A Bay Area photographer says he was assaulted and robbed while photographing Christmas decorations in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood.

Photographer Daniel Gallo was taking photos with friends Wednesday evening in the Presidio and afterward decided to head to Divisadero Street and Pacific Avenue to capture the elaborate holiday home decorations.

While setting up his camera on a tripod around 8:50 p.m., Gallo noticed two people pass by him, but he didn't pay much attention. Seconds later, Gallo says they rushed back at him and punched him several times in the face before he fell to the ground. The robbers grabbed Gallo's camera gear before taking off in their nearby parked car.

He lost his Sony A7Rii camera, multiple Sony lenses and a Manfrotto tripod.

Gallo called 911 and said San Francisco police arrived within a few minutes. He was not able to give a detailed description of the assailants and he could not make out the license plate number of the getaway car; he only was able to see it was silver in color.

SFPD officer Adam Lobsinger confirmed the incident via email.

"The victim was treated at the scene for non life-threatening injuries. SFPD is investigating the matter," Lobsinger told SFGATE. "Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to come forward and help with the investigation."

Although there have been many recent occurrences of photographers having their camera gear stolen in Oakland, there have been fewer reports of this happening in San Francisco.

Several hours later, Gallo posted a photograph of him with his face swollen and bruised cheeks and lips to warn other photographers of the potential danger of taking pictures in San Francisco.

"I've always felt very safe in parts of San Francisco, but this experience has really altered my perception," Gallo wrote on his post.

"So this is a warning to others out there - if you go out into San Francisco (or any city) alone with your camera in the evening, even in supposedly safe neighborhoods, please be careful, and consider going with a group of friends instead," he added.

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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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