Golden Gate Bridge- Best location to photograph?

[Bill]

Golden Gate Bridge, I am planning to visit San Francisco this August. Does I have seen may photo of the Golden Gate Bridge. Most of them seem to be photographed from the right side at a high vantage point. Can anyone tell me when the best site to photograph the bridge and I can I get there with out a personal auto (cab or public transportation)?

Thank, Bill :shock:

 

[JeffKohn]

Here's a link to some of the shots I took while in San Franscisco for a weekend. They're labeled with the location I took them from.

http://www.pbase.com/jkohn/golden_gate

You might also want to consider getting the book "PhotoSecrets San Francisco & Northern California" by Andrew Hudson, well worth the price if you plan to visit the San Francisco area with photography on the agenda.

 

[dbirdsong]

Golden Gate Bridge, I am planning to visit San Francisco this August. Does I have seen may photo of the Golden Gate Bridge. Most of them seem to be photographed from the right side at a high vantage point. Can anyone tell me when the best site to photograph the bridge and I can I get there with out a personal auto (cab or public transportation)?

Thank, Bill :shock:

I don't think there is a bad place to photograph it from. On the north side of the bridge is a large hill that make for a great place to photograph, but without a car it is hard to get to.
Some of my favorites have been taken during the day while on one of the Bay Tour's when your under it.

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I love this one, it was pretty yucky that day, so the B&W conversion made this image come alive.

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This was at night on that hill on the north side of the bridge, thanks to my friend Eddy for driving me over to get this picture.

 

[fks]

hi bill-

if i had to pick one spot to photograph the gg bridge, it would be from battery spencer in the marin headlands. as you've seen from the photos posted above, you have a view of the bridge and the bay and sf behind the bridge.

you can get to the south end of the bridge by bus, then walk across the bridge and up to battery spencer. it's a bit of a walk, but well worth it as you'll have access to both ends of the bridge.

 

[TOLady]

Bill, if I were you, I'd also make sure I had a few days extra, rent a car and drive from SanFrancisco down the coast, through Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel and down through Big Sur. The scenery is nothing short of stunning!!! Very big problems driving though: drive 100 feet, be amazed by scenery, pull over, get camera out, take pics, get back in car and keep doing this over and over and over hundreds of times!!!!
Public transit throughout SanFrancisco is pretty good, in fact, they've even got some old TorontoTransitCommission streetcars down on the Embarcadero!! *LOL* I heard the sound, turned around and sure enough, one of my old "Red Rockets" right there in CA. The BART system is good for zipping around, and you can even download a BART program for your palm pilot which makes things a lot easier, ie timetables, exchanges etc.

Just a word of warning though, further to Ricky's post: They do close the GG bridge to foot traffic at a certain time at the end of the day. In January, it was 6:00 pm and they are VERY strict about it, including loudspeaker warning, and sending security out to hussle your @ss off the bridge! If it's for security purposes - it makes no sense whatsoever! Trucks which cd carry a lot more 'unsafe' stuff are allowed over the bridge, but a walking pedestrian!!???? Yes, middle aged Canadian women carrying knapsacks and tripods are very scary indeed!! *LOL*

 

[Mike Z]

Bill,
I've shot from all 4 corners of the bridge. If you look at the San Francisco Album on my pbase site, the 1st shot is from Baker Beach in the Presidio, the 2nd and 3rd are from Battery Spencer in the Marin Headlands, the 4th from Ft. Point, near the Visitor's Center and the 8th is from Vista Point on the Marin side.
You may want to purchase the book, PhotoSecrets, San Francisco & Northern California, by Andrew Hudson. It identifies practically all of the photo sites in San Fran and Northern Calif. and even tells you the time of day to shoot. It's well worth the $17 price.
Mike