Heavenly Light (and Timing)

I was sitting in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, San Francisco when the sun's diurnal track across the sky allowed it to quite suddenly shine directly into the vast, towering space, illuminating it beautifully. While very long, the roof skylight isn't very wide so the effect only lasted about 10 minutes but it was cool! I was fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time with a camera and tripod.

Embarcadero Sunset

Kathy and I were walking around in San Francisco last March and wandered down the length of the Embarcadero. This was taken right by the Bay Bridge which had some interesting lights on it. The sunset was pretty. We both had our tripods. This was taken with my Lensbaby. I really miss San Francisco. I want to go back soon.

1075 to the Castro

1075 to the Castro, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Historic PCC streetcar number 1075 pauses for a portrait in front of San Francisco's equally historic ferry building. This car was built in 1946 and is painted in the colors of the Cleveland Transit System which apparently are similar to the colors used by the Cleveland Browns football team. Kathy had business in San Francisco early in the week and I joined her after her meetings concluded on Friday. We stayed in town until Sunday and had a pretty nice time as we usually do when visiting San Francisco. We both wanted to take more photos of the Market Street Railway streetcars. It's been at least 2 years since I've done so. The challenge is that they don't actually pose for portraits. They have a schedule to keep, so I have to shoot quickly and efficiently if I expect to finish my HDR sequences before they take off for the next stop down the line. Kathy initially didn't take her tripod, preferring the lighter gorilla pod. I brought her carbon fiber tripod to use and she gladly availed herself of it as well.

Sunrise Over the Port of San Francisco

Sunrise Over the Port of San Francisco, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

In San Francisco to work on a proposal and staying at the Hyatt Regency on the Embarcadero, I had a great view of the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge. On this particular day I got up around 4:30 AM, showered and went to get some breakfast. From the street level, I could see that the sunrise was going to be spectacular. I went back to my room, grabbed my camera, tripod, ExpoDisc and off camera shutter release. From there I headed for a secret balcony that I had discovered a few years ago on another visit. There's no sign that says "hotel employees only" or anything similar so in any case, I got the shots I wanted and nobody was the wiser. It was very windy on the 19th floor so my tripod shook a little during the long exposures, but not enough to ruin the shot. 10 Exposure HDR covering 10ev. Post processed in Photomatix, Lightroom and Photoshop.

It's full of stars...

It's full of stars..., originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Kathy and I were walking around the financial district in San Francisco when we decided to go into this shopping center in search of lunch. This was taken from the food court on the bottom level. I just set the camera on the table, lens facing skyward and tried to keep my head out of the way. Lots of stores here I never ever shop in.

Sam Wo's

Sam Wo's, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

In the 1970’s, this was probably the most famous restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. They have a ton of signed photos of old celebrities, athletes, politicians and even a president on their walls. It was unique for a few reasons. One was that to enter, you had to walk through the kitchen which was so narrow that the line cooks and servers would have to press themselves against the stoves and woks to let you get by. Then to reach the second floor dining room, you had to climb a steel stairway which was so small that two people traveling in opposite directions would never be able to pass one another. The tables were small and the seats were wooden benches.
Back in the 70's the owner would openly solicit tips from the queue of people waiting for a table. If you tipped him well, you went to the front of the line. If you objected, he chased you away and told you to go to another restaurant. Once you were inside he often would tell you what to order as well. He was funny but could also be rude. I had the opportunity to eat here a couple of years ago and found out that the owner had passed away, and the food which was fantastic was now just mediocre. When I took this photo, I didn’t notice the little girl looking down at me from the dining room. Sam Wo’s, now a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to eat there.

Lunchtime at the Academy of Sciences

Lunchtime at the Academy of Sciences, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Ok so maybe my imagination was running wild, but when I reviewed at this HDR sequence it looked like my favorite T-Rex was stalking this blissfully unaware kid. Maybe it was wishful thinking because I remember that he was being such a little brat and his parents, like many modern parents were ignoring his bad behavior being too busy with their cell phones to give a crap. Uggh don’t get me started on modern parents. Anyway in my mind this kid was the appetizer, his aloof dad was the main course and his compulsively texting mom was dessert.

The Sea of Love

The Sea of Love, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

California Academy of Sciences, Steinhart Aquarium, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Saint Valentines Day: I was waiting for Kathy and just sitting across from this large glass viewing window, thinking that the lighting in the room was very beautiful when this young couple walked up to the glass. I thought they were framed pretty nicely by it. Seemed kind of like a first date type situation. After taking the sequence of shots, I went in search of my own beloved girl.

Wide Angle View of the City by the Bay

Wide Angle View of the City by the Bay, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This was a cool guerrilla photo shoot. I was staying at the San Francisco Hyatt Regency and had found a platform on the 17th floor just adjacent to the emergency stairway. There was a concrete wall with a 9" wide gap in it that allowed me to put my camera and lens through it. This is what I saw.

Under one roof

Under one roof, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

San Franciso's Crocker Galleria has an amazing glass atrium that stretches the full length of the building. I was thrown out of the shopping center by the tripod police (security) just after taking these shots. I'm glad I had already eaten lunch before breaking out my camera gear.