All images © 2007-2013 Aaron Meyers
Most of the time when there’s low fog at the Golden Gate Bridge I find myself there during sunRISE. OK, perhaps not “most of the time” ... I’ve actually never been at the Golden Gate Bridge for low fog at sunSET. On this particular evening, however, my plans to photograph the SF coast were thwarted by fog and I quickly made my way over to the Bridge. Although the fog had ruined my chances of shooting the coast, it hadn’t quite made its way over to the Golden Gate Bridge. In yet another detour from my plans, I made my way over towards the Pacific Coast side of Hawk Hill and looked out over a giant blanket of fog. Off in the distance the fog was beginning to envelop this hill and I loved the way the fog obscured the hills and created a giant blanket behind the trees. The line section of road helps draw the eye into the photograph. I chose to keep this photo dark so that it would stick with the mood of the scene. Additionally, since the sun had set and blue hour was now starting to set in, the fog took a slightly blue tone. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D ED: 185mm, f/13, 30 sec, ISO 100
Normally I photograph low fog at the Golden Gate Bridge during sunrise but this evening was the first time photographing it during sunset. A failed attempt at shooting the coast (thanks to the fog) meant I ended up at Hawk Hill ready to photograph the Bridge. Prior to sunset the fog had stayed away from the bridge and was hugging the ocean, not quite making it into the city. Willie and I had wandered away from the bridge and were photographing some amazing fog formations on the Pacific Ocean as the sun dipped below the horizon. Every few minutes Willie or I would run over to the GGB and see if the fog had started to move in. About 10 minutes after the sun had set, and in the middle of photographing a neat “sand dune” of fog, Willie came racing over screaming “PACK UP NOW. WE’RE GOING OVER TO THE BRIDGE!” And off we raced. I think all the photographers around us thought we were crazy: “who are these guys running like there’s a bear chasing them?” We wanted to get into position before Blue Hour kicked in. Our running paid off and we arrived at our favorite Hawk Hill spot a few minutes before blue hour started. We spent the next 45 minutes or so enjoying the wonderful blue hour sunset fog. The fog glowed as the deck of the bridge was mostly exposed, and even a layer of fog started to light up as it crept into the city. Both of us spent some time taking panoramas for higher resolution but I also snapped some single exposures of the scene as well. The fog continued to creep in and it turned out that I liked this single exposure photo much better than the higher resolution stitched panoramas. What do you think of sunset fog? Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S: 42mm, f/14, 30 sec, ISO 320
The best photographers that I know are also great planners, researchers, and weathermen. Every once in a while, though, things can be lucky. This was one of those mornings. My old roommate and her husband had come to visit and he had just purchased a D800 and some professional lenses. He wanted to get out and shoot the bridge. While the women slept we woke up early and drove to the city. I wasn’t even sure if I would take my camera out because the weather forecast didn’t look good. I feared we might even get rained on. I’ve spent way too many mornings at Hawk Hill for it to be the first place I want to stop. At this point I want to find some new spots but Jason had never been to Hawk Hill and we didn’t wake up early enough to make it to one of the other spots. As the sun began to get close to the horizon we were treated to a wonderful surprise: the sky lit up with stunning pinks and oranges! There was a brief burn that was followed by smooth pastels. Knowing the color wouldn’t last long I snapped off a panorama as fast as I could. We kept shooting until the clouds thickened and the color disappeared. Perhaps Jason was my good-luck charm? Now if only Jason had realized he was shooting at ISO1600 the entire time :( Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D ED: 80mm, f/10, 13 sec, ISO 320 7 shots stitched with Autopano Giga
