My First Attempt: Golden Gate, Marin Headlands, California
View LARGER.
First off, I have to say that I'm not really happy with this comp, because the bridge is sticking out of the dark hill on the left, and I couldn't seem to crop out the road pullout on the right during the short time the sky was lit. The bridge is (unintentionally) understated in this photo. The sunrise colors saved the poor comp, but I'm planning on making more visits to this area after the upcoming storm is over.
I've seen many amazing photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge on Flickr. I realized that I had never stopped to take in the view, even though I currently live 1.5 hrs from it, and have driven over the bridge many times. So, I put few photo locations on my list, and checked them out.
I woke at 4:15am, and arrived at the Marin Headlands in the dark. I used Google Earth™ to get an idea of what roads to take and the general geography of the area, but I met up with a closed gate on my way to my destination -something that is all but invisible from the satellite photos. I decided to backtrack, park, and climb a hill. I ended up spending the whole sunrise on this one hill, simply because I didn't know how quickly I could get to another location -and I didn't want to miss the sunrise.
As it turned out, I ended up hiking down the hill, in a not-so-great spot right when the clouds were illuminated with color. It only lasted a couple of minutes, and I knew I had to start firing away.
Any tips on locations for this area will be greatly appreciated! I was really impressed with all the access points. I have a LOT of room to improve, so any comments are welcomed.
This is one single image, no HDR.
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @17mm
4 second exposure @F11
Lee soft ND grad .9 + .75 filters
ISO 50
My First Attempt: Golden Gate, Marin Headlands, California
View LARGER.
First off, I have to say that I'm not really happy with this comp, because the bridge is sticking out of the dark hill on the left, and I couldn't seem to crop out the road pullout on the right during the short time the sky was lit. The bridge is (unintentionally) understated in this photo. The sunrise colors saved the poor comp, but I'm planning on making more visits to this area after the upcoming storm is over.
I've seen many amazing photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge on Flickr. I realized that I had never stopped to take in the view, even though I currently live 1.5 hrs from it, and have driven over the bridge many times. So, I put few photo locations on my list, and checked them out.
I woke at 4:15am, and arrived at the Marin Headlands in the dark. I used Google Earth™ to get an idea of what roads to take and the general geography of the area, but I met up with a closed gate on my way to my destination -something that is all but invisible from the satellite photos. I decided to backtrack, park, and climb a hill. I ended up spending the whole sunrise on this one hill, simply because I didn't know how quickly I could get to another location -and I didn't want to miss the sunrise.
As it turned out, I ended up hiking down the hill, in a not-so-great spot right when the clouds were illuminated with color. It only lasted a couple of minutes, and I knew I had to start firing away.
Any tips on locations for this area will be greatly appreciated! I was really impressed with all the access points. I have a LOT of room to improve, so any comments are welcomed.
This is one single image, no HDR.
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @17mm
4 second exposure @F11
Lee soft ND grad .9 + .75 filters
ISO 50