Taking Pictures in SF
So apparently I need to start investing in different clothes and equipment if I am going to continue trying to take pictures at sunset in San Francisco. Today I went to the Presidio, which is at the most northwest point of the city. There is quite a large park area in that corner, featuring the Palace of the Legion of Honor, the Veterans Memorial Hospital, and Cliff House. It's an amazing place to take photographs, because looking west is the ocean, with its associated beaches, cliffs, and especially the setting sun, and looking east is the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course picturesque Marin County is just to the north as well, not to mention all the beautiful trees that surround you. So it's quite the interesting area to take pictures.
However, there is absolutely no respite from the wind out there. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, a sweater, and a pea coat, and the wind just cut right through that, especially going down through the top of my coat and just whipping all the heat right out from my clothes. My hands too began to get very cold after a while, making steady pictures a difficult endeavor. Even though it was not a cold day at all, the wind made things very difficult, especially towards sunset. Apparently I need to start wearing windbreakers, scarves, and gloves when I try to take pictures from now on.
I also discovered that the $30 Sunpak monopod that I bought from Best Buy is pretty much useless. The bottom portion pulls out and "clicks" into place (no locking mechanism!). Needless to say, with the EOS-1v plus my 17-40mm f/4L, the bottom leg kept collapsing, and usually just as I applied the pressure required to release the shutter. What's truly annoying is that I could have bought a high-quality Manfrotto-Bogen monopod for only a few dollars more! Oh well, live and learn.
The sunset was truly beautiful today though! I will have pictures posted at my Yahoo! 360 account soon.
However, there is absolutely no respite from the wind out there. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt, a sweater, and a pea coat, and the wind just cut right through that, especially going down through the top of my coat and just whipping all the heat right out from my clothes. My hands too began to get very cold after a while, making steady pictures a difficult endeavor. Even though it was not a cold day at all, the wind made things very difficult, especially towards sunset. Apparently I need to start wearing windbreakers, scarves, and gloves when I try to take pictures from now on.
I also discovered that the $30 Sunpak monopod that I bought from Best Buy is pretty much useless. The bottom portion pulls out and "clicks" into place (no locking mechanism!). Needless to say, with the EOS-1v plus my 17-40mm f/4L, the bottom leg kept collapsing, and usually just as I applied the pressure required to release the shutter. What's truly annoying is that I could have bought a high-quality Manfrotto-Bogen monopod for only a few dollars more! Oh well, live and learn.
The sunset was truly beautiful today though! I will have pictures posted at my Yahoo! 360 account soon.
posted by Chris at 11:52 PM
1 Comments:
It was a gorgeous sunset wasn't it? I got a few really great shots at Lake Elizabeth. I'm hoping the pretty pictures will entice more people to come out and walk with us. Bummer that I didn't end up in the city. I would have liked to there with you.
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