

I used high speed Kodak T-Max 35mm film to take this picture. The film holds up well enough though there is a lot of grain in the picture. I used this film a lot for my night photography pictures.

Do you see the head of the fan looking out from the upper concourse level?  My wife loves this picture, but she did not notice the person until I told her. There were a few concession stands in this area, though there were more in the lower concourse.  The light in this walk way gave a unique glow to the Stick.  It is interesting to see the contrast of the shadows and light glow in the night.  It gave an interesting perspective under the upper concourse seating area.  This is another example of “chiaroscuro” which is the strong contrasts between light and dark.

It reminds me that art can be found anywhere if we will look.  I love finding art in stadiums.  It would be nice if I could continue this journey of photographing art in different stadiums in the future.