Tag Archives: ballpark art

Candlestick Park Days Past

02 Saturday May 2020

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, Remembering Candlestick Park, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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Candlestick Park with the Sky Box at the top.

Candlestick Park with the Sky Box at the top.

I shot this Candlestick Park photograph during the 1991 SF Giants baseball season. I am hoping there will be a MLB season for 2020. There are still a few months where this could be a possibility.

It is hard to believe that it has been 5 years since Candlestick Park has been demolished. Some fans commented to me in reality Candlestick Park was an old stadium that was runned down. Yes this is true. The Stick needed to be replaced, and we needed an updated stadium to watch the SF Giants.

I also received comments that my photographs show off the highlights of the Stick. The pictures make Candlestick Park look better than it looked. Thank you for those compliments. To make an object appear at its best is an important goal for a photographer.

I shot Candlestick Park at its best during the various baseball games. I also shot Candlestick Park at its worst during its demolition period. I am so glad I have a large collection of images of the Stick during its life. I even sacrificed my safety and my camera equipment when I was mugged during the demolition.

So I possess a wide range of emotions when I think about Candlestick Park. Even with the bad memories, the good times still warm my heart. I have great memories of my father taking me to Candlestick Park to watch the SF Giants. I had the best times with my friends and family at the Stick.

What are you doing at home since we are sheltering in place? Maybe you can look at old pictures to bring back old memories. You could organize photos into an online or an actual album.

I know my memories molded me into who I am today.

Can you look back at old pictures to see how your past created who you are today?

Photographs are good reminders!

Setting Sun on Candlestick Park

30 Monday Mar 2020

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

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This is the late afternoon before a game at Candlestick Park. I shot this at the south west portion of the stadium. Notice the souvenir and concession stands on the left.

Have you ever noticed the shadows of objects as the sun sets? The shadows of objects become elongated. See the man with the orange jacket walking away from me with a long shadow. It can give an eerie feel to a picture.

Shadows can add an interesting dimension to a photograph. The contrast of the light and dark make shadows interesting.

The sun’s rays are radiating out in the upper portion and provide a nice contrast in this photo.

Showing the contrast with light and dark shades are a nice effect in a photograph.

In life, we need to understand the balance of light and dark in our perspective. We need the light to recognize and understand things in the dark.

We are faced with a critical crisis in our world today. We receive constant updates of this deadly COVID-19 Virus infecting many individuals. We are to remain inside to stay safe. These are dark times with many infected people. Those in the front lines of this battle are working with tremendous difficulties and challenges. We thank all of these people very much who work in the Medical Field, First Responders, Police and Fire Personnel, Grocery and Shop Clerks, Mail and Delivery People, Restaurants Providing Take out orders, and the many other essential people who are working and sacrificing their health and safety. 

We appreciate those who are seeking to find the solutions in the proper “light” to bring about healing.

My wife and I are praying for God’s light to reveal the answers to stop this dark virus and it’s spreading. Just as there is this darkness, there is light to provide hope.

Jesus Christ said in John 12:46 – I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Photos Teach!

Cool Afternoon before a Night Game at Candlestick Park

04 Wednesday Mar 2020

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

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I took some pictures down at the Field Level Box seats near Home Plate at batting practice before a night SF Giants game. This was a typical cool evening at “The Stick”. The night games in the summer were a good way to test out your cold winter jackets or parkas.

It is pretty amusing to see Bay Area folks wearing a ski cap and a heavy jacket in the middle of our summer. San Franciscans typically can wear a thick warm jacket all year round.  Candlestick Park was also quite cold being near the water. It was usually foggy and damp during a typical evening game.

I love the San Francisco foggy weather, since I am naturally warm. So I never feel too hot with our natural fog air conditioning.  I mostly wear short sleeves, since I would be too warm with long sleeves.

It is funny when we see tourists visiting expecting the myth of California sunshine. They are dressed in their summer shorts with no jacket and are freezing during their vacation in San Francisco.

A True San Franciscan needs to own a down jacket to survive the fog. In the photograph, you can see how these SF Giants fans are prepared for a cold evening as they watch the baseball game.

A good photograph reminds us about the details of that moment. We remember the good times shared even though we were freezing sitting at Candlestick Park. Oracle Park was built to be warmer to improve the fans’ night time experiences watching the SF Giants. Our love for the SF Giants allowed us to endure the cold of Candlestick Park.

What are we willing to endure for “LOVE”? Enduring the cold damp weather at Candlestick Park, because many of us loved to watch the SF Giants, was a willing sacrifice.

Are you willing to sacrifice time and effort to pursue a dream? Facing a risk and the challenge of working to achieve a goal is scary. It takes dedication to pursue a dream!

Are you willing to sacrifice time and effort to care for a loved one? It’s amazing how some move away from home and neglect the parents they left. It is easy to be caught up in your own life and be oblivious about the condition of an aging parent.

Are you willing to sacrifice time and effort to help someone you do not know? This is something we all are challenged with.

It is easy to sacrifice to do something fun – i.e. attend a SF Giants game in the cold. But it is harder to sacrifice when it involves hard work and lots of time.

Hard Work and Sacrifice results in future blessings. So consider what you should sacrifice for someone else or for a worthy goal.

Photos Teach!

Flood Light Bulbs Made up Candlestick Park Scoreboard

28 Friday Feb 2020

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

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I enjoyed looking at the old scoreboard at Candlestick Park. It is old technology compared to the new fancy scoreboard at Oracle Park today. But the old scoreboard still has a unique look. It is fascinating to look close up and see the individual round floodlights which together project the words and images. The photographs were taken during the SF Giants’ 1988 season.

It is also cool to see the shadow effect in the 3rd photograph of each of the floodlights.

Besides the actual game, the scoreboard is the “centerpiece” of a ballpark. We constantly look at it for scores, stats, commercials, information, and entertainment.

The first photograph of the Scoreboard reminds us of the “ASK THE GIANTS” event. How exciting to be able to “talk directly to your favorite Giants player”.

I wonder how did the Candlestick Park maintenance team replace these floodlights. I assume they would have to test to see if any lights went out before a game to replace any burned out lights. The scoreboard would not look good if any of the light were dark. There could be a “black hole” on the scoreboard.

It was relatively easy to replace a floodlight at Candlestick Park – I would guess.

In real life, it is not as easy to keep our “brain” light bright. I am noticing people I know who in their younger years were quite sharp. Now due to age and changes in lifestyle are unaware and out of touch on some things. These individuals are under retirement age, but are not in their twenties.

It is a challenge to keep physically and mentally alert. It is a good thing for me to learn the new technology for my photography. Learning slowly about blogging has been an interesting journey. Fumbling and being successful with my own home network system has been rewarding.

How can we keep bright?

  • Be Involved in different people’s lives in addition to your own family. Being interested in other people outside of your family teaches other perspectives in life. It will help us to understand other people’s reality. Also it will teach us the world does not revolve around “ME”.
  • Be Challenged to learn new things. Try to improve in a skill you think you are not good at. My wife has been writing blogs. She never thought of herself as a writer, but is surprised she is learning to love it.
  • Do projects to test your creativity. I have a garden project where I hope to create my oasis for shooting pictures. More details to come later.
  • Do not be afraid of failure. Just keep pursuing and learn. It’s like running a race to get to the finish line. If you give up, you will never know the possible outcomes. Believe in the impossible.

My goal is to continue not to dwell on the times I get frustrated with my learning efforts, but to be determined to keep my brain light bright!

Photos Teach!

 

 

 

 

 

 

NLCS SF Giants game at Candlestick Park

20 Thursday Feb 2020

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

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My baseball roots go back to SF Giants game at Candlestick Park when my Dad used to take me to games as a young child. I remember one of my first memories of Candlestick was when he took me there was in the 1970’s and I remember seeing the upper deck in right field was under construction. They were expanding the overall capacity of the ballpark when the 49ers moved to Candlestick Park from Kezar Stadium.

This photograph was taken during the 1989 NLCS when the Giants played the Cubs. It was a late afternoon game in the Fall and the weather was warm and comfortable with not much wind. The baseball postseason at Candlestick usually guaranteed a full house which was extra exciting. There were not too many sellout games during the baseball season for the Giants.

Looking back at old photographs can remind us of old good times in our lives. Candlestick Park was not the “perfect” looking stadium. I have received comments about my Candlestick Park photographs – saying the Stick looks better in my pictures than what they remembered. Many of us still have fond memories being with friends and family watching either baseball or football.

Candlestick Park is more than an old sports stadium to us. It represents a simpler time where we remember spending quality time together. It was not as stressful going to these games for some reason compared to when I go now to an SF Giants game. Perhaps the personality of today’s crowds are different than in the past.

People comment to me how much they love their memories at the Stick.

If you have a good memory from Candlestick Park, please share it. We would love to hear from you!

Photos help us recall great times!

Alone at Candlestick Park

24 Friday Jan 2020

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

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I enjoyed my solitude at Candlestick Park. I arrived a couple of hours before the SF Giants would play ball and go exploring. I probably explored every nook and cranny at the Stick. There is not a single person in this photograph.

Solitude allowed me to examine the architecture and design of this great sports stadium. I would walk up and down each row. I would climb to the top and make my way down. It’s too bad digital cameras did not exist at this time. If I had a digital camera, I would have shot even more pictures.

We all need some time to examine without distractions. I would roam around the stadium searching for interesting shots. I found my creativity and love for stadium art. I applied my lessons from art college about photography as I was shooting. This was my time of discovery to find out my identity as a photographer.

In these quiet moments, I concentrated to shoot Candlestick Park with a different perspective than an ordinary sports arena. It was my goal to present Candlestick Park from all angles and to “show it off”. My photography marked my beginnings as a photographer. I was in my “happy place” when I was shooting photos at the Stick.

When I shot photos at Candlestick Park, I never thought one day it would be gone. I’m so glad I have these photographs which represent my beginning passions as a photographer.  These photos allow to remember the person I was to compare with the person I am today. It is a reminder of where I was and how I hopefully progressed.

My Lessons learned –

  • Seek your place for solitude to grow and reflect
  • Who am I today versus who was I once upon a time – Look at your old pictures to remind yourself who you were. Hope you can be proud of who you are today.

Photos are good reminders!

 

Candlestick Park Red Chair Flare

08 Wednesday Jan 2020

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

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This Candlestick Park Red Chairs photograph was shot in the later afternoon before a night game. These chairs are the best memorabilia to remember the Stick! Maybe one day my wife will allow me to own an actual chair. I did buy an orange seat to use as a background for shooting my photo products.

Notice the light flare on the upper right corner. As per 2nd previous post where I mention about most of the time, a photographer will avoid this light flare in a picture. Well this is an example where I wanted the flare to show the light rays over the rows of chairs. The flare also reflects a nice glow on the bright red chairs.

A photograph should show off the best features of the subject. This light accentuates and highlights the good attributes for these chairs at the Stick. The natural flare also gave a great glow to these classic red stadium chairs.

Natural lighting is an important ingredient for a good picture.

My mother-in-law (who is only 99 years old) has a habit of wanting to save money and close the lights. If she gets up in the middle of the night, she will not turn on the light. She already does not have perfect sight, and light will illumine her path to prevent an accident. I have tried to help by putting night and motion lights to help her.

Just like my mother-in-law – we forget how important light is and how much we need it.

Practice shooting pictures with different degrees of natural lighting to see the reflection, flare, and glow in your results.

As always – my photos are not altered via software to give the “glow”.

Get the glow on in your photos!

 

 

SF Giants Opening Night at Candlestick Park Against the LA Dodgers

07 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, Lost Ballpark, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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The fans were getting ready for the SF Giants Opening night game on April 15, 1991. This was before the game started as the stadium crew were getting ready for the pregame fireworks show.

It is always fun to attend a SF Giants Opening game. I cannot say I attended an opening game every year. But it is an exciting time to anticipate the beginning of a new season and the possibilities of victory.

This game was particularly exciting since it was against the Dodgers. You can see in the  photo how the seats were filling up with hopeful fans. Unfortunately, the SF Giants did not get a win that night.

Despite the outcome of the game, fans remember the good times they spent together with family and friends watching either baseball or football.

Even though, there were many games when the SF Giants did not do well, somehow we do not talk as much about the defeats. Instead we reminisce about the relationships we built as we spent time together at the Stick.

Candlestick Park taught us the importance of spending time together to create good memories. We get too busy with work, chores, and just life.

Prioritize to find a way to spend time with those you deem important. Don’t allow our excuses to prevent gathering with friends and family. Find a way to build stronger relationships in 2020.

Photos Inspire me to remember my good memories at Candlestick Park!

Destress with Photos!

 

What was on the Southside of Candlestick Park?

26 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by in 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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Do you remember the southern part of Candlestick Park. I took this shot in 1988.

I love looking at the design of the red pattern of the support beams circling the outside of the stadium.

The vintage cars in the parking lot remind us of this eta in the 80’s.

Notice the ramp which leads to other parking lot areas. It provided a safe ok walkway away from the moving cars.

Candlestick Park was a welcoming stadium. Tickets were affordable. I did not have to plan ahead to go to a game. I could spontaneously go to a game and just buy tickets to attend a SF Giants game.

Can we also learn to welcome people into our life? Are we accessible to people? Do we have walls preventing people into our lives? Do we share our experiences with others to encourage or help someone?

We can all learn from the legacy of Candlestick Park.

Pregame Fuji Photo Day at Candlestick Park

06 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by in Baseball, Candlestick Park, Former Home of the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco Giants, SF Giants

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I loved Fuji Photo Day at Candlestick Park on Saturday, May 14, 1988.  Fans were allowed on the field before the game to take pictures of the players and the ballpark.  I loved walking on the pristine and immaculate grass.  I wish I could have preserved a piece of the field to bring home.  Fuji Photo Day was one of my top favorite events at the Stick besides Opening Day and the Post Season games.

Fans were able to get on the field 2 hours before the game.  I wish AT&T Park would have a similar event now.  I would roam around and go crazy shooting photographs.

I do not remember who the gentleman is in this photograph. I really like his SF Giants shirt.  I am not sure if he was an usher.

The SF Giants player in the background is Joe Price.  He played for SF Giants from 1987 to 1989 as a left handed pitcher.   The SF Giants defeated the New York Mets 3-2 with Mike Krukow getting the win and Ron Darling taking the loss.

Just wondering if any other SF Giants fans who visited Candlestick Park also have good memories of the Fuji Photo Day events?  Please share any memories from this event too.  From my interaction on social media, I have heard how fans really treasure the fun moments at Candlestick Park.