San Francisco at Night
Taken at Pier 39 in San Francisco
Taken at Pier 39 in San Francisco
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Jun, 2015Views
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Hollingsworth
August 08, 2018
Hi, sorry for the late reply, I used the standard FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I had just gotten a new camera and was walking around San Francisco, which happens to be my favorite city. This location is at Pier 39 where the seals hang out on the docks during the day.Time
I was specifically out to take night time photos to test out the high ISO/low noise the Sony A7II was supposed to have. I was excited to try to take some night shots without having to use a tripod. I have no love or patience for a tripod. I think this photo was taken about a half hour after the sun set.Lighting
I loved the light of the buildings reflecting on the water. It was creating so many shimmering and beautiful colors. I was also focused on trying to catch the flash of the tourists below. Pier 39 is a major tourist destination for San Francisco and wanted to show some typical tourist activity.Equipment
This was shot with my Sony A7II. At the time, I just had the standard lens that I bought with it, an FE-28-70mm. This was shot at 30mm, 1/20 of a second and ISO of 6400. No flash. No tripod, yay!Inspiration
Ever since I was a kid, I have loved shooting the Transamerica Building. It's the pyramid shaped building in the skyline with the blue dot on top. My parents use to take me to the city just to take dumb photos of it. I knew I could get a night view of it here along with Coit Tower which is on its left. Once I was there however, I was more taken with the colors of the lights reflecting on the bay and the tourists going about their collection of memories.Editing
I shoot in RAW. I open the RAW files in Photoshop and I play with the colors and exposure some. This image I did not do a lot to, just a little color burst.In my camera bag
If I am specifically going out to shoot, I have my Sony A7II. The lens or lenses I bring depend on my mood before I leave. I don't like carrying around too many lenses and I like forcing myself to make a good composition with what I have with me. I also carry my iPhone with me everywhere I go and it has become my most used camera by far. Once in a blue moon, I will take out a cheap plastic toy camera and shoot some film just for fun.Feedback
You never quite know what the weather will be like in San Francisco. The fog could roll in and change everything. My best advice is to go with the flow. I am not a big planner when it comes to taking photos. I like to capture what is happening at a certain time and place and freezing it for others to see. A camera is like a little time machine that only takes you back to the past. Keep your eyes open, there are hundreds of photographs in front of us everyday that are beautiful, and we never take them.
