Folsom Street
But then a friend asked me if I had ever photographed the Folsom Street Fair. I usually do not go to fairs. But when my friend told me that on one of the visits there a few years ago, he witnessed a woman performing oral sex on a stage, he got my attention.
The street was named after Joseph L. Folsom, in the quartermaster’s department of United States Army in 1848-1849. He built a fine residence on the northern corner of Second and Folsom Street. It is difficult to imagine what would be his reaction, if he found out that over 130 years later (in 1984), there would start one of the largest outdoor spectacular events to celebrate BDSM, a variety of erotic practices involving bondage, discipline, submission and sadomasochism. I learned that Folsom Street has been the center of San Francisco’s leather community since the mid-1960s. When I announced to my family that I’m planning to visit and photograph the event on Sunday, September 24th, I received a stern warning from my wife and both of my daughters. In the past, this yearly event attracted 400,000 visitors, and my family was concerned about my safety. Of course for me this sounded like telling a fox stay away from the chicken coop. So at noon, on one of the hottest days in San Francisco, at 80F, I took the Muni underground to Van Ness and I walked a few blocks, and paid the $10.00 entrance fee, and I got to my destination. The Fair covered five blocks of Folsom Street from the 8th to 13th Street. There were many naked or partially clad men and women, some with various leather straps crisscrossing their bodies. On the first stage, I witnessed three women performing a sadistic act. Next to it was the area where men and women would lay down on an X-shaped wooden platform to be spanked. It was very hot and many were seeking the shade on the sidewalk, while consuming barbequed meat with glasses of beer. Then I came to a stage, which was blocked by a huge crowd of men with their cell phones pointing up in the air. When I pushed myself closer I witnessed seven men engaged in group sex, with the eighth one walking around with the microphone making comments. After making enough clicks with my small camera, I decided to quit. San Francisco is a very special city. It was always on the forefront of liberal self-impressions. As far as I am concerned, I visited Folsom Fair twice: my first and last time. And though I might use one of the images out of the 300 that I photographed on that day for one of my “42 Encounters” books, I realized that my family was right. Sometimes the threat is not outside, but rather inside the person. Not all experiences are worth experiencing.
Enjoy and Share.
P.S. Though I had plenty of images of naked bodies, you can find plenty of those online. The four I decided to share with you show people who were more creative with their attire.
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Cheers,
