Dipping into the archives for a little change of pace, I found this image I barely remember doing from last year’s San Francisco trip.
Into the City
I took my multiple exposure obsession and ran with it for my “Old Master” assignment for my photo class. Instead of using my Van Gogh field of yellow flowers (which is very much in my comfort zone), I was inspired by Edward Steichen’s multiple exposure cityscapes of New York City to create a composite of three of my San Francisco images to create this one. This was a fun assignment- not only creating my own image, but seeing what the others chose. I think all of us really stepped out of our respective boxes!
Bay Bridge(s)
I’ve been a little obsessed with multiple exposures lately- both in camera and in Photoshop. Here’s a double view of the San Francisco Bay Bridge at night, with some distortions and reflections adding to the unreality of the image. The double exposure was created in Photoshop, rather than in camera.
Old-Timey
Here is another version of the Ferry Building- a somewhat grungy black and white with a bit of texture added for an old-timey look.
Back to SF
I realized that I never posted my favorite Ferry Building shot from our brief San Francisco visit early in the summer. I took this photo the evening before Carol arrived- right after Lonnie discovered the view while he was looking for ice. This one, taken through glass, has better focus than the one I took the next night, even though it was handheld- no tripod. Go figure!
And here is another edit of the same image- black and white with a slightly different crop.
Port of San Francisco
Another photo from our one day San Francisco visit:
Cable Cars- Two Ways
Our hotel in San Francisco was right off Market Street, so I didn’t have to venture far to get the ultimate tourist shot- cable cars!
In color:
Toned black and white:
I took a long time editing the original image in Photoshop. There was some cloning out of traffic barriers and some slight Glow filters applied. But then in Lightroom, I ended up cropping out some of the area I cloned and converting the image to black and white. Sometimes I just can’t make up my mind! Lonnie likes the color version better; I prefer the black and white. Different strokes!
Looking Up
Here’s another view of San Francisco’s Ferry Building- looking up at the roof from the inside:
Safe Harbor
Here’s another view of the harbor at Pier 39- with Alcatraz in the background.
Market Street
Here’s a view of Market Street- one of the busiest streets in the city.
Cute!
When we were in San Francisco, I found the little water taxis very appealing and cartoon-like, so I made some adjustments in Photoshop and Topaz Simplify to accentuate these qualities.
Icon
One of the most iconic sights in San Francisco- Coit Tower:
The Fisherman
One of the many fishermen on the pier near the Ferry Building:
San Francisco Architecture- Then and Now
THEN:
The beautiful and ornate Southern Pacific Building (completed in 1916) was right across from our hotel at the corner of Market and Embarcadero. This was taken through the window in Carol’s room.
NOW:
This reflections in this skyscraper seemed to create a column of Japanese Kanji running down the side of the building- fascinating!
Floor with a View
My husband had a meeting in downtown San Francisco last week, so I accompanied him for a (very) quick getaway, which consisted of one day and two nights. My friend and photo buddy, Carol met us there, and she and I had a great time visiting and walking around the Embarcadero area with our cameras.
Lonnie went to get ice shortly after we arrived, and informed me that he had found THE shot- and it was right down the hall.
THIS is what he found when he looked out the window at the end of the hall:
We were on the sixteenth floor, right across from the Ferry Building and the Bay Bridge! Yes- a great view indeed! Carol had mentioned that she wanted to do some night photography, so I was happy that the perfect view had been found- right down the hall- even though it meant shooting through glass.
Carol had brought an extra tripod for me (one of her old ones, which is exactly like mine), so we set up at the window the next night for some fun night photography. Trying to lean the tripod with camera attached flat against the glass and keep it there without slipping, in order to prevent reflections of the hallway lights during long exposures, was a challenge for me! I managed to take a dozen or so shots- and most had reflections and less than tack sharp focus. The above photo is one of the better ones (but I did have to clone out some reflections).
A beautiful city by day- and equally beautiful at night!
melinda anderson photography 