Bon Voyage! Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Sunday was another magnificent day in the San Francisco Bay Area. Saturday we had wind and rain that cleared the sky, while Sunday we had sun and clouds. In the afternoon I decided conditions were simply too fine to ignore, so I packed my camera bag and headed south toward the Golden Gate bridge. The night before I'd watched a documentary on construction of the bridge. I thought it might be nice to walk down to the water's edge beneath the headlands on the Marin side to capture a photo of the bridge from the west as the sun set, with the City of San Francisco visible in the background. But when I drove down the hill toward the bridge I noticed a cruise ship steaming past the San Francisco waterfront toward the bridge. I decided to try the overlook next to the bridge where I might catch photos of the ship beneath the bridge.

I was very lucky to find a parking spot since time was of the essence and the place was jammed with cars and visitors. I loaded my gear on my back and began climbing the steep path toward the overlook. I passed many of the tourists enjoying a leisurely day by the Bay, knowing that if I didn't rush I'd miss the ship.

You know from this posting, of course, that I arrived in the nick of time. This is the Celebrity Cruises ship the Mercury, which is 866 feet in length. There are six passenger decks containing 935 rooms. She may be heading north toward Alaska or south toward Mexico. All I could say was Bon Voyage! I was quite satisfied however, relaxing above the bridge, enjoying both the vista and the excitement of the visitors busy with the cameras.

(Those with broadband connection may wish to check out a larger version of the image at ImageShack.)

I ADDED A WORKSHOP TO SHOW THE UNCROPPED IMAGE THAT INCLUDES BOTH BRIDGE TOWERS. IS THIS BETTER RINIE? ;-)

Kolyamour, Rinie_Hoff, Paolo, AmiBe, lestans, john_c has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Kolyamour (1760) 2005-04-26 2:53

Beautiful picture of beautiful place. Good diagonal composition and nice perspective. Great sharpness and beautiful colours.
Thanks for share.
Nikolay

ckuhn55 (2270) 2005-04-26 3:22

I've photographed this bridge a hundred times...but never got a cruise ship under the bridge...nice shot

Paolo (40703) 2005-04-26 3:52

Great shot!
the Pov is really beautiful, great colors, and the sky is really nice.
thanks, also for the note.
ciao

Rinie_Hoff (9332) 2005-04-26 3:52

Hi Curtis, very nice view on the bridge and the ship. Although I like to see the pylon on the left as well, like your Golden Gate sunset II, this one also gives a better view on the city behind the bridge and the coastline.
It is really a stunning bridge, and the moment of the picture is well chosen.
What I notice is that you either only go out to take picture when you have a real great sky, OR you have real great ksies pretty often. The range of clouds in the background is beautiful.
Any news of your Tamron?

Added: You force me to set things straight, ;-) Yes, I like your workshop picture, BUT, I just meant that that pylon is beautiful as well, and the way you cropped today, brings the city and the shoreline closer, that's what was so small in your GG sunset II. So, both picture have pro's and cons.

(Ahh, well, just give me such a beautiful structure as this bridge, or my own Willemsbrug, and I'm happy for the rest of the day. Life can be as sinmple as that ;-))

AmiBe (6042) 2005-04-26 5:23

Hi Curtis,
very nice view, this boat seems very big, tt's impressive !
Good compo, I like the WS, too. But it's more classical.

lestans (15456) 2005-04-26 8:05

Hi Curtis! Tghank you for sgaring just...two different pictures! One of therm tells us informations about a beautiful ship, and it could be inside a brochure of the cruise company. The other one tells us how a magnificent place is San Francisco bay and bridge. And you got this moltiplication of pictures simply cropping your shot! A very good shot, indeed!

Anyway, I think that you are lucky about the weather, since it changes so often in your area, that is what every photographer look for!

john_c (24635) 2005-04-27 1:00

Just an excellent capture, Curtis. I'm visiting in San Francisco next week and the shot is inspiring. You chose a good moment to place the ship where you did. There is nice contrast of colour and good definition. Well seen and well executed. Regards.

LCannon (2776) 2005-07-10 23:55

I have this mental image of you running up the trail, frantically setting up the tripod, and readying the shot, out of breath, setting the timer so your shaky hands won't damage the photo moment. ;-)
You captured a lovely cloudy sky for this also, the cruise ship is in just the perfect spot for balance, I really live this view, you rarely see one with the housing tracts shown on the right background. Excellent shot Curtis, thanks for the smile your story brought to my face.

Photo Information

Copyright: Curtis Grindahl (cgrindahl) (6109)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-04-24
Categories: Daily Life, Transportation
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Canon 17-40 f/4L, Digital RAW, B+W 77mm UV-Haze MRC
Exposure: f/10.0, 1/200 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2005-04-26 2:47