Ultimate Africa - July 2011

Ultimate Africa - July 2011

Full Moon Rising over the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge

Last night was one of those magical nights when sunset and moonrise balance almost perfectly for great shots. Here the beautiful light is enhanced by the brilliant lights on the Oakland shore and shimmering reflections on the water of San Francisco Bay. And it was warm to boot. What a miracle!

San Francisco Ferry Building

It's been bitterly cold all summer in San Francisco, but last night was warm and gorgeous, enabling me to get out and take some night shots I've been thinking about. My 28mm wide angle lens allowed me to capture the TransAmerica Pyramid, Ferry Building and Coit Tower in one shot. Sweet! It't the reflections on the water that bring the shot to life.

Zhang Huan's "Three Heads/Six Arms" at Civic Center Plaza

On a picture-perfect day I went over to Civic Center to check out the massive new copper sculpture, Zhang Huan's "Three Heads/Six Arms." It's 26 feet high and weighs 15 tons. I was more interested in the details of this beautiful piece rather than trying to capture the entire work. Shanghai artist Zhang Huan found spiritual meaning and inspiration in Tibet.The sculpture symbolizes the shattered history of Buddhism in China. Shanghai is San Francisco's sister city and Zhang Huan created the sculpture to bring good luck to San Francisco. In viewing this shot, I like the way the sculpture itself frames one of the three heads and draws the eye to the face. And the face is placed in a "sweet" spot in the rule of thirds.

A Study in Forms

When framing up this shot what interested me was the juxtaposition of forms. In the center, Three Heads/Six Arms. On the right,the ultra-modern angular Federal Building. On the left the old-fashioned, stogy "Manifest Destiny" monument. Oddly, the oldest-looking piece, "Three Heads" is actually the newest.

Wicked

This picture was just for fun. I liked the juxtaposition of the solemn statue and the whispering witches in the background. A shout out to Photoshop's new "Content Aware" retouch brush for easy (undetectable) removal of a light pole blocking the Wicked Witch of the West.

Capitol Dome/Serene Face

I like how the forms of the statue and dome echo each other. Both the face and the dome radiate power, confidence, serenity, permanence.

Modern Girl

OK,ok I cheated on this picture and dropped Courtney in to show scale. My philosophy is "all's fair in love and photography." Whatever it takes to realize the artist's vision is fair game. For example, this series of pictures looks (I think) non-manipulated. In fact, I worked with dodging, burning & coloring in Lightroom and Photoshop to achieve the look I wanted on every single one of these pictures.

Guitarist on Market Street

Never mind the fog--it's really summer when you find free concerts at noon in downtown San Francisco. A guitarist from the Larry Walker Band rocks out to the great joy of passers-by. He "pops" out of the background because of the Bokeh qualities of the 18-200mm telephoto lens. I also like how the white hat and white piece on the guitar appear to be pointing at each other, drawing the eye into the composition.

When Bad Lenses Go Good

Some users have faulted the Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR lens for softness. I think they must have been thinking about the amount of bokeh (blur in out-of-focus areas of an image)in the lens. Well, that's what I like best about this lens. The flowers are tack-sharp and the background is so blurred it takes on a painterly effect. I'm crazy about this lens. I wouldn't use it for every image, of course. But when I want a lot of bokeh, this is my go-to lens for sure.

The Camera in the Window

This is a test shot from my new Nikon D5000. What a sweet little camera! Nice subject--a classic Kodak embedded in a stained glass window at 4th Street Studios in San Francisco.

Slam Dunk in SOMA Garage

So I'm poking around inside this cool brick building on Townsend Street, formerly the mighty California Electric Station, now a parking garage. As I was leaving the light fell just perfectly on the basketball hoop suspended over a row of cars. Fabulous composition and light!