Going to California
I‘m heading off to San Francisco next week for a business trip. It’s been ten years since I was last in town and I didn’t have a camera with me on that trip (also for business). This time, I’m hoping to steal a few hours to make some shots around town. I’ll be honest, I’m going for some of the cliche shots that most everyone else has made. There may be a million photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, but none of them are mine.
Coming into a strange town and not knowing where things are can sometimes make it difficult to find the great shots. Fortunately, I have an advantage for this trip. Thomas Hawk wrote a blog post about his Top 10 Places for Photography in San Francisco. Complete with sample images from his Flickr and Zooomr pages, it’s an illustrated guide to some excellent scenic photography for the San Francisco area.
Honestly, I’m not going to have much time to shoot. I have about a half a day when I arrive and then the evening after work before I depart the next day. There’s no way to truly do all of the city justice on such a short trip. Using Hawk’s post and photos as a guide, I narrowed down my selections and marked them on a Google Map.
Even these selections may turn out to be more than I can fit into such a short space of time, but at least I’ll have some points of reference. Using the map also helps me determine which sites are close enough together that I can fit in a few spots in a relatively short location space.
Close together or not, there are some shots that I’m reasonably determined to get – views of the Golden Gate Bridge, from Twin Peaks, the seal rocks by Sutro Baths, and the catwalk view from the Mandarin Oriental.
This really demonstrates the power of social networks and sharing. Thomas wrote this excellent guide to help answer folks who typically e-mail him for tips about where to shoot in San Francisco. He and others shared some outstanding photos of San Francisco and the surrounding area on Flickr & Zooomr that are easily searchable. Google Maps gives me a tool to pinpoint my own interests and then add it to my blog to share with others. The tools work fine separately, but the real power comes from combination and sharing. When I get back, I’ll share my shots and maybe it’ll help someone else decide how to approach their photos in San Francisco. Maybe it’ll show them what they don’t want to do. Either way, this is pretty cool. My trip will turn out better because of the social technology and sharing of people I’ve never met.