San Francisco Bay Area Photography

On a cool, quiet night, I stopped at the Vista Point off Golden Gate Bridge to take some night shots. It was quite windy with a threat of rain. Had to work quickly to get this shot. I left shutter open for 30 seconds.

I’ve taken a number of city skyline at night. But, I don’t remember ever getting this kind of colors and hues.

“We will never have a culture of our own until we have an architecture of our own. An architecture of our own does not mean something that is ours by the way of our own tastes. It is something that we have knowledge concerning. We will have it only when we know what constitutes a good building and when we know that the good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but is one that makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before that building was built. In Marin County you have one of the most beautiful landscapes I have seen, and I am proud to make the buildings of this County characteristic of the beauty of the County.”

1957, Frank Lloyd Wright.

I never seen a photo of this building from this angle. I used circular polarizer filter and saturated colors.

Here are some pictures of Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, CA. With the PGA Tour just ended with Steve Lowery beating Vijay Singh in the first playoff hole.

I played there a few months ago. Generally, I dislike Robert Trent Jones’ courses - too gimmiky, too many false fronts and mounds - there were few holes that I thought they were questionable. Overall, this course was tolerable.

This course had some special qualities, nonetheless. The course condition was excellent. I’ve played on some nice private courses but none matched the overall consistency of the fairway like at Poppy Hills. It was a joy hitting from the fairway knowing that perfect texture (and consistent from every hole) awaits while you try to compress the ball.

The greens were big for a Northern California course. Multi-tiers were common but the ball rolled true. Putting there was a sheer delight.

I still think palm trees are an oddity in Northern California. No matter how often you see them, they just don’t fit. Aloof and tall they stand when everything else blends with others.

Located on Lake Merced, across from The Olympic Club and San Francisco Golf Club, forming arguably one of two best areas for golf - the Monterey Peninsula has Cypress, Spyglass, Pebble Beach and Spanish Bay.

This course was restored a few years ago and hosted 2005 American Express Championship. On the picture above is where Tiger Woods and John Daly faced approach shot with score tied. It came down to John Daly missing a 3-feet put to force a playoff.

Here are some more images from Harding.

On the East side of 101, I was surprised to see a large number of power towers along the 3rd Avenue. I guess it takes quite a bit to power this Silicon Valley.

Here, strong wind and rapid movement of clouds evokes fitting energy to the subject. The shutter was left open for 15 seconds at f/13.