Published: September, 2003
Above San Francisco, that venerable coffee table book of aerial photographs of San Francisco, has long been ubiquitous in the better living rooms and reception areas of the Bay Area. It’s about to have a sibling: acclaimed Bay nature photographer Dennis Anderson is weeks away from releasing Hidden Treasures of San Francisco Bay (Heyday Books).
Five years in the making, the photographs of Hidden Treasures of San Francisco Bay astonish and humble the reader. The effect is that of entering a cathedral, a call to grace and calm, emphatic proof that God is a mighty impressive set designer.
Anderson’s work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among many others. Bay Crossing’s readers include an elite group given a peek preview that includes Senator Dianne Feinstein, who writes, "This is truly a remarkable work. I have enjoyed San Francisco Bay all my life, but Dennis Anderson’s striking photography reveals a world I have only seen in glimpses; the Bay at night, underwater and from above."
Anderson’s involvement with the Bay is total: he lives aboard a 1927 fishing boat off San Rafael and commutes at hell-raising speeds in a rigid bottom boat rigged with a motorcycle seat. His extraordinary book will be available at the new Bay Crossings store in the Ferry Building and everywhere fine books are sold in October.
