San Francisco - what to do/photo?

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danski

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I'm off to SF at the weekend for a business trip, but will get some time to myself - not a lot, but Sat evening, all day Sunday and maybe Wednesday (I fly back on the Thursday).

Aside from the obvious (Golden Gate Bridge, trams, seals, Fisherman's Wharf etc.), what do you recommend I do/photo?

I'll probably take my whole camera bag but not sure if to take the tripod - it fits in luggage my problem, just not sure if I'll use it

I'm torn between staying in SF on Sunday or maybe hiring a car and venturing out of the city limits (Napa Valley/Redwood?), so recommendations most appreciated.

thanks as always
 
- Most crooked street in the world (Russian Hill) and the Coit Tower nearby.
- Alcatraz
- Chinatown
- There's a cocktail bar near the top of 1 of the city buildings where you can get great pics of the city. You'll have to google though as can't remember.
- Suasalito, quaint place over the other side of the bridge.
 
Definitely Alcatraz - amazing place - not much light though inside .....

Thought the most crooked one was Lombard Street ? (most hairpins anyhow)
 
Add Muir woods to the list for the redwoods + pier 39 in Fishermans Wharf. Book over here for Alcatraz as it gets very busy. You may not have the time otherwise to get tickets over there

http://www.alcatraztickets.com/

Realspeed
 
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Vermont Street is more crooked but not as nice to take photos of.
Head over to the other side of the red bridge turn left just after it and follow the road and some point you can stop and take a photo of the city framed by the red bridge. Haight-Ashbury is great from people shooting and the painted ladies row of houses.

There is so much arround the place its incredible. if you fancy capturing some wedding photos head to the pallace of fine arts your 95% certain to see a bride getting her wedding phtoos shot there, we spent an hour walking round and saw 6 couples from 1 bloke and the couple to almost a full studio set up in the open crazy.

also industrial light and magic is based there I wonder if they have a tour?

I second realspeeds sugestion for booking alcatraz in advanced.
 
Viv. said:
Definitely Alcatraz - amazing place - not much light though inside .....
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It would be criminal to go there and not visit Alcatraz:D But do your homework and book your ticket before you fly out there.
The boats are often booked two or three days in advance.

The view from the Golden Gate National Park over the city is well worth the short journey.
 
Ticket for Alcatraz is now booked for Sunday morning - will probably cross the Golden Gate in the afternoon to get pics of the city, bridge & hopefully sunset

Any recommendations re: my tripod? I've read I can take it onto Alcatraz without problem, but I have a fast prime (50mm 1.4) so not sure if shutter speed is going to be a problem.
 
It's a shame you booked an Alcatraz visit in the morning as it's fantastic at night. You should have no issue taking a tripod there although I daresay you should be fine with that lens.

The Aquarium on the Bay is absolutely grand too. Oh and if you're into street photography, Haight-Ashbury is a good place to visit.

Lastly, avoid Tenderloin at night.
 
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Little John said:
Head over to the other side of the red bridge turn left just after it and follow the road and some point you can stop and take a photo of the city framed by the red bridge. Haight-Ashbury is great from people shooting and the painted ladies row of houses.
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The hills across the Golden Gate Bridge are called the Marin Headlands. To save you from going wrong and experiencing a maddening event, you don't actually turn left after crossing the bridge. You take a right hand slip road after the car park to a viewing area [which is worth stopping at first]. At the end of the slip road turn left and take the tunnel under the main road then turn left. Watch carefully for the road on the right up in to the hills. It's easy to miss and you'll find yourself going back across the bridge [toll to pay in to the city]. Take a look at Google satellite pictures and study it. Print pictures if necessary.

In the opposite direction towards the Pacific is the high city viewpoint called Twin Peaks. It may interest you.

Think about a city tour, as in one of these

http://www.allsanfranciscotours.com/city-tours/sf-city-tours/sbc-2637

The open vehicles are good for photography. I did one which is no longer listed on this site but there's a similar one. I also did a DUKW tour - amphibious landing craft which drives in to the bay. Both were well worth it and you'll see areas which you would otherwise miss. They'll depart from the
Fisherman's Wharf area, and pre-booking isn't essential.

When I was last there, 4 years ago, the painted ladies houses were a disappointment. Sadly in need of some paint.

Coit tower is worth a look but be warned car parking is a problem and may take some time. I could say take a taxi there which is a good idea, until it comes to leaving and the area you are in isn't flush with passing taxis. I'd also suggest going late afternoon and staying until dark for some good sunset/night time shots. Which makes the taxi back even more of a problem.

If you want to go on one of the trolleys then skip the massive tourist queues at each end [Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square] and get on part way along. Or try one of the non-tourist lines like California.

If you're wanting to unload some money then think about one of the flights over the city. I did a seaplane one and it was outstanding. The website above for this tour says 2 person minimum booking. I went in to a tourist office on Pier 39 [Fisherman's Wharf, upper level ] and they booked me a one person flight with this same company no problem.

Tripod in Alcatraz - I managed without one.
 
Take one of the tourist city bus tours - I dont usually do the bus tours but this one we somehow managed to do and it is very good stopping off at various sites for photo's and the guide telling you all about this and that
Chinatown is extremely large and interesting with very friendly market sellers offering you all sorts of weird and wonderful things
you will have a great time we Loved the place
 
Is Haight and Ashbury still worth a visit ?
It is where the whole hippy thing kicked off and when I was last there (12-13 years ago) it still had an amazing feel, some wonderful old hippies and some great places to eat cheap food with wild company..
 
stevewestern said:
Is Haight and Ashbury still worth a visit ?
It is where the whole hippy thing kicked off and when I was last there (12-13 years ago) it still had an amazing feel, some wonderful old hippies and some great places to eat cheap food with wild company..
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I went there a couple of years ago and found it's still worth a visit. The clothes shops are straight out of the sixties and there are some great secondhand bookshops to browse. Just as good as the area itself are the people who go there.

Naturally, I popped into Haight Ashbury Music and came out a bit (a lot) lighter in the wallet, but with (yet) another guitar effect pedal* :D

*A Fulltone OCD v4 for spotters.
 
Fisherman's Wharf is a nasty place. I wouldn't bother going very near it!

Coit Tower is well worth a visit, and the Marin Headlands (the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge) would also be good (assuming you have enough visibility!).

I was there last week for a day or so, and just walked from Union Square via Coit Tower to the bridge and sat down for a few hours to read my book :p I needed a rest, and having been to SF before, i used it as a place to not do a lot! Una Pizza is good if you are hungry!
 
pretty much covered in the replies already.. I liked Hyde Street Pier.. some nice old boats down that end

muir woods is great but all my photos from there were naff as I used a crappy screw on wide angle adaptor.. big lesson learnt there!
 
Matt. said:
Fisherman's Wharf is a nasty place. I wouldn't bother going very near it!
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It's a tourist area. Shops and food. Street performers. And safe to walk around. There's nothing "nasty" about it.
 
thanks all for the tips - I'll refer back to this thread whilst I'm out there

how far is Muir Woods from downtown SF? Presumably I'd need to rent a car to get there?
 
Id also take a look at union sq after dark.
You can get some great shots with the fog rolling in above the buildings.

You do need to be careful though after dark, the freak factor goes up 1000% after dark
 
paully said:
Id also take a look at union sq after dark.
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Go to the Cheescake Factory on the top floor of Macy's and ask for an outside table. You'll get a really nice view of Union Square (and some excellent cheesecake)
 
Had a good day walking round what felt like the whole of SF yesterday, visiting most of the places mentioned above.

I happened to stumble upon Rodney Lough Jr.'s photo gallery (apparently largest single 'artist' photo gallery in the world). I'd never heard of him, but his style is very similar to Peter Lik's - in fact I thought it was a Lik gallery until I looked closely at the photos. Well worth a visit, even if it does make you realise how poor your own photography is!

Stunning photography and very well displayed - some huge prints (and I mean HUGE -that you could only hang in the lobby of a skyscraper HUGE!), with some equally shocking price tags (similar again to Peter Lik).

Nonetheless, I was kind of tempted by some of the prints (15"x40"/22"x40") but not sure I buy into all the gallery director's sales patter around 'appreciation' of these limited run (500) prints. List price was $3,800 (!) for one of the prints, he then discounted it to $2,900 without me even asking. Even said he would write out a 'fake' receipt for $100 or so, so I wouldn't get clobbered by import duty and VAT if I was stopped in customs, but that would mean I'd have to get it mounted myself when I got back to UK. They obviously offer a framing service (approx $1,500!) and can ship it back to me ($455!), but I'd get clobbered for the full amount by customs if they did.

So guys, a quick question. Are these really an appreciating investment or is it all sales patter? I know that a lot depends on the photographer/artist and that I'd also get enjoyment from the pic, but $3000 or whatever I'd be able to negotiate the price down to is still a helluva lot of money.
 
My girlfriend and I spent five weeks on the west coast at the start of the year and San Fran was our favourite place - lovely people, great food and really photogenic.

When we were there, on a Sunday, they had closed a street (Mission area I think) and it was open to shops and people wandering around and partying. Was pretty awesome. Maybe worth finding out if a similar thing is going on when you're still there. They have a website here.

Alcatraz is great and you'll be fine with the 50mm f/1.4. It does get pretty busy though so be prepared to stand and wait for the shots you want.

You can get great views of the city from Twin Peaks that takes in both bay and breakers. It's a bit of a trek out of town though (better in a car) so Coit Tower also offers great views and is much more central.

Oh and you can get awesome shots when the mist rolls in as well.
 
I'm going to San Fransisco on Friday for a few days so I've been watching this thread closely.

Going to the 49ers & Bucanneers game on Sunday, and Alcatraz on the Monday.
 
redddraggon said:
I'm going to San Fransisco on Friday for a few days so I've been watching this thread closely.

Going to the 49ers & Bucanneers game on Sunday, and Alcatraz on the Monday.
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Alcatraz was really good - I thought it was going to be quite corny, but really enjoyed it! Make sure you book your ticket in advance (www.alcatrazcruises.com) - if I hadn't then I wouldn't have got onto a trip until Tuesday. People have said that a night tour is the one to go for - you'd need a tripod if you wanted to photo downtown SF at night - personally I think it would be too spooky and cold at night, but maybe I'm a wimp!!

Also, make sure you visit the photo gallery I mentioned earlier on - some truly amazing images there - just leave your wallet outside!
 
Make sure you get the Audio tour at Alcatraz, it really is worth the little bit extra.
 
There's a road that is the steepest or highest road in America, something like that, it was a while ago I went, perhaps someone else or google could clarify, I imagine that would give you a good view. Chinatown would be good too, it's the biggest outside of China. And you can get some shots of the golden gate.bridge & alcatraz from a bay cruise, as well as the HUGE seagulls! Generally there's a lot of eccentricity on the streets to catch. Have fun :)
 
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