Treasure island

• Annie Besant.

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While we were at the fantastic viewpoint in Treasure Island waiting for the blue hour doe the San Francisco skyline shoot, I noticed that the sunset was creating some interesting colors in the sky. The problem was the retreating fog was making everything soft and the fact that the winds were picking up didn’t help the matter one bit. Thankfully, I had packed my Lee Big Stopper and it seemed like a great place to try it. I have noticed from my previous experiences with the big stopper that due to the incredible amount of motion blur it creates in moving objects like water or clouds, it makes the stationary objects look extra sharp. Now I know it’s an optical illusion and not a real increase in sharpness but since perception is the reality I decided to try it out. The wind had picked up and was battering my tripod and I had to hold it down from getting tipped over. After about 4-5 tries, this shot came out tack sharp.

Also, today's quote comes courtesy of Ms. Annie Besant a total badass who was one of the key inspirations behind India’s independence movement and one of the early presidents of Indian National Congress.

"Bliss Dance" is a forty-foot tall sculpture by local artist Marco Cochrane that has graced Treasure Island's Great Lawn since 2011. Displayed under a Use Permit between TIDA, the artist, and the Black Rock Arts Foundation (BRAF), Bliss Dance has inspired countless residents and visitors to the Island alike with it's grace and beauty (www.sftreasureisland.org/index.aspx?page=447).

The sculpture, of a dancing woman, stands 40 feet tall, weighs 7000 pounds and is ingeniously constructed of triangulated geodesic struts. By day, the dancer’s ‘skin’, made of stainless steal mesh, shimmers in the sun. By night, it alights brilliantly with a complex array of 1000 slowly changing l.e.d. colored lights. Viewers may interact with and manipulate the lighting effects with an iphone application. The dancer’s delicate, graceful form precariously balances on one foot, adding to the astonishing impression of imminent movement and lifelike presence (laughingsquid.com/bliss-dance-a-40-foot-tall-steel-sculpt...).

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As promised earlier, here is the panoramic version of the holiday SF skyline view from Treasure Island.

After an overcast day, late afternoon sky started to clear on the west, which resulted in a phenomenal sunset.

This photo was taken from Treasure Island, San Francisco in June last year, rechecked it recently, I felt it is not so satisfy just because if the Bay Bridge get more close to the skyline, the result will be better. So I came back again and walked up toward south to Yerba Buena Island, expected combine both subjects during the blur hour at dusk on 27th September.

After set up my tripod, suddenly I was pushed and fallen down on the sidewalk, then a robber took all the camera gear jumped into a waiting van behind me, and drove away quickly.

A beautiful city we live in, all the different kind artists try to express her glory from each way. Unfortunately, some robbers have destroyed the great dreams with their dirty hands and minds.

這張照片是去年六月我在舊金山金銀島拍攝的，前些時重新審視它，覺得不太滿意，因為海灣大橋如果可以更貼近城市的天際線，其結果應該會更好。 因此我再次來此，向南走到 Yerba Buena 島，準備在 9/27 黃昏的藍調時刻結合這兩個主題的拍攝。

架好三腳架之後，我突然被推倒在人行道上，一個搶匪將整架相機裝備瞬間搶走，跳進了我身後的一輛等候中的工作休旅車裡，旋即迅速逃逸離去。

我們生活在這樣的一個美麗城市，不同種類的藝術工作者天天不斷試圖用各種方式詮釋這座城市的美麗與榮耀。 很不幸的，有些惡徒輕易地就摧毀了所有藝術家的夢想，這是何等的醜陋以及不堪。

For some strange reason, this reminded me of the flame paint scheme you sometimes see on old hot rods. Cool...

• Sam Levenson.

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My wife and I lived in the Bay Area for about 6 months immediately after our marriage before finally settling in SoCal. During the six months stay we never ventured or explored any of San Francisco’s beautiful sights. We did Trips to wine country, San Diego, and Yosemite but no trips were made to explore the city where we lived.

We always thought we will be living in the bay area so there was no real urgency in the plans, but we got jobs in LA. So last Thursday was my birthday and we decided to head to San Francisco and give the new D850 some workout. This view is of the San Francisco skyline as seen from the Treasure Island view point. The wind was pummeling us during the shoot and I had to hold down my gitzo traveler lightweight tripod to get a steady shot.

• Helen Keller.

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To say this was a challenging shot would be to take the efforts behind the creation of this image too lightly. I had this shot in mind since my Google street view stalking showed me this vista. The problem with setting up a shot in San Francisco is the ever-present threat of fog. Especially when shooting an expansive cityscape like this one. Our only choice was to get the shot before summer since some unforeseen family functions forced our hand, there was an impromptu trip to India and thankfully we managed to plan a trip to the Bay Area before April.

From my experience the fog is tricky in spring, so we decided to hope for the best and just roll with it. On the day of the shoot, we did experience some fog but the wind was so strong, I was hoping that it will blow away the coastal fog once the sun sets. Eventually, the wind did just that but what happened was the intensity of the wind just kept on rising and I had to hold down my dainty travel tripod to prevent it from tipping over. Anyways after about 4 or 5 trials, I finally managed to get the panorama stitch that I was satisfied with. This shot was made with about 8 images at 135mm in portrait mode. Hope Y'all like it.