Book Review by Jim Rhoads, HANC Board

Former HANC board member and dedicated environmentalist, Greg Gaar spent the 1970’s and 1980’s documenting the San Francisco street and cultural life that included some of the political turmoil of that time as well. The stark reality of these black and white photographs is astounding. They are personal and raw or in some cases tender. In full disclosure, I have known Greg for almost 40 years. I did not know about these photographs until I saw them in his book.

Greg returned to San Francisco in 1971 after serving four years in the Navy. He took photography courses at City College. It was at this time he had first exposure to printing photographs in the dark room. He was hooked. He graduated to a mobile 35mm Nikon F from the City College’s bulky 4x5 view camera he had been using. This gave him freedom to begin photography.

There is really no way to categorize his photos. There is real human emotion in every photo:  Down and outers, party people, political activism and sometimes the profane. Yet he also presents kids at play. For instance he shows us children trying to feed a gopher in Golden Gate Park. And then Greg pivots to the next chapter titled Urban “Irregulars”. Here we see some very distinctive San Francisco characters, including a delightful photo of the famous twin sisters, Marian and Vivian Brown.

This coffee table sized book captures timeless images in exquisite black and white photographs. I can recommend this book to anyone interested in the alternative side of San Francisco from 1970’s and 80’s.