Marquard’s San Francisco

P6240516

As best as I can tell, this is a Lids sports cap store that retained the legacy signage from the old cigar store that it displaced. This is a simple black and white treatment via Silver Efex Pro.

Now for two bits of site business. First, I feel like I’ve been semi-absent both from here and from social media for the past month or so. Obviously I’m posting every day, and I think the quality of the images have held up, but I have not been keeping up with comments or Twitter. I’ve been busy, and just haven’t had the energy to engage. I suspect folks have noticed, because both traffic and comments are down. I certainly can’t complain but I ask folks to understand and indulge me for a bit longer until I somehow recharge. Oh, and nothing is wrong. I’ve just needed a little break.

Second, if anybody gets this far. I could use a bit of simple Adobe Illustrator help. I’ve designed and am in the process of drawing a new simple site logo. It is simple black brush strokes on a white background, and when it is done I would like to convert it to white brush strokes on a black background, so I can use it in both versions. I suspect that is a fairly simple procedure but I’m at a loss on how to figure out how to do it. Web searches for “adobe illustrator black white” combined with either switch, convert or flip do not help, and tend to generate tutorials on converting color or greyscale to black and white. If anybody knows how to do this or can point me to a useful tutorial or guide, please let me know. Please note I know almost nothing about Illustrator and this simple project is the first time I used it.
Actually, thinking it through a bit more, maybe what I want is one with black strokes on a blank background, and one with white strokes on a blank background. I’ll work on that, but if anybody has any clues please contact me. Thanks.

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This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. Jim Denham

    6 Jul 2011

    A classic scene with a classic treatment! I like it very much! I’ve had trouble showing up too Mark – no worries my friend!

    1. Mark

      6 Jul 2011

      Thanks Jim.

      1. Mark

        10 Jul 2011

        test

  3. Jim Nix

    6 Jul 2011

    I love signs Mark, great shot! Where is this? I get to SFO about 3-4x per year so I will have to find this one!! Well done!

    1. Mark

      6 Jul 2011

      Hey Jim, it’s at the corner of O’Farrell and Powell, and a block away from Union Square.

  4. Brandt Steinhauser

    6 Jul 2011

    Hi Mark,

    Let me preface this with I have never used Illustrator. If Illustrator is anything like Photoshop, you could draw your image on the background layer. Then duplicate that layer. Press CMD+I to invert that layer. You would then have both versions in the same document. Then hide either the background or duplicate layer to save the version you want.

    Hope that helps

  5. Toad Hollow Photography

    6 Jul 2011

    Very very emotional and dramatic image here, Mark, I just love it! I can’t get over the wonderful sense of history in the sign; I love these types of shots. Great work, Mark, and no worries on your being a little absent, we all go through this at one point or another… we’ll be here once you get your batteries recharged and can find your way back! 🙂
    Toad Hollow Photography recently posted..Chemainus – Spring 2011My Profile

  7. Andres Long

    11 Jul 2011

    Like an old building,good job man. Love it!

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