Photographer's America: Exploring the Hidden San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area's transformation is captured in rare photographs, revealing hidden beauty, history, and future.

The San Francisco Bay Area is in perpetual transformation. From the ancient Gold Rush to the recent Tech Boom, the city is always reinventing itself, and leaving behind artifacts of transitions with their own hidden beauty, spread across the urban landscape. Despite its prominent status in American culture, the region's most unique and captivating locations are often ignored by residents and tourists alike. French-born photographer and California resident, R. F. Paulus, shows us different sides of this urban environment that is closed to visitors, through a collection of rare pictures collected over the past five years. Looking at these off-limits places and viewpoints helps us understand this world-class U.S. region at a deeper level. Abandoned buildings and old military installations take us back in time in a city that few people remember. Further, active infrastructure such as iconic bridges, tunnels, and factories, show us what it takes to keep this region running today. And finally, unique viewpoints in the city's ever-evolving skyline give us a glimpse of the future for the life of the region and its people.