With this series of photos called Markings, photographer Jim Vecchi  gives us a fresh take on “street” photography. Well, more accurately, these are  photos of sidewalks and driveways in older neighborhoods in California, where people seem to take pride in personalizing their walkways with quirky cement patterns and mid-century colors.

I love the playfulness of the geometric and organic shapes. The pentimento of several layers of old paint often reveals itself, as if a painter has reworked his or her canvas repeatedly, looking for the just the right shapes and colors to occupy these particular places.

Cracks in the cement introduce the element of chance into many of these, and the feisty nature of weeds asserts itself wherever it can break through the pebbly textures and faded, scuffed paint.

These photos are just one part of a three-part series that Vecchi calls the Sunset Trilogy. He says, “The Sunset District  in San Francisco is a very residential area that is shrouded by fog during much of the year. This seemingly non-descript area does, however, have particular aspects that are simultaneously peculiar and poetic.”

— Jim Casper