Suggest interesting spots in San Fran for photography

thatsright

Diamond Member
May 1, 2001
3,004
3
81
Hi Guys,

Go to San Francisco in about two weeks and would like to get an idea of places in the city to do some great walk around photography. Of course I will probably check out the bridge and Golden Gate Park, but what else??

I?m trying to avoid the ?Tourist Death Traps.? You know, pictures of the cable cars, etc. Been there, done that. You?ve seen those pics on a billion postcards. What am I looking for you ask? I love urban color and great contrasts, architecture. Abstract images and simple arraignments.

Maybe a cultural event that is happening on June 22nd? Thinking of going on down to Chinatown which is a bit of a cliché perhaps, but great colors and people shots.

Anyone have an idea. FWIW, I will have the super wide-angle Nikon 12-24 and super sharp 70-200mm VR lens.
 

E equals MC2

Banned
Apr 16, 2006
2,676
1
0
Do the typical hill looking into golden gate bridge.

Seriously. Look up some popular tourist sites, go there and let your imagination fly.

My pics from Europe using my DSC-V1

I just took my trusty hand-held and had fun.

Also for most landscapes & sight photos, contrary to popular relief, you need telephoto rather than wide angle. The DSC-v1 above is 4x optical zoom, an effective range of 35-140mm. Most of the shots composed above is taken at around 105-140mm (3-4x zoom).

With wide angle, you'll end up capturing most of ground right before you unless you get real close to some kind of foreground.

<- a proud owner of Xti + tammy 17-50mm f2.8 + canon 85mm f1.8
 

potato28

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
8,964
0
0
Originally posted by: E equals MC2
Do the typical hill looking into golden gate bridge.

Seriously. Look up some popular tourist sites, go there and let your imagination fly.

My pics from Europe using my DSC-V1

I just took my trusty hand-held and had fun.

Also for most landscapes & sight photos, contrary to popular relief, you need telephoto rather than wide angle. The DSC-v1 above is 4x optical zoom, an effective range of 35-140mm. Most of the shots composed above is taken at around 105-140mm (3-4x zoom).

With WA, you'll end up capturing most of group right before you unless you get real close to some kind of foreground.

<- a proud owner of Xti + tammy 17-50mm f2.8 + canon 85mm f1.8

Those are some nice pictures Andrew ;).
 

AreaCode707

Lifer
Sep 21, 2001
18,445
131
106
Presidio, marina, Haight (if you want gritty real life shots), Coit Tower, Angel Island... Some of those things are still "touristy" but lesser done.
 

NaOH

Diamond Member
Mar 2, 2006
5,015
0
0
Originally posted by: E equals MC2
Do the typical hill looking into golden gate bridge.

Seriously. Look up some popular tourist sites, go there and let your imagination fly.

My pics from Europe using my DSC-V1

I just took my trusty hand-held and had fun.

Also for most landscapes & sight photos, contrary to popular relief, you need telephoto rather than wide angle. The DSC-v1 above is 4x optical zoom, an effective range of 35-140mm. Most of the shots composed above is taken at around 105-140mm (3-4x zoom).

With wide angle, you'll end up capturing most of ground right before you unless you get real close to some kind of foreground.

<- a proud owner of Xti + tammy 17-50mm f2.8 + canon 85mm f1.8

QFT if you want to take an easy night shot.
Text
 

Imported

Lifer
Sep 2, 2000
14,679
23
81
Some of the more run down districts have a ton of color from graffiti and what not. As do the more ethnic areas.. Chinatown, Japantown, etc. I like heading downtown to where many of the business buildings are and taking photos there. Candid people photography, architecture, and you can find stuff to make interesting. Just walk around and use your eye would be my suggestion.
 

777php

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2001
3,498
0
0
Try the the corner of Broadway and Baker in Pacific Heights for some amazing shots of the bay.
 

scott916

Platinum Member
Mar 2, 2005
2,906
0
71
Strawberry Hill at the top of Golden Gate Park. There's a tree stump you can sit on and watch the sun set over the entire city, including both bridges. Or right across the golden gate near slacker hill, which is the iconic golden gate/sf shot spot.