Caroline Gutman

The light after a storm illuminates one of my favorite houses in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California.

At the start of the pandemic, I started taking daily walks around my neighborhood, Bernal Heights, in San Francisco, CA, to get fresh air and clear my head.

The walks became a ritual — and often a high point of my day — as I explored hidden trails, befriended neighbors and discovered my neighborhood's endearing quirks.

Beautiful Strangers is a collection of my favorite images from photographing during the lockdown in 2020. It is dedicated to my neighbors and the place we call home.

Topiary trees line the driveway of a house in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California.
Heart shaped balloons flutter above the hill in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California. The balloons were part of a guerrilla art installment during the pandemic by artist Ana Rivero Rossi.
Sunlight after a storm shines through the gate of one of my favorite houses in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California.
Cacti line the entrance to a house on the hill in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California.
Afternoon light hits the yellow house on the hill on my way home.
Foxtail lilly plants line the entrance to a house on the hill in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California.
A vintage Ford Pinto station wagon is parked in its usual spot in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California.
Hyacinth flowers match the front of a house on the hill I climb every day in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California.
The strong midday light cuts across a doormat in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California.
Colorful paper lantern lights hang from a fence on the far side of the hill in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California.
Calla lilies unfurl in the morning sun in front of a house in my neighborhood in San Francisco, California.


SF Quarantine
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