Tag Archives: treasure island

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay, Morning Haze

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Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay, Morning Haze
Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay, Morning Haze

Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay, Morning Haze. San Francisco, California. February 5, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter morning haze partially obstructs the view across San Francisco Bay, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Treasure Island, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and the city of Oakland.

I made this photograph shortly after dawn on a warm winter morning, shooting from the Marin Headlands of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and aiming back across the bay toward downtown Oakland. The atmosphere is a bit misleading here – although it looks somewhat dark and cloudy, most of the sky was clear and sunny. The haze was only in the very lower portion of the atmosphere and mainly over Oakland. By using a long lens I telescoped the distances between my position and the rest of the scene and between the elements of the scene.

The foreground structure is probably familiar to most who know anything about the San Francisco Bay Area. It is the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, here mostly backlit but with a bit of side light coming from the left. There is a lot of stuff in the distance, and some explanation may help. The closest land beyond the waters of the Bay is historic Treasure Island with its old military base buildings, though it is now being transformed for civilian use. Beyond Treasure Island is a maze of industrial elements. First, just beyond the island, are the eastern spans of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The old bridge is still in place as a newer bridge is being constructed to replace it. The tallest tower is part of the new bridge, which sits in front of the old one. Beyond that are the giant cranes of the busy Port of Oakland, and even further back in the haze are the buildings of downtown Oakland backed by the East Bay Hills.

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Embarcadero Waterfront With Holiday Lights

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Embarcadero Waterfront With Holiday Lights. San Francisco, California. December 21, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photograph of the San Francisco waterfront and skyline with holiday lights, including the Transamerica building and the Embarcadero. Photographed from Treasure Island.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

This photograph was made two years ago just before Christmas. The scene includes the San Francisco Bay waterfront decked out in holiday lights, especially the Embarcadero Buildings and the Transamerica Pyramid, as seen from Treasure Island.

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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keywords: san francisco, downtown, skyline, waterfront, embarcadero, bay, treasure island, holiday, christmas, lights, transamerica, building, night, photography, color, california, usa, travel, urban, city, skyscrapers, boat, water

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

2nd and King Streets, Dusk

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2nd and King Streets, Dusk

2nd and King Streets, Dusk. San Francisco, California. May 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The intersection of 2nd and King streets in San Francisco as early evening light illuminates the Bay Bridge and downtown buildings.

This is yet another “take” on this scene from the upper level of the SF Giants’ AT&T Park, shot during a slow inning or two of a game against the Braves as evening was coming on over the Bay. I would understand if some began to wonder why I shoot the same scene so many times. In this case there are a bunch of reasons. On a practical level, I just like to get up and wander around the ball park during games. (Sorry… I can almost see the real fans cringing – but for me going to the game is about more than the game. :-) I also like to reshoot subjects and apply what I learned by shooting a particular scene before. I do not necessarily believe that the first take is always the best take. In this case I had learned somethings about the muni trains, the reflected light on the buildings, the composition, and the timing of the lights on the bridge. And the scene is most certainly not the same every time – this time I “discovered” the slowly increasing effect of the artificial light on King Street as the ambient light decreased.

So, there you have it. My excuses for posting what might seem like almost the same photograph I posted a couple weeks ago.

(A small technical note for those who are interested in such things. This was shot using a Canon 5D Mark II full-frame body with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS lens… handheld at 1/8 second, f/5.6 and ISO 800. Some people will find all of those details to be somewhat interesting, especially when I point out that the quality of this image is such that I’m positive it would print well at 16 x 24 or possibly even 20 x30 inch dimensions.)

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.

keywords: 2nd, second, king, street, att, at&t, park, ball, baseball, overlook, trolley, train, muni, track, car, people, street, light, palm, paragon, building, apartment, condominium, lane, traffic, pedestrian, evening, twilight, sunset, illuminate, san francisco, oakland, bay, bridge, treasure island, skyscraper, urban, skyline, landscape, california, usa, travel, scenic, stock, tree, windows, sky

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: San Francisco

Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light

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Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light

Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light. San Francisco, California. March 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early mornng sun breaks through clouds over San Francisco Bay and illuminates the water to silhouette Alcatraz Island.

This weekend I visited Muir Woods again. I was on the road early enough to arrive at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge by dawn. Even if I am headed somewhere else, I almost always stop at the north end to see what sort of light is shining on the City and the bay – and this morning low clouds from an incoming weather system were sweeping across the bay as sunlight broke through intermittently to light the water on the bay. Before heading on to Muir Woods I made a series of photographs of this light, including this one of Alcatraz.

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.

keywords: san francisco, bay, california, usa, water, alcatraz, island, prison, park, historic, oakland, treasure island, bridge, golden, light, clouds, beams, silhouette, tower, building, travel, historic, area, storm, birds, landscape, scenic, stock