FIELD NOTE // FN-011 | LOCATION: Ferry Building, San Francisco | DATE: 2025-12-12
There is something inherently suspicious about a skateboarder carrying a watermelon.
My eye was trained on the Ferry Plaza, scanning the crowd, when he cut through the noise. A blacked-out set: shades, hoodie tied, keys jingling, sunburst tattoo... and a bright green melon tucked under his arm like a football.
In a dense crowd of tourists and Giants fans—NPCs pathfinding their way from Oracle Park in their matching orange-and-black uniforms—this gent was the Main Character.
He stopped me cold. When you see a skater with a watermelon, your mind does a quick 50/50 calculation: Is he bringing a wholesome snack to the homies? Or is something devious about to happen? Is that fruit destined for a stomach, or is it about to be splayed across the pavement in a magnificent, sticky mess?
The Stakeout I took this shot from across the street, parked with my telephoto lens. I like to think of this style of street photography like a police stakeout in a movie. It’s not about the chase; it’s about the patience. You pick your spot, you get comfortable, and you just observe the habitat. You wait for their rhythm to reveal itself.
Sometimes you get a wheelchair cowboy. Sometimes you get a sea of baseball jerseys. And sometimes, if you wait long enough, you get the Watermelon Man.
