• Night watchmen. - Jim Patterson Photography
  • This heron stayed completely motionless for the entire exposure. It looks sharper than the seagull, who moved a bit when a wave came in.
  • A quarter moon, which is overexposed and looks bigger than it really is. I'd like to say that I studied the moon charts to get this exact positioning, but it was pure luck that it lined up with the tops of the towers!
  • it fits perfectly! - diego russo (former figalandia)
  • I wish they would fix this light. It has been out for years!
  • Yes, I had to walk around to move this rock in to the right spot. It seems like an easy spot to shoot but most compositions are rather uneven to the left or right of this exact spot.
  • You could always clone the other one. ;) Looks like the one further down is out too. - Jim Patterson Photography
  • I'd love to get close to these buildings at Lime Point, but it is fenced off.
  • It is good when the fog is around 500 feet thick, so the towers stick up through the fog. This happens often, but it varies widely from one minute to the next.
  • True Jim, they need to fix this one too!
  • People who have never been here usually associate fog with stillness and no wind, but this fog blows strongly from right to left.
  • love this - Aaron Dinham
  • The stars moved just a bit during this 30-second exposure.
  • This seagull swam up with this crab, ate it, and then stood there for quite a while.
  • Very sparkling! - ǝuoƃ
  • For this to work best, it is good to have a bit of light in the sky. And the moon helps.
  • F7, which is fairly wide-open gives a soft star effect. F16 would give a much stronger looking star pattern to the lights.
  • I will add that I was here 3 hours earlier and knew that the moon would be in this spot, so I was ready for this to happen. But only for 3 hours.
  • I'm actually a moon position plotting super-geek, LOL. I need professional help (haha) - Rex Maximilian
  • If the lights are well known for being out, then probably wise not to fake it since many would know immediately something was fishy! :-) - Rex Maximilian
  • Good point Rex! Fortunately, I'm a lazy cloner and don't bother with it!
  • lol.. I'm also glad I didn't move the moon around or you would figure it out Rex!
  • Love the streaking fog rush. - Marc Briggs
  • And this smart guy didn't move a inch this 30 sec. I LOVE this detail:) - Kuzeytac
  • View this photo large folks.. Or you'll miss this detail.. - Kuzeytac

International Orange #2 - Golden Gate Bridge

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I had to contend with baby raccoons walking around my legs to get this shot! They kept trying to climb up onto me and the tripod. Oh the price we must pay...

Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!

The color of the Golden Gate Bridge is orange vermilion, deemed International Orange. The color was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow because it blends well with the natural surroundings yet enhances the bridge's visibility in fog. I think they made the right choice! The Reds and Oranges were so intense that I had to slightly desaturate them to retain detail! See the big version. There is a heron that stood still for the entire 30 seconds!

See the 1200x1200 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/395624082...

---------------------------------------------------------
Settings etc.:
---------------------------------------------------------

Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @ 40
30-second exposure @F7
No filters! (I usually use LEE 100x150mm soft ND grads)
No polarizer
ISO 100 (a higher ISO to keep it at 30sec @F7)
(I didn't want to go more open than F7 so
everything would be in focus)
2-second shutter delay.
Small Slik tripod with Manfrotto Pistol-grip ball head.
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop

I've been waiting for a while to get a better version of this composition that I made with my original 5d. I wanted more fog flowing through the bridge and more resolution. Usually it is very hard for me to duplicate a previous photo, but the fog here can be quite reliable. I lucked out having the half moon here with the sun setting to the right. I was not planning on it, but I left it overexposed to show how it lit up the scene just a bit.

Well, it often seems like the fog is reliable but actually it was looking good until about 1 hour before sunset and then it drifted away from the bridge and things were looking bad. But then about 5 minutes before I made this photo, it moved in to save the day! I was lucky once more!

I was here for a few hours before sunset so I waited up on the top of the hill with the tourists and other photographers, where it was much warmer. It was about 86 (30c) on the hill above the 500 ft. thick fog and about 59 (15c) at this spot! I walked around on the hill without my camera listening to everyone talk in amazement in many languages about the fog and the foghorns. It is quite an impressive sight even though I've lived here my entire life. I did take quite a few photos of couples on request. No way to get out of that. And no need to understand what language they were speaking! A few hand gestures and you're in business.

It is also interesting to watch the other photographers, but I'll leave that for another day.

The map shows exactly where this is. You can drive right up to this spot and do a short scramble down the small cliff.

See my Flickr profile for a link to my newly designed website.
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paulsretrography1963, and 1054 other people added this photo to their favorites.

View 20 more comments

  1. ibnuhassan 28 months ago | reply

    superb

  2. EisernerDaniel 28 months ago | reply

    Awesome!

  3. Photo--Graphy [deleted] 25 months ago | reply

    Nice catch


  4. msokal 25 months ago | reply

    Wonderful!

  5. Tiziano Taddei 24 months ago | reply

    Bellissima......................

  6. Eyesplash - the new slow way 24 months ago | reply

    never looked better than your rendition.

    I saw this in the 900+ Faves group and Faved it.

  7. Derek Toye 24 months ago | reply

    Saw this in the 500 faves group and faved it. Great work!

  8. hacreas [deleted] 22 months ago | reply

    Just beautiful!

  9. R-Joy's Photos 21 months ago | reply

    Gorgeous capture of Golden Gate!

  10. guix29 21 months ago | reply

    jolie galerie

  11. elizabeth.otag 20 months ago | reply

    Excellent work!

  12. rhsg_lesse 19 months ago | reply

    Very very beautiful photo!!!
    Congratulations

  13. Son_Of_Scotland 15 months ago | reply

    Very, very, very, very, very, very, very, beautiful!!!

  14. timballic 14 months ago | reply

    Lovely strong composition and colours.

  15. Steve Taylor (Photography) Internet V slow 14 months ago | reply

    Wow, great photography

  16. ssb11 10 months ago | reply

    Your photography and the use of long exposures is simply amazing. I am heading to San Francisco for the first time, next month, and hopefully using some of your information, I can come back with some great photographs as well. Thank you for providing details about your settings and locations. Keep up the great work!

  17. Natidu Photos ( in & out ) 9 months ago | reply

    Superbe!!

  18. Mark Canoza Pilar 8 months ago | reply

    omg loving this, amazing night photo. :)

  19. Colskier1 3 months ago | reply

    Luv the golden light on the bridge!

  20. watersheild84 2 months ago | reply

    oh miss it there, nice shot!

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