Baker Beach By Night Photo

Photographer’s Note

This photo is from Baker Beach in San Francisco. It can be reached by taking the 49 mile Scenic drive around San Francisco. My girlfriend and I went to this Beach we wanted to get closer to the bridge but couldn't make it down the original trail, so we went down to the beach and hiked back up the rocks, luckily it was low tide and I could get this far. I enjoy this shot because it is a rarer view of the Golden Gate Bridge and also shows California's rough coastline.

Setup:I focused on the Bridge and the put the camera on manual focus, I then put it in manual exposure and find the right exposure, it was actually 20 sec exposure, but it is not listed. PP was converting from Raw, curves, and a selective color adjustment layer.

vjmite, sarahnatalie, daddo, pboehringer has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mfonda (889) 2007-04-29 21:25

Hi Joe,

Nice shot, but a tricky one. Hard to exposure the water near you properly and keep the bridge and lights from being blown out. It is tricky here with this composition because the rocks in the foreground seem to be the primary focus of the picture, yet they seem a bit underexposed. Overall I like the feel to this picture, but I think more emphasis should be placed on the bridge. I posted a crop to workshop which I think helps achieve this.

Great shot, thanks for sharing!
-Matt

[workshop] [compare]

RPoole5552 (1483) 2007-04-29 21:40

Great nocturnal! I like your original better than the workshop photo. Just my opinion.

Have a good evening,

Rob

livinitout (936) 2007-04-29 21:46

This is a great shot. The bridge is partially covered in the clouds pointing out how massive it is. The lighting is great, the purple colours really stand out and make the picture interesting. The only problem I have with this shot is the one bright light in front of the bridge. It makes the shot seem a bit industrial and to me that takes away from the otherwise dream like immage. Nice work.
Jacek

Cormac (26423) 2007-04-29 22:59

Great shot! I like the lighting on the bridge, and especially the fog on the top of the tower, which is beautiful. The blurred waves on the rocks are great too. The foreground is a little dark in comparison to the lighted area of the bridge - you could have overcome this by using a graduated neutral density filter, or by doing an HDR shot, either of which would have given more details in the foreground while preserving the background. Beautiful work even as it is though!

vjmite (1261) 2007-04-29 23:08 [Comment]

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sarahnatalie (689) 2007-04-29 23:10

Beautiful colours and lighting here. I always find night shots hard. You have done an excellent job. The image is nice and sharp while also soft and serene. Great work!
Sarah

infrastellar (390) 2007-04-30 3:42

Wonderful long time exposure, beautiful colors, and fantastic composition. Like it!

marianita (3356) 2007-04-30 4:03

JOe
excellent tones of purple. lovely atmosphere created with teh foggy atmosphere
well taken
marianna

daddo (10427) 2007-04-30 4:21

hi Joe. Fascinating blend of colours and light. Dreamlike, especially with the long exposure giving the foreground and the fog in the distance an eerie look.Well done. Regards. Klaudio.

pboehringer (768) 2007-05-02 10:14

Hi Joe, a late welcome to you at TE. You really started pretty well here and the shots that you have gathered in your collection so far are very good. The POV that you chose is very famous but still you managed to get something different compared to the ordinary shots of this bridge. The 20s certainly contributed a lot. I agree with Alvin that a graduated ND filter might have helped somewhat.
Did you know that we are planning to have a TE meeting in 1 month? Check it out in my intro page. I twould be fun to have you join us.
I also adde your shot to my theme collection "Bridges around the Bay Area". Hope you don't mind.
TFS, Peter

ahhow (114) 2007-06-22 23:22

beautiful colours, such a great image!

woozbman (343) 2007-12-26 16:38

Hi Joe,
Very nice. The long exposure has turned the water into "fog", which mimics the real fog at the top. I like the effect of the colors. The low tide probably brought out more of those rocks in the foreground, making for a more interesting composition. TFS.
Lamberto