523 - Hyatt Regency
If an architecture bug were to exist, I imagine it would be diamond shaped. White, perhaps. With 4 black legs that can bend, allowing it to lay perfectly flat. Almost like a leaf bug, but with a modern, minimalist aesthetic.
Why am I making this absurd statement, might you ask? Well, the point I’m trying to make is that I’ve been bitten by one. Because I’ve never shot this much architecture in my life. I’m currently at three shoots in a row.
And it’s not like I’m trying to do this either. It’s like I’m being controlled by something.
Perhaps architecture bugs are like that parasitic fungi that invades ants bodies and takes over their mind. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, more specifically.
Well, either way, I was standing in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency San Francisco with my jaw on the floor. Yep, that’s the destination of today’s photoshoot. A Hyatt.
Except this place might be the most preposterous Hyatt I’ve ever seen in my life. The place looked like someone gave an architect two tabs of acid, a pint of orange juice, and a piece of paper that said “I love heights” on it.
I glanced back up in awe.
We’ll start with a photo of the elevator, so you can get a taste of this madness:
“Elevator to Heaven”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 2500 ~ 63mm ~ f/4 ~ 1/400s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
See what I mean? Pure wonder. Pure fantasy. Pure enchantment. I’m out of words.
I continued around the lobby, looking for other angles to shoot it at. The crazy thing was that I discovered this place completely by accident. I meant to just cut through the lobby to get to another street.
Since the place was so massive, I was shooting primarily with a 10-18mm lens. Wide as anything. But finding another composition was proving to be a challenge. There were “hotel shenanigans” everywhere. And by that I mean signs, managers, chairs, and people in neon yellow tracksuits. Too many distractions killing the magic.
To you, the audience, this place should be nothing short of a modern utopia. A dreamy land from the cosmos, that’s sole purpose is beauty. There was no room for business here. And I intended to keep it that way.
My eye landed upon a still body of water. A decorative fountain that wasn’t doing fountain things. Perfect.
I lined up my wide angles lens as close to the water as I could, and came out with this shot:
“Orange Fixation”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 640 ~ 17mm ~ f/2.8 ~ 1/125s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
A psychedelic reflection of the lobby. Shenanigans not included.
I flipped around to the other side of the water, and nailed this shot of the elevator:
“Double Time”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 640 ~ 17mm ~ f/2.8 ~ 1/125s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Double the reflections, double the fun. I looked up again. It was time to ascend.
I clicked the metal elevator button and waited. Nothing happened. I clicked it again. It lit up. I really need to change my personality to one of those people that hits buttons harder.
I watched the elevator numbers descend to zero and I stepped inside. I clicked the “15” button and nothing happened. Goddamnit. I smashed the button and waited. Nothing.
Then my eyes fell upon a small, fist-sized scanner with the words “room key here” on it. Shnitzel.
You need to be an actual hotel guest to go up to the floors. Makes perfect sense seeing as I’m in a city with one of the worst homeless problems in the nation….
I stepped out and casually looked around the lobby. It was time to embrace my inner stowaway. Three asian dudes in suits suddenly rounded the corner and hopped into an elevator. I squeezed behind them and asked for a scan to floor 15. They obliged. I was in.
Once at the top, I got out of the elevator and immediately looked over the edge. My stomach dropped. There were only two floors above me. I was freaking high.
And in case you didn’t know, heights are my one true fear. I’d rather get waterboarded in a dark room by a grizzly bear than fall to my death. The thought of dropping through thin air towards concrete hotel shenanigans terrified me beyond belief.
I stepped a solid foot away from that four foot railing of horror.
Fun fact. One time in college I took two tabs of acid and decided I was going to get over my fear of heights. I climbed on the roof of my house, stood on the edge, and forced myself to look down for 30 minutes. It didn’t help.
Oh, and another fun fact. The film “High Anxiety” (1977) was filmed in this hotel. If you’re old enough to get that reference, kudos. If not, just assume I called this adventure “High Anxiety” because I was experiencing high anxiety.
As I arrived at the other end of the pathway on the 15th floor, I turned around and saw one more composition that tickled my fancy:
“Triangular Horizon”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6
[ISO 50 ~ 10mm ~ f/9 ~ 1/30s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Some heavy futuristic vibes in that one. I edited a maid cart out also. Gotta respect those ladies. At this height, you mind as well as working on a steel beam at the empire state building in the 1930s.
Alright. That’s all I got for you guys. But I’m gonna make you a promise. On the next shoot, no architecture.
If there is architecture, just know that I didn’t consciously make that decision. I’m most likely being controlled by brain eating fungi bugs.
In which case you should probably send help. Unless the photography’s good.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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