What a neighborhood should be.

Bernal Heights.

Wander down to Cortland Street, the main drag in the city of Bernal Heights, and you will be transported back to 1950s America. No WalMarts, no McDonalds, no ghastly chain stores of any sort. Just local groceries, cafes and restaurants, and utterly charming. And no Starbucks with its condescending help and burned coffee beans. None of the mass marketing, in other words, that has made every city in the civilized world look pretty much like every other.

Bernal Heights is that rarest of things, a true neighborhood with regular people. No aggressive displays of errant ‘lifestyle choices’, no tattoo-defaced bodies, no foolish body piercings, no Harley Davidson poseurs. Just regular people going about their lives without show or artifice. People being comfortable being what they are.

Red Hill Books. 24mm.

Corner coffee shop. 24mm.

Residents take their dogs’ fitness seriously here. 50mm.

Tended with love. 50mm.

Bernal school. 24mm.

“Why do you live in the city?” 24mm.

Local boozer. 24mm.

Polling Day. 24mm.

Hanging out. Click the picture for the map. 24mm.

Aged awning gears. 24mm.

Front door. 24mm.

And the very best thing about Bernal Heights? There are dogs everywhere!

On Cortland Street, Bernal Heights. Happy to proffer a paw and a cold nose.
About as good an egg as I have met this year, and with massive dignity. 24mm.

All on the Nikon D700 using ‘all metal era’ Nikkor 24, 50 and 135mm MF lenses, aged 35 years or more.