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Golden Gate Bridge



behind the lens badge

San Francisco Bay Fog

San Francisco Bay Fog
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Awards

Staff Winter Selection 2015
Superb Composition
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Peer Award
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Outstanding Creativity
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Absolute Masterpiece
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Magnificent Capture
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Superior Skill
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Top Ranks

Cities By The Water Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Cities By The Water Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Splendid Bridges Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Splendid Bridges Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Splendid Bridges Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Classic Beauty Photo ContestTop 30 rank
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Behind The Lens

Location

It's awkward getting a shot of an iconic subject from a public viewing spot. I got back some distance on the path and used my zoom to capture the right moment. The clouds kept changing the view of what you could see. I waited and got lucky to see some of the far shore through the gloom. I was tempted to remove the flagpole in the foreground, but I'm not a fan of changing reality. It's there, and so it remains.

Time

Early afternoon. The scene of the Golden Gate Bridge constantly changes all day every day.

Lighting

I used the water to set my exposure for fear that the fog would cause everything to be under exposed. Post production I added to the shadows.

Equipment

Olympus E-620 with a 75mm f 1.8 lens at f8. Aperture priority and a circular polarizer filter.

Inspiration

My photography is not super creative. I must have been inspired by post cards. I love to take good shots of iconic subjects.

Editing

Nothing drastic. I boosted the shadows, enhanced the sharpness and a little contrast. I usually tweak rather that introduce major changes in post production. I start by looking at a variety of cropping. Sometime a rather weak image suddenly finds more drama when you narrow down the subject and eliminate the distractions. Next I check the white balance. Olympus cameras seem to do a good job automatically unless there is something out of the ordinary; like artificial light sources. Then I experiment with exposure to see if I can add drama. Some pictures need to be checked for noise reduction. In spite of the small sensor, I have very few problems with noise. Maybe because I started with film I don't push the iso and I use tripods when shooting in very low light. Newer Olympus cameras have less anti-alias and the noise problems have disappeared. Lastly I check for sharpness and contrast. A little like using makeup. Again, a little goes a long way.

In my camera bag

This image was shot before I switched to Micro Four Thirds mirrorless. Now I carry an OMD EM1 and, or OMD EM5 mk II. my primary zoom is the remarkable 12-40 f2.8 pro. You will likely find a 40-150 f4.0 zoom and a 75-300 zoom. They are light and small and give me a huge focal length range. I like prime lenses for the same reasons. You can have lots of speed in a small lightweight lens. I carry 75, 45, 25, and 17 mm 1.8's. I have the 12mm f2.0 on one of my cameras at all times. I almost never use flash except for indoor portraits where I use the venerable ED 50mm f 2.0 macro lens.

Feedback

Image creation is not about equipment or special tricks. It is all about seeing and feeling the light and the story in front of you. If you are new to photography, go to the library and thumb through any of the hundreds of books with famous photographers works. After a while you will look at your own work much differently.

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