San Francisco

love it!

The city and it's bridges, North Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge in the foreground and the lights of the Bay Bridge in the background, with SF in between. Technically it was still quite dark here at 5:45am - the long exposure has made it look brighter :)
Exposure: ISO100, 151s @ f/22
'San Francisco' On Black

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Comments

stargazer95050 says:

Did you use a MC-36 or just a plain shutter release cable ?
I'm wondering if the MC-36 is worth it ...
--
Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

l84myflight says:

Nice iconic shot.

Do you guess at exposure time or use a separate meter? Did you saturate colors in postprocessing?

To stargazer: I use a remote for tripod shots.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

Hot Flash Photography says:

Well done, Dave.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

@Andy - plain old $10 3rd party shutter release (it's best feature is a down state lock). I don't know that the Nikon super remote is worth the cash to be honest. I counted out the exposure on this shot based on a previous shot that was taken at f/16 - so for this one I just about doubled the exposure time, I wanted as much DOF as possible to catch the Golden Gate and the lit up Bay Bridge off in the distance.

@l8 - I had no meter with me, not sure how they would cope with this kind of shot anyway. I was taking shots and reviewing in the LCD w/ histograms, if it looked nice visually and histograms were not too blown I went with it, otherwise I adjusted time and tried again. This shot is a tad too long of an exposure, a couple of the lower flat surfaces of the north tower are too bright in the red channel - but I thought that didn't harm the image in any perceptible way, and it's a fine balance between the Golden Gate and the city in the background.

As far as colour goes, only real boost was a little blue via an LCH adjustment in Nikon's Capture NX processing software - it made for a nicer contrast between the bridge and the bay. If you notice Adobe software in the exif - it's because a car left an ugly headlight trail on the black hill that I painted out.
And colour is also helped by shooting when ever I can during dawn and dusk - colours appeal to me more then. Also shooting in RGB to begin with and applying some steps to preserve that colour when converting to the websafe sRGB space also helps to present richer colours.

Thanks Marianne.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

Green Hocker says:

Nice capture Dave! I don't know much about it, but is diffraction a problem at f/22 for long exposures?
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

Matt - I don't know a great deal about it either - but it certainly is responsible for starbursts on bright light sources, aside from that I haven't noticed any bad effects in this batch of shots I got from the Marin Headlands. A lot of these shots (inlcuding this one) were shot with the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G VR lens, which has excellent optics, so that's probably helped too.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

@Andy - more specifically - the cable release is an 'Adidt M1'
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

egnilk66 says:

Absolutely beautiful!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

Mike__D says:

Wow, beautiful shot. Very nice work!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

bea767 says:

Love how you've captured the different hues in the morning sky - complements the color tones of the bridge. Quite beautiful. (And boy did you get up early to go there!!!)
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

deborah d. lattimore says:

let's change your invite to take a walk at baylands and get up early and do SF instead! i'm up at 4 most mornings. this shot is inspiring! great work.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

CCilker says:

You can't fool me, Dave. It's obviously faked.

It's really Milpitas. :^)
Beautiful shot, Dave. Don't you love that lens?

Carl
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

LOL Carl - thankfully haven't had any of those types by! ;-) And yes - it's a beautiful lens - I picked it up mint condition from first owner for a nice deal too - someone leaving their job at work.

Thanks to everyone else for the nice comments and the odd fave. I really enjoy feedback and like to hear it good or critical. I'm always pleased to produce work that others find pleasing.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

Digital Trav says:

Gorgeous shot! Everything is so clear and the lights are beautiful.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

oops - my bad - I need to correct myself here - this shot was taken with the Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G (kit lens sold w/ the D70). It was at the 70mm end, which is also the low end of the 70-200mm. So, I still will say the 70-200 is an awesome lens, and the 18-70 is actually pretty under rated in my book - it does well as long as you avoid the distortion down at 18mm. This lens has even been dropped a couple of times and it keeps on ticking.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

stargazer95050 says:

@Deborah & Dave : I'm all in for a morning shoot at the GGB.
And don't forget good hiking shoes and a warm coat as Dave has experienced, the upper portion of the road is "daytime use only"

--
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Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

Digital Trav says:

Just keep in mind that they do give out citations if you are someplace you're not supposed to be (I don't know if that includes hiking on a "daytime use only" road before daybreak).
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

Thanks Travis, as I noted on one of the earlier shots in this series, I did walk up the hill past the closed Day Use Only gate and was by the side of the road a little after the sun came up when a "Park Patrol" car drove slowly by me (from the uphill side) to unlock the gate down the hill. We exchanged looks and that was it - no warning or ticket - he just kept going by. I think the sfbas guys got the ticket for bridge 'security' issues - not for being in the park if you know what I mean.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

stargazer95050 says:

The SFBAS were entering a "terrorists only" area.
Along that (closed) road you see photographers frequently. Day or night.
Just be aware there are nocturnal predators out there : Coyotes for sure. Mountain lions & Bobcats likely too. Some snakes are also hunting at night.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

For sure there are Coyotes - there were 3 or 4 that had a howling session in the valley below me at about 4:45am, must admit it put me a little on edge until the sun came up!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

stargazer95050 says:

That "the valley below me" is a very interesting spot to shoot !!
There I made my timelapse shots and later hiked up the hill through the woods hearing all the howling & flapping ...

I found that fascinating, stimulating, .... not scary
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

fnkymnky says:

Dave, I hate it.

Just kidding! It would actually be neat to have one of your prints in my living room! This is an awesome exposure and I'm still jealous of your starbursts!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

LOL Morena - let's see - I'm sure we could work something out. Next time we're on a shoot - remind me to show you the starburst effect :)
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

da wa eye c it [deleted] says:

My favorite!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

`Nikko says:

So nice!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

Robby Edwards says:

Gorgeous shot! The composition and lights are terrific.
Seen on your photo stream. (?)
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

j_jyarbrough says:

This would look wonderful framed and on a wall! Fantastic!
Thank you very much for helping to make Karma fun!!!
KARMA ** Let's play the Alphabet Game ** Thread **
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

Thanks again everyone for the views, faves and comments.

@John - as a matter of fact I am framing this as a gift to someone :)
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

EricJT7 says:

That looks like a great vantage point of the bridge. I like how you captured both bridges as well as the city in this one. I also like the long exposure.
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

Blogged: www.eeb-blog.org/2008/04/eeb-in-san-fran.html
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Randal O'Toole says:

What a gorgeous photo! Thanks for making it available with a creative commons license. I am using it on my blog (The Antiplanner) with credit and a link to your Flickr page.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

(nz)dave says:

@Randal - I can't see it on your blog - do you have a link to the page?
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

John Rohan says:

Great shot of the bay! I used it on my own web site here:
www.shieldofachilles.net/2008/07/one-more-rou ndup.html
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

aDsiE pICs> (in transition) says:

bloody nice shot mate! =)
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

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Additional Information

Taken in Sausalito, California (map)
Taken with a Nikon D200.
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Taken on March 10, 2007

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San Francisco

Comments

stargazer95050 says:

l84myflight says:

Hot Flash Photography says:

(nz)dave says:

Green Hocker says:

(nz)dave says:

(nz)dave says:

egnilk66 says:

*Mike__D* says:

bea767 says:

deborah d. lattimore says:

CCilker says:

(nz)dave says:

Digital Trav says:

(nz)dave says:

stargazer95050 says:

Digital Trav says:

(nz)dave says:

stargazer95050 says:

(nz)dave says:

stargazer95050 says:

fnkymnky says:

(nz)dave says:

da wa eye c it [deleted] says:

`Nikko says:

Robby Edwards says:

j_jyarbrough says:

(nz)dave says:

EricJT7 says:

(nz)dave says:

Randal O'Toole says:

(nz)dave says:

John Rohan says:

aDsiE pICs> (in transition) says:

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Mike__D says: