San Francisco photographer, author, observer - Scott Palmer - sets his large format camera - preparing to capture a rare 'full-house' of ships in the floating dry docks at Piers 70 and 72. I'm glad that I stopped the car to capture this moment. Happier still - that I stopped to introduce myself.

Meet Scott Palmer. ( http://www.bonefog.com )

His large format camera atop a heavy wood tripod. My digital with an image-stabilized telephoto lens. The fence seems ironic. Fitting.

As a teen - I carried one of these tripods for photographer Hamilton Poole - along the gritty harbor in Baltimore. Mister Poole was a close friend to my dad - and my generous mentor - introducing me to this world of latent imagery. ( First in a series of three images )