San Francisco Sunrise-Craig Hudson Photography

Theres something about a San Francisco sunrise. I’ve seen a lot of places, and San Francisco still reins supreme as the most beautiful in the world. Paris is known as the city of lights, but I think San Francisco deserves that title more. Just go to the top of Twin Peaks or drive to Treasure Island at twilight, just before the sunrise, and you’ll understand what I mean. This place is magical, hands down, no argument. I still havent met a person who doesn’t like San Francisco, and if I ever do I will attack viciously their stunning lack of appreciation for everything that makes this damn place so amazing.

Golden Gate Bridge at Twilight, Marin Co, CA

A  few nights ago after shooting my first portrait session in a while, I ventured out to the Marin Headlands to photograph the sunrise over the Golden Gate Bridge. The vistas, usually overcrowded with awestruck tourists and strapping young photographers like myself remained silent and empty, as if the land itself was admiring its own view. With my car parked and Live 105 blasting on the radio I began shooting just as the sun began to rise. And this is how it went.

Golden Gate Bridge from Marin, San Francisco, CA

Its amazing just how many different photographs that you can capture of one place. Granted, It’s pretty hard to take a bad photo when in such a great location, but what I mean to say, is just look at all of the different colors and lighting that one can get and as a result, how many different feelings can come out while still retaining the goddess herself (that is, that big orange mother of a bridge) as the centerpiece of the photograph.

After shooting from the same location for around 20 minutes I ventured down the hill a tad, threw on my 20mm and shot a few rounds of shots as the colors in the sky became evermore vibrant and bright. But even with all that awesome blue, the Golden caste of the bridge still stole the show.

Golden Gate Bridge at Sunrise, Marin Headlands.

 Almost as important as the Golden Gate Bridge, the beautiful landscape I happened to be standing around on (that is, the Marin Headlands) was beautiful in the morning twilight. Its sandy red cliffs stand massive over the Golden Gates waters, snaking all the way from Sausalito and Tiburon to Stinson Beach and Bodega Bay. If you havent taken a trip to the Marin Headlands, do yourself a favor and make your life better by doing so. It will probably add ten years to your lifespan (and if your walking it will probably cause you to lose 10 years)

Venturing further up the roads the sun’s light became evermore present over the horizon. The darkness was fading fast, but the cities lights still held on to their own splendor before finally succumbing to the day.

Fun Fact: The Golden Gate Bridge is not named after its color, and is in fact named so because of the body of water that it towers over. The Golden Gate was the body of water that thousands of boats would come and go through during the Gold Rush period of the lat 1840′s and 50′s, and so this area became known as the Golden Gate. What a shocker huh?

Check back again soon for photographs taken along the Marin Coastline and blue hour along famous Big Sur.

Road Trip: Memphis, TN

As i type this from the Hillsboro West End neighborhood in Nashville, its hard to believe that it has not even been a week since i left DC for this journey. Already I have seen and experienced the best of Atlanta, Birmingham and Memphis. Nashville holds so much promise, and I still have yet to take on Chicago, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh! But enough rambling, lets get to business.

Beale St

Beale St is one of Downtown Memphis’s best attractions. Designated as the “Home of the Blues” by an act of Congress in the 1970s, it ironically sat in total disrepair until the 1980′s when efforts to revitalize it were made by the city. Today, Beale St is a major tourist attraction that glows bright after dark with with nearly 2 miles of bars, restaurants and blues clubs. However, the streets history goes back all the way to the 1840′s. Many of the businesses were owned by African Americans, making it the designated area for traveling black musicians and groups. Heres a tidbit from Wikipedia!-” From the 1920s to the 1940s, Louis Armstrong,Muddy Waters, Albert King, Memphis Minnie, B. B. King, Rufus Thomas, Rosco Gordon and other blues and jazz legends played on Beale Street and helped develop the style known as Memphis Blues.”

Beale St

Beale St

West of Beale St lies Tom Lee Park, which offers its visitors panoramic views of the mighty Mississippi River. Across the river lies the state of Arkansas

Night on the Mississippi

The Tennessee/Arkansas Bridge over the Mississippi

The Peabody is a luxury hotel in downtown Memphis. The original was built in the early 1870′s and had such patrons as Confederate President Jefferson Davis. It is also famous for the “Peabody Ducks” that live in their own building on the rooftop. It is a custom for the ducks to march to the lobby daily. just look at that lobby!

Peabody Hotel

Peabody Rooftop

I must confess i spent most of the daytime hours in Memphis lounging in my host’s backyard by the pool, re-reading Dickens “Great Expectations” on my Kindle and eating Southern Food while enjoying the springtime with the bumblebees and mosquito hawks.

My place in Midtown/University Memphis

Breakfast at Bryant

The Lorraine Hotel is notoriously known as the site of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination in April 1968. the outside facade, a number of rooms and even the Lorraine Hotel sign are now a part of the National Civil Rights Museum.

The Lorraine Motel

The Pyramid Arena was built in 1991 as a stadium to house the University of Memphis’s men’s basketball team and later the the Memphis Grizzlies. However, poor construction and mismanagement of the facility led to both teams leaving the structure when the FedEx Forum was completed in 2004. Called the “Tomb of Doom” by some, it has been unused for some time. The Pyramid’s design drew on the city of Memphis’s namesake, the Egyptian city of Memphis.

Morning Mississippi

Megabus for the most part operates with double decker buses, and if you are lucky enough to sit at the front, you are awarded an amazing large window at the front, never mind the suicidal bugs that perpetually splatter on the windshield every so often.

On the Road…

Road Trip: Atlanta, GA to Birmingham, AL

While I am rolling on through the rolling wooded landscape of Mississippi I thought it would be good to update my blog. A good amount has happened in the last couple of days, and to think I only left DC 4 days ago!

Piedmont Park

When I got to Atlanta I expected to be overwhelmed with humidity and heat. This actually didn’t happen. In fact the weather was ten times better than DC. And while DC was only starting to come out of winter, spring was already in full swing here. The weather was perpetually cloudy and at times it looked like a storm was approaching, but the rain never threatened more than a drizzle and was over almost as quick as it began. The main streets of downtown were sparsely attended with only the occasional runner or dog walker. At Piedmont park the lake whose reflections of downtown shimmered stood still. The ducks that inhabited Piedmont Park were relentless in their pursuit to grab food from me that I didn’t have, and it was there that I learned the joys of instagram from a fellow photographer.

Downtown from North St

Atlanta is a city in a forest. If you were to walk in any given direction away from downtown you would almost immediately find yourself overwhelmed in spring blossoms and green. Atlanta is also a very cosmopolitan city, being the only city in the United States to ever be completely destroyed by war (During the Civil War, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman led a relentless campaign of total warfare through the South in 1864, culminating in the ordering of Atlanta to be burned to the ground following the city’s surrender after resisting a 4 month long siege)

The Atlanta is skyline is partitioned into three main parts; Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead. Peachtree St serves as the main thoroughfare of all of these areas,, which is lined with theaters, post modernist structures and some of the oldest skyscrapers in the South.  East of Atlanta is the Inman Park neighborhood where I stayed, just off of Highland Ave.  If you followed Highland South and took a left onto Moreland you would venture into the Little 5 Points, Atlanta’s answer to Haight Ashbury. Trendy shops, cool venues and graffiti streaked walls with a forest backdrop are what make up this neighborhood.

On the West Side of downtown is the Connector, large highways crisscrossing here and there with thousands of cars hurtling down them. The overpasses of North Ave and 17^th where these photos were taken are only a few that offer spectacular views. Just Northeast of 17^th is the Savannah College parking lot, which sits on a hill. Get to the top, and you’ll be afforded one of the best views of the mid/downtown skylines Atlanta has to offer.

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On the Railroad Tracks of Birmingham, AL

Downtown Birmingham

South End

Birmingham is in many ways a city that is a shadow of its former self. Once called the “Magic City” for its rapid growth and prosperity in the coal, iron and steel industries that stretched from its inception after the Civil War into the mid 20^th Century, it now struggles to redefine itself in an era where raw industry is no longer a major part of the American Dream. This in combination with the migration of the inner-city population to the suburbs has the city of Birmingham struggling to regain the prestige that it once had. Large stores and skyscrapers in downtown remain unused. On the weekends, the city is almost totally deserted. Venues and theaters that were at the heart of the city’s lifestyle now stand revitalized and yet silent on the streets. Many structures have been converted into lofts and other commercial institutions while law and architecture firms make up the rest of the downtown landscape.

However, while the downtown area of Birmingham continues to struggle economically, other parts of the area are thriving. Just over the hills of the city, areas such as the 5 points offer many great restaurants and venues. Just outside of walking distance from downtown, many factories and parking lots have been replaced with large green parks and other projects for the community. There is a large feeling of optimism among Birminghams citizens who look towards the future.

Birmingham from The Vulcan

On top of one of Birmingham’s many hills stands tall the statue of Vulcan, the Roman God of fire and forge. Vulcan stands as the largest cast iron statue in the world, and was created for the 1904 St.Louis Worlds Fair. Even though there were offers to purchase Vulcan from San Francisco and St.Louis after the fair, the statue was brought back to Birmingham, where it now stands shining atop Red Mountain. For 6 dollars you can climb (or use the elevator) to go to the top of the pedestal that Vulcan stands atop of, where views of Birmingham, Homewood and thousands of trees can be seen for miles.

16th St Baptist Church

Birmingham is also famous for its tumultuous and pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. Since its inception, Birmingham was dominated by racism and segregation. Every aspect of African American life was controlled under Jim Crow law, from where one could have a business and home to where one could eat, have entertainment or sit on transportation . For any person to violate or challenge any aspect of segregation meant to bring upon oneself harassment, physical assault and for many, murder by lynching and bombing. It was in the 1950′s that the Civil Rights Movement came to a head, starting with the Landmark Brown vs Board of Education ruling by the Supreme Court in 1954 that ruled separation of blacks from whites in schooling was unconstitutional, beginning a rollback of segregationist laws. However, even with the court ruling, by the early 1960′s less than 7% of black students in Alabama were in integrated schools. This is but one example as to why it was necessary for African Americans to take matters into their own hands in combination of petitioning the federal government, the establishment of organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and above all, protest.

While many actions were taken by the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, headed by Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth in the fight against segregation, none is more well known than the protests of April 1963 in coordination with the SCLC and its president, Martin Luther King Jr. It was during these series of protests that images of young protesters being attacked by police dogs and high-pressured fire hoses galvanized the country and moved public opinion away from such notorious segregationists as Eugene “Bull” Connor and Alabama Governor George Wallace. It was also during these protests that King was arrested along with Shuttlesworth and others, and after reading an op-ed in the paper by white clergy criticizing the protests wrote a response letter that is known today as the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. Just before the series of protests, speeches were given at the 16th St. Baptist Church, which for years had served as a rallying point for activists for organization and a starting point for direct action. It was also at 16th St. Baptist Church that months later, a bomb would explode that would injure many and claim the lives of 4 young girls, each no older than 14. This to many was seen as a turning point in the fight for civil rights. As a response to such an atrocious act, King wired a telegram to Governor Wallace that read, “The blood of our 4 little children is on your hands”

Road Trip: From DC to Maine

Inner City Harbor. Baltimore, MD

I’m writing this on the way back to DC from Syracuse.  Its been a wild ride the past 3 days. This road trip was as last minute as one could get. An offer, a few choices of cities to hit, 150 dollars later and we were on our way to the great New England region. As the sun was going down we passed through Baltimore, the Inner City Harbor exit ½ mile away.  We weren’t planning to stop but didn’t need much convincing to check it out. DJ went off on his own while I set up the camera. We weren’t there any longer than 20 min, but standing there, gazing at the deep blues of the Harbor at happy hour made me remember why I love landscape photography so much.  A quick drive through downtown and a gas fillup, and we were back on the road to New Jersey…

Atlantic City, NJ

Night over the Atlantic Ocean

We drove into Atlantic City around 10pm. This little Vegas on a strip of islands next to the Atlantic felt more like a depressing Reno during a dry winter. DJ went off to play some Roulette at the Atlantic Hotel while I walked down the avenues. There wasn’t much to see, nothing you wouldn’t see in Vegas anyway. A lot of 24 hour convenient stores and sad looking people who stumbled out of the casinos in an even stream, looking like they had just lost their last bit of money before they could make the big payoff.  The boardwalk that Atlantic City is so famous for stretched all the way to the end of the city. The hotels and casinos shined bright in contrast to the darkness over the Atlantic. Every 10 seconds or so lightning flashed in the distance. After stopping to get a sandwich from one of the convenient stores whose semi bland taste was helped my DJ’s bottle of hot sauce he acquired in Annapolis, we were on the road again. It was already 1AM.

New Haven Dock. CN

The highway tolls were killing our meager funds, so we hit the back roads. We drove over the George Washington Bridge in New York, which in my opinion has one of the best views on the East Coast. Driving through farms, forests and bumpy roads, we made it into the city limits of New Haven Connecticut just as the sun was rising before we passed out on a residential block.

New Haven is what Georgetown University would look like if you took the campus and made it its own city. Yale runs the show here, and not much else. We drove down to the tip of the city where stone buildings gave way to old houses and even older wooden docks on the still water. East Haven could be seen in the distance. The air was warm and seashells lined the shoreline. We stayed a while longer before making our way further North

In Providence, RI

Ohhhh Yes.

After getting into Providence we went for some food in one of the city’s main squares (peppered sausages ftw) and walked around. Providence is a pretty gorgeous place, filled with nice looking buildings and an array of different people. We wanted to get to Portland before dark so we didn’t stay long.

South Portland, ME

Portland from the Shoreline, ME

After driving through a fog filled Boston and a very wet New Hampshire we made it through the Maine border and got to Portland just after dark. Thanks to my amazing couchsurfing organizing skills, we had absolutely no place to stay. The temperature had dropped to a pleasant 30 degrees with wind off of the coast, and thanks to my even more amazing packing skills, had no actual jacket to help. Downtown Portland was beautiful, but I really wanted to get some cool shots of the city from the other side of the water in South Portland. This idea didn’t really pan it as well as I wanted, so I’ll come back later

After a short stint in a snowy Wal-Mart parking lot to fix a broken taillight we drove through the night into New Hampshire. The fog, the darkness and cold wore down on us as our taking turns driving became more and more frequent. The roads curved and circled endlessly, a constant 55 with hours left to go. We made it into Vermont just after the sun had risen.

On Highway #9. Past Wilmington, VT

On Highway #9-#2

Wilmington, VT

Mmmm…Doughnuts

The only other place in the world that smells like Yosemite, Vermont was the closest thing I have seen to the Sierra Nevada on the East Coast. Towering hills filled with pine trees stretched across the horizon as we drove into the low valleys. Small cabin style shops sprinkled the road, and we stopped at one that beckoned to us with a simple sign that read “fresh apple spiced doughnuts and coffee” 2 Apple spiced doughnuts, 2 blueberry muffins, one coffee and apple cider. The cost? $5.50.

This may have been one of the best moments of the entire trip.

Driving through the early morning and past Wilmington we broke through the morning mist and into the sunlight. Driving on the crests of the mountains we could see for miles the trees that adorned the mountainsides and the scattered patches of snow that stubbornly held on. For nearly an hour we zigzagged down the ridge and into upstate New York.

Albany, NY

After DJ dropped me off at the Amtrack station in Albany I crossed the bridge over the Hudson into Downtown. Albany is filled with grand art deco architecture, but one gets the feeling that its heydays have long passed. I was soon picked up by Jin and Meagan, and away we went on the highway to Syracuse.

Green Lakes, Fayetteville NY

30th St Station & the Sesquehana. Philadelphia, PA

After staying the night in Syracuse, Jin & Meagan drove me to the downtown station to catch my bus. I rode into Philadelphia and snapped a few photos for an hour before getting on one last bus into Washington.

Photoshop Lesson:How to Make a Panoramic

     A Special Thanks to Photographer Stephen Johnson On opening my eyes to panoramic photography when i was just starting out. Check out his gallery at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica or see his work @ http://www.sjphoto.com

• Panoramics. They are awesome, but how do you make them? Very simply actually.

      First, set up the shot: What you need is a camera, preferably  with a mid to wide angle lens (anywhere between 10-50mm). However there is no reason why you shouldn’t  shoot panoramics with telephoto lenses as well. secondly you will need a tripod (depending on if you are doing this in a low lit situation) or just a steady hand. Your going to need to take multiple shots in a line, straight across, turning your body or your tripod in a line that photoshop will be able to work with. If your photos do not stay in a line, then photoshop will clip and add certain parts to the panoramic that you may not want, and in order to save the photo you might have to do some gnarly cropping that severely damages the overall photo that you had in mind.

    So, take as many shots of a subject that you want to capture in a panoramic. With each shot you take, make sure there is about 40% of your last photo in the second photo. You want photoshop to have as much material as possible to stitch together. Because the way photoshop makes a panoramic is that it automatically detects intersecting lines and spaces in the photos that you select and it overlaps and connects them. If there is a large gap between your photos then photoshop will have nothing to work with and it wont be able to make a panoramic. Now notice how much of the last photo that i have in each of these shots. Each photo has a good amount of the photo before it so it will make photoshop’s job of stitching together photos much easier.

Now assuming you have taken your shots, and each photo has 40% or more of the material that was in the shot before it, youll be ready to go through the process of making your panoramic. 

Open up bridge and select your files. You may want to do some of your editing right now, either in Camera raw or opening them up in photoshop. I choose Raw because it allows me the freedom to make non-destructive edits (edits that aren’t permanently saved to the photo, unlike photoshop) However if you really want to edit your photos in photoshop then i suggest waiting until you have your panoramic to work on. This is what i do with a good amount of my photos that have tricky lighting such as my night photos. 

Once you have done whatever edits to the photos you like and they are selected in bridge, click on the “tools” box in the upper toolbar. One of the options visible will be “photomerge” go ahead and click on it.

Once you have clicked “photomerge” photoshop will open up with a box. If you have already highlighted in bridge the photos you want to make a panoramic of, simply click the “open selected files” on the right side of the box. Also check the vignetter removal and geographic distortion removal boxes. You will see on the left side a number of different panoramic options. Feel free to play with those later on, but for now click on spherical. Once you have done these few things, click done. And photoshop will take care of the rest

After a minute or so, photoshop will have created the panoramic. Once this is done, move your mouse to the “layer” box in the upper toolbar, move down the list of options and hit “merge visible”. Whatever crackly lines you saw initially will now disappear. You will most likely need to crop some of your photo, as it is damn near impossible to get a perfect straight line panoramic. Probably some parts of your shot will be bulging out while other parts are clipped in. This is something that takes practice getting over, and with time you’ll find these things easier to less of a hassle to deal with.

Do whatever other edits you would like to do in photoshop (i use a mix of curves, white balance and other basic tools) and then save it in PSD format, and…

finished!

Now, it goes without saying that there are probably a few holes and missing details in this tutorial. If any of you have problems, please feel free to message me through my contact box about any issues you may be having. The message goes straight to my email and i’ll get back to you quickly.

Places to Take Photos in San Francisco, Vol 1

Places to take photos in San Francisco-the first post in my ongoing series of places to take photos. While this series is geared towards people who like taking pictures, its also great for people who are just looking for new places to check out in the city they love.

San Francisco is easily one of the most photographed cities in the world. There are so many beautiful and unique places inside and just outside of this city that you would be very hard pressed even as a local to visit them all. These are just a few of my favorite places, places that I would revisit again and again when in the city. to me, one of the greatest pleasures in the world is sharing places that I have discovered with others. When I was in high school I’d love to take my friends to great views, cafes and lesser known places in the Bay Area. While I’m 3000 miles away now, I can still share these places with all of you. My hope is that you will be inspired enough to go check out one of these places for yourself, and maybe bring a friend! or girl/boyfriend/grandparents etc, it all works. Lets get started.

CORONA HEIGHTS-UPPER TERRACE,  Roosevelt Ave & Museum Way, 1 Fairbanks Street, San Francisco, California 94114

Corona Heights at night, San Francisco, CA

Gearing up for some photos

Corona Heights-one of my favorite places to get inspired is this little known hill located in the upper terrace residential area. I found it one day by getting off of the bus at a wrong stop. I would easily say that it is the best view of the city for a number of reasons. After ascending the wooden steps of the large hill, the view, a sweeping panorama of the city and the Bay, comes at you all at once. Even though I’ve been there many times, it always takes my breath away (that, and the walk up the hill)  not very many people know of this place, so save a few other people who are most likely locals themselves, you’ll be the only one there. So grab a book or a sandwich and blanket, and check it out!

GRAND HYATT, UNION SQUARE, TOP FLOOR. 345 Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA

Downtown San Francisco from the Grand Hyatt

The Grand Hyatt was one of the first top floor views I ever saw of San Francisco and still remains one of the best. I’m not sure how much they have upped their security since I was there, but I never had a problem. Simply walk into the building and hit the top floor. Getting out of the elevator you’ll see a restaurant with a piano up front, just go to the right as soon as you walk down the couple of steps (if your severely directionally impaired, that means towards the big windows and pay phones) and enter the door to your right. (If there happens to be someone by the door, just divert into the bathroom for a moment or two, and then come back out. I used to do that, worked every time) You will be led to a room with large windows from which you will see views such as these. Even cooler-walk through the next pair of doors and you will be greeted by another set of windows looking towards the south, on a clear day you can see the buildings of downtown San Jose, pretty cool right? I love this place, I hope you will too.

THE EMBARCADERO-McCovey Cove, PIER 7 & 14

Looking towards the Bay Bridge, McCovey Cove

Pier 7, San Francisco, CA

Pier 14, San Francisco, CA

I love the Embarcadero. It’s funny to think that most of it was dominated by a multi story freeway until the 90s (oh you didn’t know that??)

The Horror……………Care of spur.org

These three places are go to areas for me whenever I’m around the Embarcadero. My suggestion, come here either at dawn or sunset, the colors on the water are phenomenal.

YERBA BUENA ISLAND, THE BIG ROCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BAY NEXT TO TREASURE ISLAND

The view from the top of Yerba Buena Island

Looking towards Oakland from the top of Yerba Buena Island

Looking toward the Bay Bridge from the top of Yerba Buena Island

NO! We aren’t talking about the flat piece of artificial island known as Treasure Island (Circa 1939/40) were talking about the big rock that the Bay Bridge goes through. Thats where we are headed. You must get to the top! The three photos above were all taken from the top, so you known its good. Here is how you get here:Take the exit as though you were going to Treasure Island. Once you have exited off of the bridge, take the first right. It is located just before you reach the Treasure Island Parking Lot. It comes up quickly so look for it. The name of the street is Macalla Road. Drive up this street until you are to take a horseshoe like turn onto Yerba Buena Drive. once on it, take the second left (in other words, dont take a left on to Forest, take a left on the road after it) Continue on the road until you reach the top. You will know you are there when you see the Old Coast Guard Tower.

these aren’t the droids we are looking for. But this is the tower we are looking for.

SUTRO HEIGHTS PARK, Point Lobos, San Francisco, CA 94121

Moonlight on Ocean Beach from Sutro Heights.

Located just above the Cliff House, Sutro Heights is a beautiful park that overlooks Ocean Beach. It is the former estate of San Francisco Mayor Adolph Sutro ( Also named for the mayor, Sutro Tower) If you are ever looking for a place to host some outdoorsy event, then this is the place. Its also pretty gorgeous at night. I would watch out for bums though, quite a few live in the groves from what I remember.

Well, thats what I got for now. There is plenty more to come, and yes, of San Francisco too. Hope you have enjoyed this list!  And please, if you have any suggestions yourself, send them my way! I would be glad to check them out as soon as I am back in the area. Questions or feedback is great too.

Cliffs of Big Sur, CA

For all the time I had lived in California, I never took a trip down to photograph Big Sur until this. The weather was tolerable at best, but the rain and clouds worked to good effect later on as the sun went down over the Horizon and everything became a world of blue. Joining me on this trip was my good friend Jake, who shoots rad photos and is always down for adventures like this. Our way down South was filled with rain, good music and cigarette smoke, basically, how every damn good photo adventure should start. Well, we got there, put out our last Spirits and started shooting. The views were intense to say the least, and as it started to get dark we decided to park the car on the side of the road and walk over some fields to reach the cliffs edge. It was dark at this point and only had the flashlights on our phones. It was a hell of a sight to be perched at the top of those rocks, on one side the Pacific’s waves crashing below and in back as well as in front of us, awesome views of those rocky cliffs that Big Sur is so well known for. Definitely coming back to shoot again once I am back in the Bay.

20mm, 2 seconds at f/22, ISO 100. 5 shots stitched together in photoshop

35mm, 8 seconds at f/22, ISO 100. 5 shots stitched together in photoshop

Jake smokes a cig on top of some cliffs as blue hour approaches. Big Sur, CA

35mm, 30 seconds at f/4.5 ISO 400. Big Sur at Blue Hour, CA

Sitting on top of some boulders at the cliffs edge. Big Sur, CA

20mm, 30 seconds at f/2.8 2500 ISO.

San Francisco Bay Bridge, CA

Seeing the San Francisco Bay Bridge from Treasure Island is one of my favorite views to visit whenever I am in the Bay Area. However, it also possesses some great history. Treasure Island is in fact a man made island that was created for the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939-40, a worlds fair that celebrated the opening of San Francisco’s two famous bridges, the Bay Bridge in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937. It is connected by an isthmus to Yerba Buena Island, a very steep and shrub filled rock that offers stunning views of both Oakland and San Francisco for any person bold enough to traverse its steep hillsides.

Joining me this time was my good friend and fellow photographer Jake, and after parking near the old coast guard station at the top of the island we made ur way down through forests and shrub filled paths to our destination. I have seen this view countless times from other photographs and have always wanted to capture such a view of the bridge and the bay myself. I’m very glad to say that I am pretty satisfied with what I was able to come away with.

Sunset from Yerba Buena Island

Jake looking like the fearless photog he is

Beginning of Blue Hour on Yerba Buena Island

San Francisco at Blue Hour

While many photos have been taken from Yerba Buena Island, I have seen very few photographs of the island itself. This puzzles me, for Yerba Buena is a very beautiful place. I think Yerba Buena almost deserves the name Treasure Island more than its actual counter-part does. Far below us the green tinted bay water splashes agains the rocky shorelines, its sound barely audible over the roar of the endless number of cars on top of the bridge. And looking South towards San Jose the water takes on the same dark blues of the sky, and the  lights of planes coming up and down from SFO mingle with the many stars that burn brighter and brighter as the night replaces twilight. And standing amidst all of this blue is the pure nature of Yerba Buena Island, its entire landscape covered in wildflowers, eucalyptus trees and tall grass.

I swear that this photo of me is not staged.

Road Trip: Cincinnati: The Queen City

Cincinnati was an amazing city, and I’m so happy that I decided to go there (the other choices were Columbus, Cleveland and Detroit) Situated right on the banks of the Ohio River, this city is just full of history. From possessing one of the largest historical city sections in the United States (Over the Rhine, a large section of Cinci that was built by many German and Italian Immigrants between the 1850′s and early 1900′s dwarfs other historical areas such as the North End in Boston in both size and scope) to its beautiful parks and hills that grant panoramic views of the city and the Kentucky landscape across the Ohio. I had a fantastic time with my Couchsurfing host Mintao, and I look forward to coming back and exploring even more of this great city.

Cincinnati from Across the Ohio River, Convington, KT

Cincinnati from Covington, KT

The view from the top of the Carew Tower, 2nd tallest building in Cinci and built in 1931, gives stunning views of Cinci and the surrounding green countryside.

The Ohio River from Mt. Adams

A typical street in the Over The Rhine neighborhood.

Findlay Market is one of the oldest (and only) remaining public markets in Cinci. Located in the heart of Over The Rhine, this market is full of good food, good prices and good people. Just good all around.

At Twin Lakes in Eden Park

Road Trip: Indianapolis before the sunrise.

While I am currently in Cincinnati, I thought that I would make a mini post on my stop in Indianapolis. I got there around 3:30 am with nothing to do until my bus left at 11:30. So like most other issues and problems in my life, I shot my way through it (photographically speaking).  For these first two shots (Believe it or not) the sky is not photoshopped aside from my standard curves and luminosity edits. The sky just seriously looked like this in a long exposure as the sun began to rise on the far side of the horizon. If this is what the sky typically looks like before a sunrise, i’ve definitely been missing out.

Veterans Memorial Park. The World War I memorial is in background

Looking towards the Memorial Fountain from the north side of Memorial Park

The Vietnam Memorial in downtown Indianapolis. The memorial contains excerpts from letters that young soldiers sent to their parents before they were killed in action. The first shades of sunrise show themselves in the background.

The Scottish Rite Cathedral at sunrise. The Cathedral was built in 1929 and is owned by the Scottish Right, an affiliate body of Freemasonry. According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, the Cathedral was built with all dimensions being divisible by three (reflecting the three degrees in freemasonry) and many being divisible by 33 (reflecting how many degrees and freemason may achieve)

Earlier in the morning I had a walk around Monument Square and Perdue University. The Indiana Central Canal (pictured below) was intended to connect the Wabash and Erie Canal with the Ohio River during the early 1800′s when trading by river was in great popularity. Economic difficulties stopped its construction by 1839. There are three different pieces of the canal, which was originally intended to be nearly 300 miles. The smallest piece, the Indianapolis section, is about 8 miles long. The Canal is now a part of Snake River State Park in Indianapolis.

Chicago Lake Shore Drive

Chicago Lake Shore Drive Photos-The sand has reclaimed large amounts of the beach as it lies altogether abandoned to the elements until warmer weather brings back the tourists. Lake Michigan’s shimmering water is subdued by the clouds overhead. The lake is a beautiful color of teal green, like an over chlorinated swimming pool on a cruise ship. Its waters rise and splash angrily against the concrete walkway, making puddles that hold reflections of the downtown landscape. After making a run to Starbucks to grab a white mocha (free because the cashiers computer wasn’t working, winning) I got back just after the sun had gone down. I waited awhile and continued to snap photos until the colors of happy hour had drained from the sky to be filled with darkness.

Chicago from the Beaches

Approaching blue hour near Lakeshore Drive

Looking North toward Lincoln Park

In the heart of blue hour on Lake Michigan

Reflections of Chicago

The Chicago river is made up of a series of canals and branches that run through Chicago. The river runs through the heart of downtown (aka the “Loop”), creating a unique landscape that also makes for great pictures.

On the South Branch of the river. The Merchandise Mart is to the left.

The South Branch with the Willis (Sears Tower) in background

The Chicago Vietnam Veterans Memorial with the Wrigley building in background

The Wrigley building and Chicago River. The Tribune building at right

Rainbow River

Under the CTA Rail. The majority of the rail lines are above ground, giving the rider a sense of flying over rooftops

The famous Chicago Theater. Built in 1921, the theater now serves as a performing arts venue.

Tonight I will be returning to the Canal and a few other places before leaving for Indianapolis. From there I will be onward to Cincinnati!