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• San Francisco

San Francisco

Monterey, California previous

If I were only allowed just one US City to visit with my camera it would be San Francisco. No doubt about it!

San Francisco is one of the world's nicest cities. It is almost European in ways both cultural and architectural, reflecting the ethnic diversity of the peoples who have made it their home. It truly ranks alongside other world capitals, such as Paris and Rome.

Due to the hills it is built on you are guaranteed that, whilst the streets are laid out in straight lines, it does not have the uniformity and visual conformity that other US cities have. And parking is a nightmare!

Distinct areas emerge like separate eco-systems inside the city. You have several city areas to capture the flavor of - Downtown, Chinatown, Japantown, and Fisherman's Wharf.

Then there are the surrounding attractions the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Sausilito, and the Redwoods of Muir Woods. The Napa valley is well worth a visit for the wine alone. Don't drive yourself if you want to enjoy that one! Get one of the many tours available from your hotel.

Boat hulls and reflection on water (upside down)

I always stay in the Fisherman's Wharf area. It's next to Pier 39, one of the photo hotspots, has great restaurants, and a huge Tower records where you can stock up on cheap CD's (well they seem cheap if you are from Europe!). If you have a specialized musical interest like Jazz then you are in heaven because you can get a selection like you can't get anywhere else outside of LA.

Here's a photo tip. Sometimes a more interesting image can be achieved in an unconventional way. " This shot is best shown upside down! It makes you do a visual double take, doesn't it?

A walk around Fisherman's Wharf guarantees great subjects: Trolley cars, Fishing boats, a Submarine, street performers and, in the distance the US's greatest tourist attraction, Alcatraz Island.

But first a visit to Pier 39 is de riguer. Here you will photograph Sea Lions. Lots of them. They invaded the pontoons some years back, the city council protected them and now a whole colony thrives there just out of reach of the public (but close enough to smell them!). They bark, put on threatening displays and generally entertain the crowd hanging over a railing on the pier.

I took a seaplane trip around the bay. This was fun and yielded some excellent aerial photos, particularly of downtown, where you get a sense of scale for the landmark TransAmerica building.

I was particularly lucky to get an aerial shot of a supertanker going under the Golden Gate Bridge. It is just a couple of lines intersecting graphically but it works. I think that the boat being the same color as the bridge makes it special. I could have taken that plane ride a 100 times and not seen a better shot.

Alcatraz island from the air

Alcatraz is a fantastic place to visit. I haven't figured out how to photograph it yet. It's spooky. We've all seen so many movies set there that we feel like we know the place. For instance you suddenly realize you're sitting on the same steps Clint Eastwood sat in the film Escape from Alcatraz!

Prisoners haven't occupied Alcatraz for a long time. It was closed by the Kennedy administration on human rights grounds. There was a brief occupation by American Indians to protest about their rights that lasted ten years but now no one lives on the island except, perhaps, the ghosts of Al Capone and the other famous 50's gangsters who spent time there.

Other landmarks to visit: include the Haight Ashbury sign an area renowned for its role in 50's beatnik and 60's hippie culture. Then there is Lombard Street, the most twisted street in the world, which is actually an ordinary stretch of road some comedian decide to put a zig zag chicane on!

Alamo Square is the ultimate shot of the typical Victorian homes. It is easy to frame it against downtown (again with the TransAmerica building). This shot is a cliché postcard shot so I wanted to do something different with it.

I would like to say that I shot that subject at different times of day on purpose. The truth is that I got stuck on a no turn road and accidentally found myself back there at sunset after having had shot it earlier under a more diffuse and colder light.

Whilst obviously not as old as the European cities (nothing in the US feels old) San Francisco has the maturity of character.

I have been to San Francisco three times, albeit brief stopovers at trade shows, but I still haven't done it justice. That's a good feeling!