San Francisco
Earlier this year I took a trip out to California and visited San Francisco for the first time. I don’t tend to spend much time in cities when I travel around the US, but I’ve always wanted to go to San Francisco and really enjoyed my four days there. Whenever I visit a big city, my favorite thing to do is the same thing I like to do when in nature, just walk around. And San Francisco is a great place to walk around. San Francisco is obviously a very well known city, so I don’t thing I have any new information to offer on things to do and places to see, but I suppose I could offer a few tips to other photographers, who like me, just like to walk and wander with their camera. So consider this post to as a quick guide to photographing San Francisco.
A good place to start is the Golden Gate Bridge. Every night I ended up somewhere with a view of the bridge. Countless pictures have been taken of this beautiful bridge, so it can’t hurt to do some research and figure out what sort of shot you may be interested in taking, and then figuring out beforehand where to go to that shot. There are so many places to view and photograph the bridge that it can be a little overwhelming showing up without a plan. I did a little bit a research, and wish I had done more, but at least I had three nights in the city and one night in Marin county, just north of the city, to explore and find some good spots.
Most people are probably going to shoot the bridge at sunset, or possibly sunrise, so where should a photographer wander during the day? Another popular shot is the cable cars on the hills. I’m sure you’ve seen these photos online. The cable cars only run on the big hills close to the downtown area. The cable cars are great to photograph during the middle of the day, and they happen to be located in an area that is fun to walk around, so you can grab all sorts of city shots as you explore.
You can stroll through china town, or along The Embarcadero that runs along the bay.
And don’t forget to look out for the parrots! Yes, parrots. You might actually hear them before you see them. Supposedly the flock of parrots in San Francisco travels all over the city, so you never really know when or where you’ll see them. Maybe there are some patterns that I’m not aware of… I would also recommend making your way to one of the piers where you can spot sea lions. They like to hang out on some of the docks there. I don’t know exactly when they’re there, but I saw them two days in a row in the spring. So as far as wildlife photography goes you can actually get some cool shots right in the middle of downtown San Francisco.
I would also recommend making your way to one of the piers where you can spot sea lions. They like to hang out on some of the docks there. I don’t know exactly when they’re there, but I saw them two days in a row in the spring. So as far as wildlife photography goes you can actually get some cool shots right in the middle of downtown San Francisco. I was able to get too close to the sea lions, these were taken with my 600mm lens.
A trip to San Francisco wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the mission district. As far as I could tell the mission district seems to be a blend of older historically latin american neighborhoods with a newer hip vibe. This would be a great place for photographers interested in street photographer, since there are so many people out on the streets, and there’s lots of colorful buildings and street art. And I would highly recommend getting some tamales while you’re in the area. They’re not quite a dollar anymore, but they’re not too expensive and they are delicious.
