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A tripod will allow you to use an aperture small enough to get foreground detail (rocks and sand) in focus. Use a full-size tripod and bury its legs a few inches into the sand to keep it still; the sand on the surface is in constant motion even though it appears solid.

Standard calculations for depth of field indicate a hyperfocal distance of about forty feet for a 50 mm lens at f/8, and a near depth limit of twenty feet. That suggests I should have stopped down a bit more for the above photo, especially since my camera/lens combination gave me no accurate means of focusing at the hyperfocal distance. At f/16 I could have focused on the bridge, and still had the same near depth limit of twenty feet. I am always hesitant to shoot scenics at minimum aperture, since lens physics dictates a reduction of sharpness due to diffraction with very small apertures. Bracketing apertures is a good option in this type of situation. If the surf is more active than it was in the above shot, you'll have the option of including some braking waves in the nearground.

The color of the bridge as seen from Baker Beach is most intense about fifteen to thirty minutes before sundown. If the weather is unusually clear, you can use a telephoto lens and take a similar photo from the southern (easy access) part of Baker Beach. However, haze resulting from wind whipping sea water into the air is almost always present. So shots from southern Baker Beach tend to lose impact because they lack contrast and the saturation of bridge color ("International Orange" for you trivia fans) that occurs near sundown.

If you hang around until the sun has gone down on a clear evening, you can experiment with a much moodier version of this scene, like that in the shot below. A 15 second exposure on the waves produces a dreamy effect. Be aware that after sunset the steep trails up to Langdon Court can be pitch black and dangerous.

Access

There are two ways to get to this part of Baker Beach, both of which involve some difficulty. The shortest route involves traversing one of three trails down the very steep slope from either the Langdon Court or Battery Crosby parking lots. Trail conditions vary wildly from year to year. All of them are dangerous after rains. A safer approach is to walk .8 miles along the beach from the Baker Beach parking lot near Battery Chamberlain. Even this route involves climbing around or over rocks in areas where the cliffs reach the ocean. The northern part of Baker Beach is a well known nudist area.

Langdon Court Access

From San Francisco, take the last San Francisco northbound exit off Highway 101, just before the bridge. The exit sign reads "Golden Gate National Recreation Area View Area". At the stop sign turn right (Vista Access Road) and then in 150 feet another right at the next stop sign, Lincoln Blvd. Follow Lincoln Blvd for .26 miles (past the stop sign at Merchant Road) and turn right on Langdon Court. Follow Langdon Ct. through the paved parking lot and then around the left side of the old military structure to a gravel parking lot. A trail leads from the southwest corner of the parking lot and forks in several places. At the major fork in the trail, about 1/3 of the way down the left route is more gradual and safer (although this is not an endorsement of the route - you are warned). If you use one of these trails, be sure to notice where it intersects the beach. The trails are difficult to spot from the beach, especially after dark.

Battery Chamberlain Access

From San Francisco, take the last San Francisco northbound exit off Highway 101, just before the bridge. The exit sign reads "Golden Gate National Recreation Area View Area". At the stop sign turn right (Vista Access Road) and then in 150 feet another right at the next stop sign, Lincoln Blvd. Follow Lincoln Blvd for 1.1 miles and turn right on Bowley St. Follow Bowley 0.2 miles and then turn right on Gibson Rd. Several parking lots are at the end of Gibson Rd. The walk north along the beach is interrupted by some rocks that you'll need to climb over, or around if the tide is low.

Golden Gate Bridge from Trail above Baker Beach

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Golden Gate Bridge from Trail above Baker Beach

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The vantage point for this photo is halfway up a steep trail from the north end of Baker Beach to Langdon Court. It has a nice balance of wave activity (which can't really be seen in photo from Langdon Court) and detail of the bluffs (which you miss in shots from the beach). The use of Fuji Provia film and possibly atmospheric conditions resulted in too much magenta in the sky for my taste. This could be removed by Photoshop or color correction during printing.