All posts by Gary Wium

Besides being a photographer, I'm also the guitarist with the rowdy folk fusion group, The Mad Maggies. I was programmer/web developer for Communication Arts magazine for 15 years before going rogue. I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Montréal, Québec in 2013. In 2023, I relocated to Penticton, BC -- better weather.

More ZOOM!

Friday’s holiday traffic spurred me to go coastal. I pulled off Hwy 101 at Mill Valley and headed down the windy Hwy 1. There are LOTS of great views on this section of Hwy 1, but not many turnouts where parking is safe for run and gun photography this time of year. But when I got down the hill I did have a few opportunities.

Here’s the first shot I got (but needed more zoom than the G11 is capable of);

Western Marin coast

This was the scene at the eastern edge of the Bolinas Lagoon:

Western Marin coast

And here’s a scene a little farther north of some seals enjoying the sun in the shallow waters:

Western Marin coast

Canon G11 on the long route home.

Bridge night scene

Heading south on Hwy 101 there’s an exit just before the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge that goes out to the Marin Headlands. Up the steep hill at the first turnout, this is the view of the northern most section of the bridge and work area below at 4:45 AM (looks kind of sci-fi):

Golden Gate Bridge work area 1

Different shot zoomed all the way in:

Golden Gate Bridge work area 2

I have very little time during the wee hours commute for camera amenities. Basically it’s park, shoot, and get back on the road. These shots were hand held with the camera set at ISO 800 and f/5.6. Noise happens.

Canon G11 in action before the crack of dawn.

Color or black and white?

Today, I turned off 19th Ave at Cabrillo and took a few quick shots of St. Ignatius. In this typical city street view, I kind of like the chaos of the foreground elements juxtaposed against the church. Here’s the color rendition:

St Ignatius color

Because of the Trans Am in the foreground I thought it might look interesting in black and white–it certainly looks more SF circa the 1970s:

St Ignatius black and white

Canon G11 on the streets of San Francisco.