San Francisco - Part 2 - Golden Gate Park

Over the last few weeks, I've covered a lot of ground in "The City By The Bay". Here are some additional photographs that were taken at Golden Gate Park.

San Francisco - Marshall Beach & Sutro

It has been a while since my last blog entry. I thought I'd take a little time to share some of the photographs that I've taken over the last few weeks in San Francisco. The most recent of these images was taken at Marshall Beach while hanging out with my friend/colleague, Phil Richardson of Phil Richardson Photography.

Four Mile Beach in Black & White

While en route to meet up with a friend in Santa Cruz, I decided to kill some time and hang out at Four Mile Beach. The fading color in the sky wasn't especially appealing, but there still are interesting textures to be found. I had an idea for a black & white photograph, so I thought I'd give it a shot and see what I could come up with. Here is the result after working with a 3-stop, soft graduated neutral density filter by Singh-Ray.

San Francisco - Municipal Pier & Aquatic Park

Whenever I decide to walk around San Francisco and take photos, I often find that some of my more interesting shots of the day come from unintended subjects. My friend and colleague, Edward Chuck, and I decided to shoot in the area around Fisherman's Wharf this past weekend. We only planned to hang out in the area until just before the lights turn on in the city. We had hoped to capture the orange light illuminating City Hall in support of the San Francisco Giants. Neither of us seemed to be paying much attention to the time. We decided that we would just continue walking towards Aquatic Park, and the Municipal Pier. That decision was rewarded with gorgeous light. The bay was lit with orange, pink, and touches of yellow and purple. I can't imagine there being too many areas in the region that got such spectacular light.

Eastern Sierras - Part 2 (Conway Summit)

During our shoot at Mono Lake, some of the photographers informed us that we could get some great shots of the fall color at Conway Summit along Highway 395 near Lee Vining and Mono Lake. Phil and I decided to get to the summit in time to catch the sunrise. The color was truly spectacular! I've never been surrounded by such richly colored trees before. The aspens were gorgeous. The color was greatly enhanced by the deep blue sky and my circular polarizer.

Throughout the day, both Phil and I found ourselves exploring many different paths in order to get the shots we wanted. At one point, I think we ventured out in seperate directions for about two hours or so. Eventually, we met up again and decided to grab some lunch. Although we were both hungry, neither one of us were ready to leave until each of us were happy with the shots. Afterall, these colors only come once a year in the region.

Once we wrapped up our shoot at Conway Summit, another photographer pointed us in the direction of Dunderburg Meadow. Ordinarily, I get a bit grumpy (just a tad, lol) after not having eaten in a while, but the day was going so well, we completely forgot how hungry we were. Funny how a good time and interesting shots will do that. By the time we got something to eat, we were both able to smile and be grateful that the first two phases of our trip went off so well.

Try, Try Again - Hole-In-The-Wall Beach

After bombing at Hole-In-The-Wall Beach last weekend, I decided to take another stab at this little gem. My friend, Phil Richardson agreed to meet up with me. Having been in 91˚ heat in San Francisco of all places, I figured that Santa Cruz would offer nothing but great weather. Even Half Moon Bay had great weather. I was absolutely wrong. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. By the time I got close to San Gregorio State Beach, the fog had rolled in thick. We decided to continue on as planned and just enjoy the location. It just goes to show that no one can truly predict the weather. I suppose it wouldn't be as fun if you always knew what you were going to get. There is a lot to be said for going with the flow of things.

Although I had hoped for something completely different, the fog presented an opportunity for me to get more mileage out of my Vari-ND filter. The conditions were rather perfect for black & white images. I'd say Phil and I were out shooting for a pretty short period of time. 45 minutes to an hour I guess if you count parking and walking to the beach. The fog eventually came in so thick that we felt it was best to get out of dodge and count our blessings. Neither of us were keen on a swim in the Pacific Ocean :) We both managed to get some rather interesting images. Once I got around to editing, I did decide to leave a few in color, but most of the shots that I processed ended up looking better as B&Ws. Here are three images from the day.

"The Mighty Task is Done" - Golden Gate Bridge

Joseph Strauss, chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge, wrote a poem that is now on the Golden Gate Bridge entitled "The Mighty Task is Done." The bridge opened on May 27, 1937. Celebrations lasted a full week. The day before vehicle traffic was allowed, 200,000 people crossed by foot and roller skate. Sounds like a fun event!

I have always been fascinated by this Modern Wonder of the world. There is no single thing that represents San Francisco, or California more effectively, in my opinion. I suppose that I have always felt this way, but that became even more true for me while living abroad. Movies, photography, commercials, and print ads featuring the bridge all reminded me of home and consistently brought a smile to my face.

Although I've taken photos of the Golden Gate Bridge many times, I never tire of it. Recently, I found occasion to take additional photos after returning to Marshall's Beach for the first time in over 20 years. This is another local treasure that seems to be constantly disrespected by locals and tourists alike who leave without cleaning up after themselves. I find this to be totally unacceptable! Some people don't seem to realize how lucky we are to have such beautiful sites so close to our doorstep. Despite all of this, it was such a great feeling to rediscover this little hidden gem.

Over the course of two days, I also shot from Battery Spencer, Fort Point, Crissy Field, and Fort Baker.

The Rock: Alcatraz Island

It has been some time since I've visited Alcatraz. I haven't been very many times though. As a native of San Francisco, most people are surprised that I haven't visited repeatedly (in my defense, prison is usually the last among my thoughts. lol). Typically, my visits take place when I show visiting family & friends around San Francisco. I'd never actually taken any photos on the island. That fact kept the idea in my mind for several weeks. So when my friend Thomas Barclay suggested we go shoot on the island, I just laughed and agreed right away. Great timing. Its always interesting to shoot something new. New for me anyway. Visiting with my camera was like seeing it for the first time. Overall, it was a great day. I got to take several photos, hang out with a great friend, and eat at Blondie's Pizza!

Pebble Beach - Pescadero

This past Saturday, I had the chance to hang out, and go shooting with friend and fellow photographer, Phil Richardson at Pebble Beach in Pescadero, CA. I've probably shot in this area 4 times within the last two months, and its always a completely new experience that comes with various challenges. I suppose this is why I keep returning. Though most people will always associate Pebble Beach with the one closer to Carmel, this remains a special place in my opinion. I was quite pleased with these three images.

Pfeiffer Beach in B&W

I got a chance to drive down to Pfeiffer Beach this past week. Unfortunately, there was too much going on and I was not able to make the drive at an earlier time. By the time I arrived, it was really far too windy, and extremely bright. But I decided to capture a few images anyway. Here is one that came out okay.

An oldie, but goodie!

I took this image of my niece a few years ago. I decided to add this to the Sample Portraits section on my web site. Given that I am not near her as often as I used to be, I found myself looking through a lot of my older portraits of her. This remains one of my favorites!