Tiny and Wild Visions of San Francisco

Russ Aguilar 

Tiny and Wild Visions of San Francisco 

Russ Aguilar’s camera takes us up close to examine San Francisco’s smallest residents, invertebrates. Vibrantly colored images give primacy to the 21 species of insects and spiders that the artist photographed along San Francisco’s streets and in her parks and gardens. The artist used macro photography techniques to highlight the interconnections between these creatures and the earth and plants where they thrive to create a series that is both foreign and familiar. Each photo is a lightly edited, uncropped, single shot of an invertebrate found in the “wild” of San Francisco, and the artist took care to minimize disturbance to these animals and their ecology in making this catalog. His work asks us to tread lightly in exploring our man-made and natural ecosystems and to stop and consider even the smallest forms of life with which we coexist in our environment.