Posts Tagged ‘golden gate’
Sun and Fog
We enjoyed a little sun and a lot of fog this weekend. Watching the fog roll in after a sunny day never ever gets old:
Leica M9 + 50mm f/1.4 Summilux | Replichrome
First Clicks With the Nikon D800
Nikon D800 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4G | 6 sec, f/8, ISO 100
Bridget and I made a brief drive out to one of our favorite spots to view the Golden Gate after work tonight. Well, she drove. I was busy unboxing the D800 I received only a couple hours earlier. I set it up the best I could in the car, and as soon as we arrived, took a few frames of the bridge during dusk. Hoo boy does this thing bring on the pixels.
More impressions to come…
A Day Off with Suki
Nikon D300s + Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G at f/2.2 ISO200 1/100 Second
This shot is among my favorite photographs of Suki ever. The saturated color, the way the elements in the frame seem to converge right on Suki’s head, her pose, the lighting: I’m so happy with the way it turned out! I took this last week on a day off. It was early in the morning, since Suki and I headed out to the Marin Headlands at around 5:00am to try to capture some pre-sunrise images of the Golden Gate Bridge. I knew exactly what I wanted to shoot: fog rolling in over the city and through the Golden Gate during sunrise. Well, there was fog alright…so much fog that it reached over the highest peaks of the Marin Headlands. When I arrived in Marin, I could barely see 20 feet in front of my car. The images I wanted to capture? Weren’t gonna happen.
Suki! Get off the driver seat! Nikon D300s + Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G + SB-900 Camera left through windshield
That’s the thing with landscape photography. For the most part, you’re at the mercy of nature. You have to keep going back to the spot where you want your shot to happen over and over until the conditions are right. Maybe I’ll have more success next time!
Retreating from the fog in the headlands, Suki and I headed down to a small harbor on the other side of the Golden Gate. We walked together for a while, and as the sun rose, I decided set up my tripod right at the water’s edge and see what if I could come up with some nice images of the Bridge from below the fog. I set up, pulled my tripod mounting plate out of my camera bag to attach it to my camera, and whoops! Dropped the little guy on to a rock, helplessly watching it bounce, bounce again, and again, and then plop! Right into the water. Gone was my support system. Foiled again!
Here's my tripod...utterly useless without the mounting plate, which I lost in the San Francisco Bay minutes before taking this photo
After sulking for a little bit from being defeated by first the fog and then my own clumsiness, we headed out to Sausalito for coffee and a stroll through the neighborhood. The dense fog and cloud cover meant beautiful, even light for the rest of the morning, perfect for shots like the one of Suki above! The colors from fallen leaves, flowers, and other plants were rich and saturated.
Nikon D300s + Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G at f/2 ISO200 1/125 Second
Suki waited impatiently with me at a cafe while I phoned a few local camera shops to see if they sold the replacement quick-release mounting plate for my tripod head. I was fortunate to find one in stock, and Suki and I drove back over the bridge to San Francisco to pick it up.
Nikon D300s + Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G at f/2.8 ISO400 1/160 Second
Over the course of the day, I really fell in love with the 35mm f/1.8G all over again. It’s a pretty sharp lens wide open, but stop it down even a little and things get super sharp. It’s the least expensive lens in my kit, but it’s lightweight and performs great! Plus, I noticed that in using a prime as my sole lens in the morning, I seemed to put more thought into composition than I normally do. I tried more angles and moved around my subjects more. Until now, I haven’t really used the 35 all that much since I bought it. What was I thinking!?
Nikon D300s + Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G at f/2.8 ISO200 1/320 Second
In the early afternoon I took Suki to the dog park, her favorite place in the world. Doesn’t she look happy?
Nikon D300s + Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 185mm f/8 ISO200 1/640
Every time I’d kneel down to take a shot, this dog (below) would run up to me and check me out. I think he took quite a liking to me!
Nikon D300s + Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-f/5.6 VR at 220mm f/9 ISO200 1/640 Second
Nikon D300s + Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 70mm f/4.5 ISO250 1/640 Second
This is how the day ended: back at a cafe with Suki, sipping on coffee. I need more days off!
Nikon D300s + Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G at f/2 ISO200 1/640 Second
Autumn’s First Storm
Nikon D300s + Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 VC at 40mm f/16, ISO 200 15.0 Seconds
Today, northern California was pounded by a powerful tropical storm that came from Japan, wreaking havoc on the morning commute in the city, knocking out power in several areas, and causing some flooding problems. As I write this the rain has stopped. But over the course of the day, winds of up to 55 mph and heavy rainfall battered the city.
I took the shot above at Baker Beach last night. The clouds were dark and dramatic, and diffused the dusky light from the sky, allowing me to take some long exposures shortly after sunset. It was a long walk down the beach and back with all my gear, but the trek was well worth it.
I realized after shooting here last night that I haven’t actually been to Baker Beach in a long time. In fact, the last time I was here was nearly six years ago. Not too far from the spot where I took this shot is where I proposed to my wife of five years, and that is the last memory I have of this beach.
After getting some great images out on the Beach, I headed to the Palace of Fine Arts on my way home for a few more photos. I’m still tired from all of it!
Dream up a Storm, originally uploaded by kaoni701.
