Photographer captures dystopian images of San Francisco under a smoky siege

Photographer Pavel Fedorov was inspired to captured images of San Franciscans wearing protective air masks after taking a photo of a businessman in a full face respiratory mask. Last Friday and Saturday November 16th and 17th the air quality index in the city was among the worst in the world. less Photographer Pavel Fedorov was inspired to captured images of San Franciscans wearing protective air masks after taking a photo of a businessman in a full face respiratory mask. Last Friday and Saturday ... more Photo: Pavel Fedorov Photo: Pavel Fedorov Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close Photographer captures dystopian images of San Francisco under a smoky siege 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

Photographer Pavel Fedorov was walking in San Francisco's Financial District Thursday when he saw a typical scene: a businessman rushing to work. But then the full-face respiratory mask he was wearing caught Fedorov's eye, so he stopped the man and took his photograph.

On Friday, as the Camp Fire continued to spew toxic smoke into the Bay Area, Fedorov documented the surreal sight of a city's population, covered in masks, attempting to go about living their lives.

"Next day was the day when the air quality index was the worst in the world, and most of my friends left San Francisco," he said. "I stayed and was very curious to see the city, see the people, maybe talk to some of them and maybe take some portraits. And so I did."

His photographs document the variety of masks people wore during the day.

"It's not Halloween or another holiday. It's just San Francisco, in smoke, and it's hard to breathe," he added. "It's horrible and a bit apocalyptic. It felt like the city was emptier, so people either left or stayed at home. So I'm glad that people care about their health, but such a pity that this tragedy happened."

A cinematographer as well as a photographer, Fedorov usually works on commercials and music videos. He moved to San Francisco two years ago, and the city's streets often inspire his photography. "Street photography is one of my favorite subjects, and I am always on the lookout for the strong and powerful image, that can tell a story," he explained.

Fedorov was outside for hours taking photographs while also wearing an N95 air filter mask. He said he felt a little dizzy after taking his pictures, but in general feels fine.

Relief is on the way to the San Francisco Bay Area with a storm on Tuesday evening expected to blow out the smoke and deliver rain to the region.

To view, a sample of Fedorov's photographs click through the slideshow above.

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Online Photo Editor Douglas Zimmerman oversees SFGATE's Instagram and covers the Bay Area soccer scene on SFGATE's Beautiful Blog. View his latest stories and send him news tips at dzimmerman@sfgate.com.

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