'I Shoot People': cameras not caliber

May 1, 4:14 PMSF Lower Haight ExaminerPatricia Decker

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D-Structure promo flyer for Friday's show

San Francisco-based photographer Trevor Traynor -- whose impact on the hip-hop landscape has been compared to the likes of Martha Cooper and Ricky Powell -- is bringing his works to a gallery in the Lower Haight for his first solo show, "I Shoot People."  Opening tonight, the debut exhibition will unveil scores of prints -- 175 in all -- which capture the heavy hitters in the hip-hop arena in the form of portraits, album covers and magazine spreads.

"His portfolio is a who's who of Hip Hop culture, from the underground to the mainstream, from the old school to the new school," according to D-Structure's event flyer.  Familiar faces include Afrika Bambatta, KRS-One, Nas, N.E.R.D., Mos Def and De La Soul, among others.

"Just as classic rock shutterbugs from Jim Marshall to Jay Blakesberg have added visual impact to that genre's iconographic landscape, so too have hip-hop's photographic chroniclers, people such as Jamal Shabazz and Ernie Pannicioli," wrote Eric Arnold for SF Weekly.  "Add to that list Trevor Traynor."

His contemporaries at LEGENDmag describe Traynor as "the hardest-working man in photo business," and he’s definitely been busy displaying his works in collaborative shows around the Bay Area and beyond.  Recent exhibitions include "Out with the In, Old with the New" at Show Biz (877 Valencia Street), where his works are on display until May 5, 2009.