Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Holiday lights in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park

Last week I was up in San Francisco with my son and his wife because we heard about some special holiday lights in Golden Gate Park to celebrate the park's 150th anniversary. As you may know, I love night photograph, so I was excited to see the display with them and also capture some images in the camera. 

(Canon R6Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 34mm, ISO 125, f/13, 8 second exposure)

Our first stop was in the main concourse of the park (where I thought the light display would be located). The newly remodeled Music Bandshell was lit, but not much else. 

(Canon R6Canon 100-400mm lens at 400mm, ISO 2000, f/15.6, 1/20 second exposure)

This was the same night as the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, but it was not a great shot with the Canon R6 and Canon 100-400mm lens. I needed a lot more reach!

(Canon R6Canon 100-400mm lens at 400mm, ISO 100, f/15.6, 1/400 second exposure)

But we did have a great view of the moon!

(Canon R6Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 32mm, ISO 640, f/9, 3 second exposure)

After a little searching on our phones, we found the location of the "Entwined" display which was a short walk away in Peacock Meadow. I used my Canon R6 camera with the Canon RF 24-105mm lens and mounted it to my Gitzo tripod and Acratech ballhead.

(Canon R6Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 32mm, ISO 640, f/4, 1/6 second exposure)

It was fun to capture the ever changing colors and brightness of the display.

(Canon R6Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 35mm, ISO 640, f/6.3, 2 second exposure)

The Conservatory of Flowers was lit with projectors, which was really pretty.

(Canon R6Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 640, f/10, 2 second exposure)


(Canon R6Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 640, f/14, 2.5 second exposure)

As the patterns changed, I would keep shooting images to see which scene I liked best.

(Canon R6Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 640, f/14, 2.5 second exposure)

This reminded me of my time in Sydney, Australia during their Vivid display (which you can see below).

(Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 24-105mm lens at 59mm, ISO 160, f/4, 1.3 second exposure)

I had so much fun leading a photo tour in Sydney during the week of their light show. You can see those images here.

(Canon R6Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 35mm, ISO 640, f/8, 13 second exposure)

Before heading home, Emma wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge at night for the first time. I drove us down to Fort Point, where we were lucky enough to have calm winds and a nice temperature. I took photos of the bridge, but knew that it needed something more. 

(Canon R6Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 31mm, ISO 640, f/8, 15 second exposure)

I lowered the tripod to include the chain in my photo, and lit the chain with the flashlight of my iPhone. That one added element made the photo so much more interesting. 

Even though I grew up in San Francisco, it just never gets old shooting there.

Oh...and not only did we have a great time in the city, but we also enjoyed an unbelievably good pizza from the world famous Tony's Pizza Napoletana!


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1 comment:

Linda Allen said...

Happy New Year Jeff! I love night photography, especially with colorful lights. I love both photos of the Golden Gate Bridge but the one without the chain-fence in the foreground, to me, evokes a sense of calm and peace. I could stare at that photograph after a stressful day at work and feel the stress melt away. (smile) It is a unique and beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

If you are ever in the Dallas/Fort Worth area during the Holiday Season, you would love photographing the Vitruvian Lights in Addison, TX.

Take care and stay safe!