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San Francisco

Pictures from around San Francisco and the Bay Area.
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Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f16, ISO50, 50mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> Waking up to San Francisco early one morning on hawk hill. Its very common to see a dozen or so photographers up there, my advice get there early f you want a good spot, problem is parking as there's not much room parking wise. I made it habit of going everyday as it was a gamble, you just can't tell if there's going to be fog. I quickly realized why they call this fog city.
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Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f16, ISO50, 50mm, HDR, 5 Exposures

Waking up to San Francisco early one morning on hawk hill. Its very common to see a dozen or so photographers up there, my advice get there early f you want a good spot, problem is parking as there's not much room parking wise. I made it habit of going everyday as it was a gamble, you just can't tell if there's going to be fog. I quickly realized why they call this fog city.

CaliforniaGolden Gate BridgeHDRNikon D800San Franciso

  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f16, ISO50, 52mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> I was trying to quickly get into position to shoot the golden gate as I headed up to hawk hill but then saw a sunset drama take place in the opposite direction. I quickly pulled over to grab the last dying seconds of the sun as it was about to go behind slacker hill. It was a glorious sunset, straight out of a hollywood movie.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f16, ISO50, 50mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> Waking up to San Francisco early one morning on hawk hill. Its very common to see a dozen or so photographers up there, my advice get there early f you want a good spot, problem is parking as there's not much room parking wise. I made it habit of going everyday as it was a gamble, you just can't tell if there's going to be fog. I quickly realized why they call this fog city.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f16, ISO50, 70mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> On either side of the Golden Gate bridge are scenic viewpoints which I highly recommend, forte point and vista point. Both offer amazing photographic opportunities to capture the bridge but also the city. Expect them to be crowded with tourists. You'll see dozens of hobby and professional photogs setting up their cameras in an attempt to catch the bridge in that perfect moment whether is fog or sunlight. Parking might be a challenge especially during sunset and sunrise so get there early. If you think you can show up 10min before the sunset drama, ha, you in for a laugh as there will be no parking spots at all. Early bird gets the worm!
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f22, ISO50, 70mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> A classic example of what it looks like when fog rolls in. To me it feels like a good candidate for black and white since the gray sky mutes the colors, at least to me. Hence I opt for something classical. I simply never got tired of taking pictures of this magnificent bridge because the weather plays such a diverse role in how the affects the mood of the shot.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 4.0-5.6G, f16, ISO50, 155mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> After sunset and stuck around waiting for dusk to settle in giving my a chance to line up for this shot in what I call rush hour. The beauty of hdr is you can do long exposures giving you rich colors and amazing steaks of light from all the cars passing by. I loathe kit lens and so rarely use mine but I simply had to use it to compress the shot and thankfully a bit of post work cleaned up the image nicely.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 4.0-5.6G, f8, ISO400, 105mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> Taken with what I consider an inferior kit lens that came with my nikon d90. However through post work i was able to salvage this image by applying a lightroom preset and sometimes giving an image a vintage look forgives the mistakes of the lens. Traveling light I did not bring my other quality telephoto lens but I have to say I'm very pleased with this picture. Telephoto lens can really enhance a landscape shot as they do something very unique which a wide angle lens can not do, which is to compress the image. I don't recommend using kit lens, get rid of them or simply dont use them as I find they require more post work to enhance and clean the image and generally dont offer the sharpness of the better lens out there. Remember you get what you pay for and most kit lens sell for about $250 or less and trust me, a lens that costs $2000 will always out perform a kit lens for a very good reason.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f8, ISO50, 24mm, ND 3.0, HDR, 1 Exposure<br /> <br /> A single long exposure using Black Glass (ND 3.0), The sky was overcast or simply tons of fog had rolled into the bay area. This was actually taken at the marina bay in Sausalito. Using BG can lead to interesting pictures as it smooths out things especially water.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f5.6, ISO100, 70mm, HDR, 1/250 sec<br /> <br /> The irony just never stops in this part of town. A culture that has embraced and thrives on something that the rest of the country is in turmoil over, laws that divide people, a political divide that seems so uncontroversial at this corner. Again, walking about with a 24-70mm provides me with that unique ability to zoom in and capture the detail with stunning sharpness.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f22, ISO100, 24mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> Sometimes the weather does not agree with the camera is how i like to see things but making a black and white of it brings another element to it, something that just can't be had in color. The element of drama and detail can be seen which brings out a different mood. One might think a 24-70mm would be the wrong lens for a landscape shot but this is truly a flexible lens because at 24mm you can fit so much into the picture provided you have the distance.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24mm 2.8G, f22, ISO50, 16mm, HDR, 30 sec<br /> <br /> I climbed down a path to get closer giving me a chance to use a wide angle lens. This location is known as battery point and is a prime location to get what I call your trophy shot as it will give you the ability to get very close to the bridge, depending how far down the little beaten path you choose to go, just be very careful, its a 400+ foot drop off the cliff.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f13, ISO50, 45mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> never underestimate just how many angles you can shoot the city and or the bridge from which is another reason why I never got tired of revisiting this location. Battery point offers various vistas so I recommend bring all your lens and explore this rich inferior which has dozens of photogs and many tourists that roam this location. Plan getting there early if you want sunset or sunrise shots.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f8, ISO50, 24mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> Using a long exposure I turned the water into glass. I sat there for a long time, thinking, wishing and contemplating the magic essence of this city.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f6.3, ISO100, 28mm, HDR, 3 Exposures, Handheld<br /> <br /> Waling around the streets of San Francisco is such a treat especially if you follow the cable car lines, which was my favorite thing to do, they provide amazing iconic views of the city like no other, in the far distance is the bay bridge. That's me standing in the middle of street, risking my life to capture this moment for you! just kidding, traffic was really light.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f8, ISO100, 44mm, HDR, 3 Exposures<br /> <br /> This is another very scenic spot to capture the golden gate bridge from which is right beside fort baker.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f8, ISO100, 31mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> A long exposure of golden gate bridge taken from hawk hill which is a very popular spot and for a good reason. When the fog rolls in it provides a very scenic view unfortunately I had no luck with the fog. I'll just have to come back.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24mm 2.8G, f8, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 6 Exposures<br /> <br /> This was an interesting shot to try for. It was really foggy so I headed to forte point and figured I would get below the fog. From here I hopped over a big chain and climbed down onto the beach. It was low tide which gave me a good shot of the beach, rocks and some seaweed that had washed up. I shot 5 frames and then added a 6th shot but used flash sb-910 to manually fire off 25 flashes during the long exposure to highlight the foreground than in post blended it in. I like how the bridge glows in the fog.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f13, ISO50, 36mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> I opted to use a lightroom preset to give the image a different look, something to show how this bridge has lasted and endured the test of time.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f4.5, ISO50, 24mm, HDR, 5 Exposures<br /> <br /> A crisp clear night with no fog at all. Once again I'm mesmerized by the beauty of the bridge and San Francisco in the background.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f8, ISO10, 31mm, HDR, 3 Exposures, Handheld<br /> <br /> I had seen iconic images pictures on post cards of ticky tacky houses, although I don't think this is them its the closest I could come up with as I did not know the specific area but I still like how this came out.
  • Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8G, f16, ISO50, 70mm, HDR, 1/100 sec<br /> <br /> An iconic shot of San Francisco with Alcatraz in the background. The cable cars are an amazing tourist attraction something that adds amazing beauty and uniqueness to the city, this particular location is right at the crooked street Lombardi and so its very crowded with tourists all of them dying to catch a ride. My advice is don't get on at this specific spot instead go a few blocks down the road as it will be easier to hitch a ride. Don't expect to be able to just hop on if you are at the crooked street, there's a long line to tourists jockeying to get on them.
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