The Beauty That Never Gets Old

I have lived in Sonoma County for many years--25 to be exact.  There are many great things about living in California, such as the weather,the close proximity to the ocean, and for a photographer like me the landscape.  Another great thing about where I live is that I am only an hour away from one of the most amazing sites in the world.  Every year millions of people come to San Francisco just to see the GoldenGate Bridge, which I'm sure manywould agree is by far one of the most beautiful sites in the world.  I don't remember the exact time that I first saw this bridge, but to this day anytime I go to the city anddrive out of the "Rainbow Tunnel" (as I call it) it feels like the very first time seeing this magnificent bridge. So it goes without saying that it is probably one my favorite subjects to shoot.  In my album "San Francisco 'In My Eyes' " (seen here) I photograph the city in ways that I feel are different then how it is normally photographed.  I think the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most photographed subjects in San Francisco, so when I am photographing it I try to do so in ways I think other people haven't thought of.  I want to show off the beauty, size and character that really make it unique.I am also always looking for thepicture that gives me the feeling of seeing it for the first time.  Below are a few photographs that I took coming home from a family portrait shot I did in San Francisco.  If you'd like to see more views of the Golden Gate, be sure to check out this link.  

Night Photography Tip

In this post I decided to switch things up and give my viewers a few tips about night photography.  I often see people taking pictures of tourist spots like the Golden Gate Bridge at night and doing things like using their on camera flash.  In this situation the flash is not effective because of the distance of the bridge. Here are five simple tips that will help you the next time you find yourself taking pictures at night:

  1. Use a tripod.

  2. Try using the night mode.

  3. Turn off that flash.

  4. Use manual mode if you have it.

  5.  Don't take your photos at the lowest picture resolution. Instead, raise the picture's resolution size to get better images.

Here are some examples of night photography I have done using some of these hints.  Leave a comment and let me know if you found these tips helpful!

In this photo I used all the above mentioned tips.

By using the manual mode on my camera and a longer shutter speed I was able to capture the movement of a car passing by. When shooting the Golden Gate Bridge you can see why using a flash wouldn't matter the object is so far away no flash could reach that far.

The Discovery

About three months ago my wife and I decided to go for a hike over by Marin Headlands. I thought to myself it was going to be a nice hike but wasn't expecting much, though I figured I'd bring my camera along for the ride. Packing light I just brought my camera and one lens (24-70mm canon f2.8 for anyone wanting the what they call the "geeky" parts). We hiked our way up and as we turned the corner I was amazed by the beauty. Living in the Bay Area I feel we are very lucky to be so close to some amazing sceneries and I was very happy I brought my camera this day. Below are a few of the photos from the hike, and as always comments are welcomed and I'd love to hear from you!