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Bay Bridge and San Francisco



behind the lens badge

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3931

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Awards

Contender in the Photography Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Contest Finalist in Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 6
Featured
Contest Finalist in Rule Of Thirds In The City Photo Contest
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Peer Award
Superb Composition
Sam_Cvet 2461_8568 wendyweltonpramik ragavvj kateangell2021 chloejeanpierre christellbroussardfaul +67
Top Choice
seannathanielduncan michaelcullen nurqistinabalqis leannaaliciaheida shabphotography vaderbaby Ramona12Photography +27
Absolute Masterpiece
Craig-Sheffield rueysung annssmith julsfraser svenkapetrovi VeeSieu SONAM1408 +21
Outstanding Creativity
juliogonz emptyw jesum2 keithviklund sylviawesttaylor robertschickling MelissaSueBall +12
Magnificent Capture
keithhempfleng schnetzky steveangelakis FrancoisHorne Donnadieu JacquesH60 caseykell21 +3
All Star
Reebee jgalarza70 Realjohnlubrica SusiStroud Blueyeswgtn kimnikon5500 RobSartin +1
Superior Skill
2001vermont Jsargephoto Tanners DerrickSteeves ewatt ChamaraRanathunga p_eileenbaltz +1

Top Ranks

Night Time Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Night Time Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Rule of Thirds Photo Contest vol9Top 20 rank
Rule of Thirds Photo Contest vol9Top 20 rank week 1
All About Water Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Swag ProjectTop 20 rank
The Swag ProjectTop 10 rank week 1
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 6Top 20 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 6Top 20 rank week 1
The Colors Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Colors Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Rule Of Thirds Photo Contest v4Top 10 rank
Rule Of Thirds Photo Contest v4Top 10 rank week 1
Our World At Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank
ViewBug Photography AwardsTop 10 rank
City In The Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank
City In The Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
City In The Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Composing With Rule Of Thirds Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Composing With Rule Of Thirds Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Color In The Night Photo ContestTop 20 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Color In The Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank month 1
Color In The Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 3
Color In The Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Compositions 101 Photo Contest vol3Top 10 rank
Color In The Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Compositions 101 Photo Contest vol3Top 10 rank week 2
Compositions 101 Photo Contest vol3Top 10 rank week 1
Rule Of Thirds Photo Contest v2Top 10 rank
Rule Of Thirds Photo Contest v2Top 10 rank week 2
Rule Of Thirds Photo Contest v2Top 10 rank week 1
Long Exposure In The City Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Water Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank
Water Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank week 1
Long Exposure Games Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Long Exposure Games Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Rule Of Thirds Extravaganza Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 6Top 10 rank
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 6Top 10 rank week 2
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 6Top 10 rank week 1
The Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
The Night Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Night And Rule Of Thirds Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Night And Rule Of Thirds Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Night And Rule Of Thirds Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Rule Of Thirds In The City Photo ContestTop 10 rank month 1
Rule Of Thirds In The City Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 3
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 2
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Long Exposure Views Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 2
World At Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank
World At Night Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Modern Cities Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 10 rank
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 10 rank week 3
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 20 rank week 2
Roads Of The World Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Roads Of The World Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1

Categories


5 Comments |
MikeCeglady
 
MikeCeglady September 14, 2016
Congrats on the finalist honors. I have almost this exact same shot! :)
stuartist Platinum
stuartist September 14, 2016
Thanks. I see there was a ball game the night you were there, too.
FlyingEagle
 
FlyingEagle September 20, 2016
Amazing! I love it!
stuartist Platinum
stuartist September 21, 2016
Thanks.
MarshallChris
 
MarshallChris October 13, 2016
Nice shot, I have been trying to get up there to get a shot. I like there was a game on at AT&T park
ruicampos
 
ruicampos July 31, 2018
Excelent Foto !!!
paulatchinson PRO+
 
paulatchinson December 04, 2019
Hi - this image would be a great entry for a challenge I have created and closes on 8 December. Could you be persuaded to give it a go. Its ‘TRAVELLING AT NIGHT’.
The URL is viewbug.com/challenge/travelling-at-night-photo-challenge-by-paulatchinson.
To enter Go to my Viewbug Page - click on my avatar image - click on the link to CHALLENGES, then CREATED and choose 'TRAVELLING AT NIGHT'.
I hope you enter and best of luck.
Paul
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

I've always felt that San Francisco is an extremely photogenic city. I managed to get some vacation time and one of the things on my list was to find this spot with a dramatic view of the Bay Bridge.

Time

This shot was taken at about 10:20 PM on August 31, 2015. My goal was to get a night shot from this location.

Lighting

I knew I'd have little control of lighting on such a shot. The most significant piece of light in the picture is the bright glow from the ball game at AT&T Park to the left of the bridge. Luckily, the texture of the water helped to make this bright spot more interesting.

Equipment

This was shot on a Sunpak 423 tripod using a Canon Rebel T4i with a Sigma 18-250mm zoom lens.

Inspiration

I'd seen other shots from this location but never knew where it was. I was determined to find the spot and get some shots of my own. While a member of a forum at On1 Software, one of the members from France said he was going to visit San Francisco and asked Matt Kloskowski some advice on taking photos there. Matt suggested getting in touch with Doc Miles to arrange an escorted photo tour. After his trip, the member told of how helpful that advice was and how he enjoyed his trip and time with Doc Miles. I decided to take the same advice and booked an evening with Doc. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. Doc knew all the best spots and times including this one.

Editing

Traffic was light on the night I took this photo. Aside from the normal post-processing, I aligned two shots and blended the light trails together. This way, each shot was perfectly exposed and I was able to improve the appearance of the bridge roadway.

In my camera bag

I started out using two kit lenses (18-55mm and 55-250mm) when I shot with my Canon T2i but found myself changing lenses too often. The Sigma 18-250mm macro zoom lens had such good reviews and pricing that I thought I'd try replacing the two lenses with this one lens and never looked back. When I upgraded to the T4i, the Sigma lens came along and I'm very happy with the combination.

Feedback

My best advice is to take advantage of the Internet to learn how to compose, shoot and process your photos. There are so many excellent and generous teachers out there. However, don't expect to find "talent in a box". The person behind the camera is the most important part of the photo. Improve yourself and you will improve your photos. When visiting a new place, consider hiring someone or going on an organized photo walk or workshop to find the best spots and times to shoot. In addition to taking me to more places than I could have gotten on my own in one evening, Doc Miles also provided suggestions on starting settings and historical information about the places we visited. I also credit Serge Ramelli's excellent Lightroom and Photoshop courses for helping me improve my post-processing. One excellent part of his tutorials is that he shows you how he goes about taking the shots he processes. Keep learning, keep shooting and show your work to others. Learning from criticism and entering contests and challenges at Viewbug will help you raise the level of your photography.

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