Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Point

Details

Location	Fort Point Parking Lot (37.81090 N, 122.47658 W)
Date/time	Feb. 2, 2003, 5:59 pm PST (24 minutes after sunset)
Sunset on this date	5:34 pm
Aperture	f/8
Exposure time	15 seconds
ISO rating	100
35 mm lens length	45 mm prime
White balance/film type	Daylight
Filter	none

Comments

You can shoot this photo year-round. You are more likely to get deep blue skies in the winter than in the summer. Warm days can result in a bit of mist under the bridge In most cases, you can work with the mist, as in the photo below.

Rules of composition say to avoid a strong diagonal line (the bridge) intersecting a corner (top left, in this case) of a picture. With that in mind, I still preferred this frame/crop to others I tried for this scene, especially because I wanted to keep the rocks at bottom left. If you want to avoid this intersection of bridge and image corner, you can use a wider-angle lens and then crop the top or bottom of the image, resulting in a wider aspect ratio.

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 at the next stop sign, turn left onto Lincoln Blvd. Follow Lincoln Blvd for .25 miles and then turn left onto Long Avenue, the Fort Point access road. Follow Long Avenue (name changes to Marine Drive) 1/2 mile to its end at the Fort Point parking lot. You can keep the fence out of your photos by moving to the far right (east) side of the parking lot. This areas usually has armed military guards that do not seem to mind your setting up a tripod, an act that in recent years has gotten several Boston photographers in trouble.

Details

Location	Fort Point Parking Lot (37.81090 N, 122.47658 W)
Date/time	Apr. 16, 2005, 8:24 pm PST (37 minutes after sunset)
Sunset on this date	7:47 pm
Aperture	f/13
Exposure time	10 seconds
ISO rating	200
35 mm lens length	65 mm (Canon 28-135 Zoom)
White balance/film type	Daylight
Filter	none

Comments

This combination of subject, location and time of day will produce a great image in almost any weather condition. The weather for the above shot was cold and overcast, with some low fog that occasionally obscured most of the bridge. A solid tripod with no play in its head is essential.

Removal of the lone tree on the hilltop seen beneath the bridge might help the aesthetics of the scene, for those more interested in creating mood than documenting reality.