Tag Archives: transamerica

The Golden Gate, Morning

The Golden Gate, Morning

The Golden Gate, Morning. San Francisco, California. December 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of Marin Headlands, north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, and the Bay Bridge.

Icon alert! Yes, that bridge.

I had business in San Francisco later in the day so I decided to start early and spend time north of the bridge and then return through the City in the evening. As I cross the bridge I almost always assess the possibilities for photography, as often as not decided to not stop since, as beautiful as the view of the Bay is it is not always worth photographing. On this morning though the conditions were a bit special and of a type that we usually only see in the winter months. There are mainly two types of fog in the Bay Area. First there is the “streaming into the Golden Gate type of fog” – which was not present this day – that comes in off the ocean. Then there is the winter tule fog which rises from wet ground on cold winter mornings – and the atmosphere on this morning was affected by that condition.

I made several photographs of the Bay, the bridge, and the City – but this one is perhaps a “triple icon” (for better or worse!) shot in that it includes the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, and the Transamerica Pyramid centered in the north tower of the Bridge. I’ve known about the possibility of this shot for quite a while – but until now I managed to resist! Here I gave in and decided to figure out the location. It is almost embarrassingly easy to find and shoot once you figure it out, but you do need a fairly long lens. (In the full resolution original I can clearly see a couple standing on the overlook at bottom left and admiring the view.)

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Brick Building and San Francisco Skyline

Brick Building and San Francisco Skyline

Brick Building and San Francisco Skyline. San Francisco, California. May 16, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of older brick buildings with the more modern skyline of downtown San Francisco in the distance.

The same brick building that appeared in some night and evening photographs posted earlier appears in the foreground of this photograph. Beyond in the more modern downtown San Francisco skyline – if you look closely you can see a bit of the landmark Transamerica Pyramid peeking over the top of another building in the center of the image. The photograph was made very late in the day, within a shot interval just before sunset when the light streams in from the left at a very low angle.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Transamerica Pyramid at Night

Transamerica Pyramid at Night

Transamerica Pyramid at Night. San Francisco, California. December 21, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Just before Christmas I had the chance to loop out to Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay (on the return drive from winter solstice at Muir Woods) and photograph the night skyline of San Francisco.

The parking lot near the entrance to the old Treasure Island base is always a great spot from which to photograph the waterfront and skyline of San Francisco – but it is especially good during the holiday season when many downtown buildings are lit up by holiday lights.

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Holiday Lights, San Francisco Waterfront

Holiday Lights, San Francisco Waterfront

Holiday Lights, San Francisco Waterfront. San Francisco, California. December 21, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

This photograph was made from the east side of Treasure Island, in the middle of San Francisco Bay. This is a classic location for night shots of the San Francisco skyline, and on this night I stopped as I headed back from a winter solstice event at Muir Woods knowing that the holiday lighting would make the view special.

While I was there I also shot a multi-exposure panoramic stitch of the scene:

San Francisco at Night: Bay Bridge, The Embarcadero, and Transamerica Pyramid

San Francisco at Night: Bay Bridge, The Embarcadero, and Transamerica Pyramid. San Francisco, California. December 21, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

This is perhaps my favorite San Francisco photograph. Even though the scene is well known, this image was created it a way that permits rather large prints. I currently have one that is about 3 feet wide and it could go much larger.

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