San Francisco

This year for the 4th of July, we did not want to drive a lot but we were still looking for an camping trip. We looked at several possible options but they were all booked (some booked over a year in advance). My wife got the idea to check out Pinnacles National Park. It’s so close to the Bay Area that you can drive to it in less than 2 hours (excluding traffic). Pinnacles is known as a climbing mecca (in winter months), for its California condors and for the large bat population living in the caves. We were expecting a lot of people during the 4th of July weekend and yes the campground was almost full but you read it right, on the busiest weekend of the year, there was still space left in the campground. Pinnacles, I found out, is the best kept secret in...

Sunday night’s supermoon was the brightest and closest to Earth in 20 years. It was 14% bigger and about 30% brighter than usual. I did my usual research about possible locations in the week leading to the Full Moon. I found one promising location but Saturday was an extremely foggy day here in the San Francisco Bay. I had made up my mind that it was not worth going, until late Sunday afternoon, when a friend of mine sent me this text: “Moon shoot tonight?”. He lives in San Francisco so he had direct information that our friend Karl (see Karl the fog) was not coming over. I drove quickly (but safely) to San Francisco to meet my friend and we went to my planned location. I knew I would not see when the Moon exactly rises over the horizon because of...

A couple weeks ago, I went to take pictures of the PCA GGR Autocross in the old Alameda Naval Base. An autocross is a circuit marked by traffic cones that you have to go through as fast as possible without touching any cones. It’s a very safe way to drive your car at its limits (or at your limits) with very low risks. The course is setup at the old Alameda Navy Base, on the old runway. There is plenty of space for you to spin out of control without touching anything (except your ego). The view from there is fantastic, you are on the other side of the bay, with an unobstructed view of San Francisco: Here is a view of a car going through the course: Most cars are unmodified cars, no extra security except you have to wear an helmet, you are not driving that...

One evening only, two artists! Vannina and I have been collaborating for years. She sometimes uses one of my photos as an inspiration or a guide for her amazing work. I sometimes use her ‘impossible to get’ angles of the Golden Gate Bridge or Paris as motivation for getting that image. For one evening only, we have joined forces and offer you an exhibit to see both our work together. All my work on display that evening will be on sale. First buyer will have the opportunity to pick up the art at the end of the exhibit. Date: 09/13/2014 Address: 739 Bryan St San Francisco, CA Hours: 6pm to 10pm. A sneak peak [table caption=”Some of the images I have already printed that I will exhibit that evening” width=”900″...

This year’s “supermoon” was on Saturday, July 12. A supermoon is when the Moon’s orbit brings it closer to the Earth (at the perigee) and make it appear larger (especially when it’s full moon and at moon rise). In San Francisco, any summer full moon is a challenging situation to photograph. The summer fog can play troublemaker and block any moon rise. My plan for that supermoon rise was to take a picture of the Moon sitting on top of the Coit Tower. Saturday night was a typical summer evening in San Francisco, cool, windy and with the fog rolling in. As I was waiting for the Moon to rise I took a couple images to show you the fog rolling in over the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin headlands. The East Bay was still visible and I...

Last night, it was going to be full and to rise above the North tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. After looking at the moon position, I did conclude that the moon would be aligned with the top of the tower with the Transamerica tower in the middle of the opening. The image above shows what my vision was. A very unusual hot weather is in effect in San Francisco right now, which meant that it was still in 70s at 9pm last night and there was no chance of fog and clouds to block the view of the moon. The combination of those factors had attracted a large number of photographers on the Marin Headlands, literally I was waiting for moonrise with 12 other photographers. Taking pictures of the moon is a bit tricky. First the moon moves quickly in the sky. Second there is a...