I love wide angle lenses. Given this view, the impulse might be to pull the City in (which I did in another shot) and/or get closer to Alcatraz (which I also did). But fully zoomed out the image takes on a whole different perspective–the long view.
Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85 at 15mm. 1/200 second at f/11, ISO 200.
Canon T2i taking the long view.
I stopped at the viewpoint at the northeast end of the Golden Gate Bridge today and happened upon this large crow. Seems we had both taken refuge quite a few yards away from the throng of noisy tourists. The crow was kind enough (or at least felt safe enough) to pose for a couple of photos. This profile shot was the best of the lot.
Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm at 85mm. 1/160 second at f/16, ISO 200.
Canon T2i admiring the crow.
I have a couple of easy to get to spots along the commute that I frequent. This is one of them–the southeast end of the Golden Gate Bridge. If it’s foggy in the City I usually start imagining how things might look by the bridge. I’m not always right, but it’s a good mental exercise. So… there was a thick, bright fog hanging low over the City this afternoon and the bridge looked just like I thought it would. Straight from the camera, here’s the view:
And looking out over the bay from the same spot (more or less), here’s a tweaked shot of a freighter I’d just missed as it passed under the bridge:
Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm.
Bridge shot: 59mm, 1/200 second at f/9, ISO 200.
Freighter shot: 24mm, 1/200 second at f/11, ISO 200.
Canon T2i imagining by the bay.
Here’s a backyard image of Max the wannabe gopher killer. He’s not our cat, but he hangs out in our field. As a hunter, well, he tries. Occasionally, he sneaks into the house and catches some ZZZs in the guest bedroom. Talk about living in the lap of luxury.
Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm at 85mm. 1/125 second at f/5.6, ISO 400.
Canon T2i hanging with Max.
One of the beautiful things about large digital files is the latitude of detail–if the overall exposure is good shadows areas can be brightened and highlights can be darkened in post production. Digital photographers can do this in camera with graduated neutral density filters, but the “trick” is less effective with angles. For this Petaluma River image, in Photoshop, I pulled up the shadow areas and lowered the highlights with the “Shadows and Highlights” image adjustment tool to give it an HDR effect.
Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm at 24mm. 1/160 second at f/11, ISO 200.
Canon T2i rolling on the river.