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Matt
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« Reply #229 on: January 14, 2017, 11:48:53 PM » |
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I walked halfway across the bridge. But, I drove up Hawk's Hill (on the Marin County side) to get that shot. I did a little off-trail hiking to be able to get the angles I wanted. Speaking of off-trail -- that Mt. Davidson Park Cross was the biggest pain to photograph so far this trip. I tried to take the shorter hike, but it was just as long, and steep -- and had a few felled trees blocking the path. And then, the last 50 meters or so were these awesome stairs, ad you can see the cross -- and I literally felt I was on the Stairway to Heaven. And then, standing on top, it was really impressive. Definitely worth the hike. Of course, I took photos -- just don't have time or energy to go through them all yet. I'll post one later.  |
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« Reply #230 on: January 21, 2017, 09:05:07 PM » |
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I just finished going through my San Francisco photos. I have quite a few that I'm really happy with. This was the first trip I've taken in about ten years which was centered around photography. Here's my favorite pics from San Francisco. I was there just for a 23 hour layover, and spent most of it shooting the Golden Gate Bridge. It was my favorite spot of my vacation.  This was from Baker's Beach, just before a rain storm. I love the clouds and the extra dimension they give the photo. It also keeps the light diffused and the colors warm, and alleviates the harsh shadows that would have been there with a bright sunny day.  I snapped this while walking along the GGB. I didn't even think it would be one of my favorite photos until later, when going through all of them. I've always only been interested in architectural and landscape photography, but I also try to keep an eye out for those small things that (literally, in this case) say a lot.  On the Marin County side, I had this spot picked out ahead of time as one of the places I wanted to shoot the bridge from. It was a little street with a fishing pier near a children's discovery museum. I got out of my car and took about 10 shots before the sky opened up with rain. I got back in my car and was about to head out, when I decided to take the road as far as it would go, which wound up being into a private industrial business entrance. I rolled down the window and took a few more. This actually winds up being MAYBE my favorite shot of them all. I didn't make the photo Black & White.... it's actually still a color photo. It was just that void of color in reality. I got lucky with the weather, because I wouldn't have wanted rain on my one day to photograph the bridge, and yet... it added the exact feel that I wanted to convey: Mystery, wonder, and danger, along with incredible beauty.  From there, I left to drive up Hawk's Hill, and about 3/4 of the way up, is a scenic lookout. It was still raining, so I waited in the car for it to let-up, and once it did, God handed me a once-in-a-lifetime gift. The perfect rainbow, with the perfect backdrop -- just touching Alcatraz.  From that point on, there was no more rain -- and I went to the top of Hawk's Hill to get shots of the sunset.  Then, finally time for a break, so I headed off to Chinatown for dinner. And of COURSE there was a perfect full moon that night. I drove around a bit more, did the curved drive of Lombard Street, and went by Haight-Ashbury where there's now a Ben & Jerry's (and a lot of homeless people), and finally wound up at Coit Tower, where I was treated to this view of the city from the base of the tower:  I should also mention that I started off my trip with a trek up Mt. Davidson Park to see the Cross, but there have been plenty of photos posted of that before, so I'm leaving that visit out of this pictorial. |
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« Reply #235 on: January 22, 2017, 02:32:57 PM » |
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Thanks! Before flying to San Francisco, I did a couple of days in LA. This isn't a town I'd necessarily want to visit or photograph, but I had an old friend that I was meeting up with there. The only thing I really cared to do was see the Hollywood sign. I navigated my rental car to the Griffith Park Observatory, and drove up... and up... the hills. I didn't see one glimpse of the sign the entire time. I get to the very top and park, turn around, and BAMM -- there it was! I love seeing iconic things in person that I've always only seen on film. I enjoyed this part of the LA trip more than any other.  This one below has been heavily manipulated in Photoshop. I wanted to get a photo of the LA Skyline, and this seemed as good a place as any to get it. But, the smog hovered over the city like a white filter. It's not worth posting photos of the skyline with the smog. I tried to "cut through" the smog in Photoshop, and it sorta worked, but it gives it this really cool 1960's scanned photograph look. I would have preferred a good clear shot of the skyline, but I'll have to be happy with this.  I then walked around Hollywood, saw some characters on Hollywood Blvd., and walked the walk of fame. I guess Clint still doesn't have a star? I didn't see it. I did find this:  Also, saw Trump's star, and David Bowie's (which has become a makeshift memorial), and Bruce Lee's (which was one of the most popular for photographs. I thought a fight would break out when someone stepped on his star in front of a die-hard fan). But, none of this was great photography. So, with hours of daylight left, I headed off to the Santa Monica Pier. The pier wasn't that special to me, because I grew up going to the Ocean City and Atlantic City boardwalks quite regularly, and it was really similar. But, decided to stick around for sunset and see what I could find to photograph. My favorite photos are probably these two, shooting into the setting sun which had created a golden hue over the water and sand.  I like this one because I imagine the bird is contemplating his life choices:  Then the sun set...   And that was it for LA! |
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