On Thursday I drove to San Francisco on a reconnaissance mission. The forecast was for dense fog in the morning and then partial clearing. Even though I didn't expect to see much sun, I wanted to take advantage of a day without rain and scout out locations for future shoots. My main destination was Golden Gate Park, a place I have never visited. One wrong turn and I totally bypassed the park and ended up at Chrissy Field. This wasn't too bad of a mistake. I planned on photographing through the fence at Fort Point anyway.
I also wanted to find the West Battery, a place I had been once before (but didn't really know where I was), which presents a different view of the bridge. I found the right side road, parked and walked down a path, looking for the bridge. This was surreal. I knew it should be right in front of me, but I couldn't see it. Just as I began to doubt I was at the right place, I spied the faintest structural outline. Thirty seconds after taking this picture, the bridge disappeared again.
I also wanted to find the West Battery, a place I had been once before (but didn't really know where I was), which presents a different view of the bridge. I found the right side road, parked and walked down a path, looking for the bridge. This was surreal. I knew it should be right in front of me, but I couldn't see it. Just as I began to doubt I was at the right place, I spied the faintest structural outline. Thirty seconds after taking this picture, the bridge disappeared again.
I drove back across the freeway to the visitors' center at the south end of the bridge. I have been here before (see "Coastal Excursion" in June 2009). The place was teeming with tourists, both on foot and on bikes. I walked out as far as the start of the suspension cable. I added an arrow to to this photo to show where I was standing when I took the top photo.
The cable disappeared into the mist.
As I was standing on the bridge, I saw a sail boat near Alcatraz, heading for the gate. This brought back some memories. In a previous lifetime (when I was married), we owned a sailboat and going under the Golden Gate was always a thrill. We often sailed out under the bridge, turned around and sailed home. I walked back to an over look (with a hole cut in the fence), and waited patiently for the boat to approach the bridge
Remember, my primary destination was Golden Gate Park. I had done some research and had a general idea of the layout of the park, which is HUGE, even bigger than Central Park in NY. Since it is spread out over 1,000 acres, I was not expecting it to be crowded with so many cars and people. I chanced upon a parking space near the entrance to the 55 acre Botanical Gardens, and quickly pulled in. This is a metal sculpture at at the entrance
Few people venture down to the west end of the park, where the Dutch Windmill and Tulip Gardens meet up with Highway 1 and the ocean. The windmill craves a photographic blue background sky, but that was not available this day.
Once again, the fog made a great light diffuser,eliminating harsh shadows while
illuminating the beautiful colors
There was so much I didn't see in the park,but at least I now know what's there.
Mission accomplished.
No comments:
Post a Comment