Bill Birnbaum

It was 1996 when I heard the term “street photography” for the first time.  In learning that street photographers document the everyday life of human beings, I was immediately drawn to this genre of photography.

At the time, I was spending quite a bit of time in San Francisco.  So The City by the Bay became my studio for street photography.  And that’s how I came to develop my project, “1990s San Francisco,” which I shot entirely with black and white film.  

In 2015, I began a second project called “County Fair.”  It’s a collection of color images of the fair’s midway (rides, food carts, and arcades) shot with a digital camera.  I continue to expand this project with photographs added at each summer’s county fair.

I’ll soon be assembling images to display as a third project.  I shot those images during my time spent in South America – while living in Peru and visiting elsewhere on the South American Continent.  I’ve yet to decide upon a name for that project.

Lastly, I should mention that I’m now in my sixth year as president of the Sisters Area Photography Club.

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