San Francisco from the USS Hornet

The view of San Francisco from the USS Hornet a museum in Alameda, California. The USS Hornet served in World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Apollo recovery.

The New Bay Bridge

I set out to walk the new Bay Bridge after walking a mile and a half CHP turned me around. They close the bridge to pedestrians at 4pm and lock the gates at 5:30pm. If you are on a bike you can ride later just as long as you are off the bridge by 5:30pm. When the walkway is finished it will be open 24hrs. a day, it is estimated to be finished in 2015.  

The traffic on the bridge was heavy and I had planned to blur the traffic like I did in the post Bay Bridge at Night (New and Old). The traffic was just a little faster than stop and go.

The sun had just set to the right of this image and I had a light just over my left shoulder. I am not sure if it was sodium vapor or incandescent. That is what made the lower left hand corner a warmer color. I had the same kind of light over my right shoulder, but I was shooting at an angle. In this shot you can see the first stars starting to come out. I don't know what the bright one is, but I am sure it was not the north star.

The Golden Gate Bridge from Marin Headlands

Here are a couple shots from Marin Headlands and Kirby Cove.

The City From Twin Peaks (Panoramic)

This is an HDR panoramic image made from Twin Peaks. It is actually 10 separate shots processed separately and then stitched together in Photoshop CS6. The file is large enough to produce a 16X65 inch print.

Battery Kirby and the Golden Gate Bridge

Battery Kirby was built in 1899 and active 1900-1941 and named for Edmund Kirby of the 1st U.S. Artillery, Brig. Gen. of Volunteers, who died 28 May 1863 of wounds received at Chancellorsville, Virginia, during the U.S. Civil War. The battery has experienced some graffiti, if you look at the skull in the second image you will notice the nose is a head and the jaw is the shirt of a man hidden in the skull. From the battery you get a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and if you continue down you will see a beach that also has a great view of the bridge.

Another From Kirby Cove

Here is another image from Kirby Cove. In my previous post I posted another image from Kirby Cove.

The Golden State

When I first saw this it looked like a treasure chest. It is actually flotsam  that is wreckage of a ship or cargo of a ship. It is located in Kirby Cove just north of the Golden Gate Bridge on the west side in the Marin Headlands. While there I saw a helicopter fly under the bridge and the fly back over, I have never seen that before. Helicopter tours take tourists all around San Francisco, I just might have to try it someday. I have a video of what I saw below. The video is not mine.

Happy New Years 2013

Happy New Years! I finally got a chance the western side of the bay bridge. This is my first attempt  at shooting late at night. These are the fireworks at midnight. If you look on the bridge you can see CHP making the cars that stopped on the bridge to watch the fireworks. They had to make four or five passes because people kept stopping. I still want to shoot the bridge at dusk. I have shot the eastern span and have it in the post Bay Bridge at Night (New and Old).

Bliss Dance at Night

Bliss Dance must of been a hit at 2010 Burning Man I am so glad the artist returned here to the Bay Area. I made a previous trip shoot her during the day. It was worth the trip to see her at night. I wanted to get farther back and use a longer lens but there was a farmers market going on. I also want to use a longer lens during the day. Looks like another trip in the future. On this trip I also had a chance to shoot the eastern span of the Bay Bridge at night.

I corrected the perspective of this image also notice the plane above and to the right of the lamp post on the left side of the image. I did not correct perspective in the next three images, because I liked the lights. When I composed the images I made sure to cut them out. That just goes to show you only see about 98% of the image through the view finder. I would rather have too much and crop if I choose later.

I did not corrected the perspective of this image and the next two. I like the light rays from the LED array and I think it makes sense to see where the light is coming from. I wanted her to turn blue, but I like the other colors too.

I like the light tail from the plane just in front of her face. The light on the grass in foreground is lit by a pickups headlights. The truck actually drove in front of the camera on another exposure. I was upset when it happened, but I actually like the foreground lit for a different look. If you look behind Bliss Dance you can see another photographer in this and the next image. She was quite popular on this night.

I like how you can see the stars despite all the ambient light and the person that walked in and took a cell phone picture during the exposure on the left.

Bay Bridge at Night (New and Old)

I have always been interested in night photography and light trails. I am making a point to keep shooting after the sun goes down and even plan specific trips to take advantage of the "lack of light" after sunset. I have shot star trails in the past but I have not fully delved into night photography. I have always been in awe of great images taken after sunset. I am always looking to expand my horizons. I have studied photography since I was in high school and I have people ask me "how much is there to know about photography?" I always tell them try it some time. With technology changing so fast there is plenty to learn! With the hardware (digital cameras, computers, camera accessories...etc.) and software improvements constantly improving it is hard to keep up. I have always had a hunger for knowledge. Maybe not what I had to learn in school, but a curiosity to learn something new. I think it is what keeps life interesting.

When I first started getting into photography I spent so much time wishing I had this or that piece of equipment. If I had "that" I could take great photographs. When it was knowledge and imagination that were holding me back. Sure you need the basics a camera you can control and understanding how it works. Maybe a few lenses a tripod and the hunger to want to take great images. But in the end it is knowledge and imagination. Sure having nice gear and a lot of it helps, but in the beginning it helps to find out what you can do with what you have and forget about new gear. Then you have the knowledge and know why you want a certain lens or what ever it is you need. It will also save you a lot of money also. I have purchased a lot of "mistakes" in the past. It amazes me what I could have done all these years with what I had. That is one of the things that keeps me going back to some of the same locations. A few other things also make me go back weather, time of year, new ideas, new equipment...etc.

I have always wanted to shoot the western portion of the bay bridge with the city in the background just before Interstate 80 ends. I have seen that shot many times and wanted to make my own version, but I started thinking about the eastern portion and the new bridge when I crossed the bridge and did research when I was on Treasure Island shooting Bliss Dance. I found the right spot and got the eastern portion before I got the western portion. I was only able to get the eastern side because of the light and I had another shot I wanted to get. Keep an eye out for more of Bliss Dance at night I had a chance to shoot her on the same trip. I missed out on another shot due to fog. I will be back another day and another adventure. I can't wait for the new bridge to be finished.

Bliss Dance

Bliss Dance is a sculpture that was at 2010 Burning Man that is now on Treasure Island where it was created at Bliss Dance Studios. When I was doing research for this post I found out it actually lights up and you can change it from an iPhone application. I could see the lights (if you look at the palm tree on the left you can see some of the lights and there was some inside the sculpture) while I was photographing it. I thought it was something someone put on it. I will be going to visit again at night to see it lit up. I also hope to make it to Burning Man one day.

 

Chinatown 2012 Part 2

San Francisco

I had two security gaurds and one cop meet me to tell me that I could not take photos. If someone was breaking into my car I would have to wait 40 minutes to get one cop to take a report. They said I needed a permit to take a photo. This is the one I got before they made me move on.

Update here is a video of Carlos Miller Arrested at Occupy Miami Eviction for photography.

I have been past the Transamerica Building many times but I have never noticed the base of it. What a difference it makes to walk instead of driving.

Chinatown 2012

I recently took a trip to Chinatown in San Francisco they are celebrating their New Year which took place on January 23rd. There is a parade taking place on Febuary 11th. The great thing about HDR is it makes me practice bracketing, something I was lazy about before HDR. Now that I have my camera set up for bracketing, if I am shooting something that is static (not moving such as people) I leave it set up to bracket. Sometimes I find one of the braketed exposures (a + or - exposure) nails the exposure. Like I said I would not recommend bracketing for people because it kills the moment. It would be a shame to have a great expression that was over or under exposed.

The shot below is not HDR one exposure covered the full dynamic range. It was under exposed to saturate the color. All the rest are HDR.

Fleet Week 2011 Air Show

Patriots Jet Team

USMC MV-22 Osprey

Giving the Coast Gaurd hell.

A California Brown Pelican getting in on the action.

The Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds flying team.

The United Boeing 747.

In the top photograph the Navy F-18 Super Hornet just about to break the sound barrier. It was amazing to watch the halo as the plane flew accrossed the sky. I had no idea a halo would appear if a plane came close to the sound barrier. Up to now I have only heard the sound barrier broken. Here is a video from You Tube that shows what it looked like.

Sean D. Tucker flying the Oracle Challenger III Bi Plane. The still photos don't do it justice here is a video from You Tube.

The United States Marine Corps C-130T Hercules also known as "Fat Albert".

The Blue Angels saying hello.

The Blue Angels saying good bye. I was so diappointed I came to see the Blue Angels. They didn't do the show because of the fog, you can see how much the conditions changed in the photograph below. Better safe than sorry we don't want a repeat of the Reno Air Show. I also wanted to see the B2 Bomber it only flew on Saturday.

Also see the photographs of the sights from this trip to San Francisco.