Friday, October 26, 2012

Leveraging the Unexpected

When Plans Go Awry - Keep Shooting!

It was a bright, sunny day - I'm not kidding!  Every cable and rivet of the Golden Gate Bridge was in clear view when I parked my car on Conzelman Road.

As I set up the view camera and composed the shot, I saw one very small wisp of mist pass over the water from west to east.  At first I thought that I had imagined it, or perhaps that a piece of dust had adhered to one of my contact lenses.  But more wisps followed and collected into larger patches.

The bay was full of wind surfers, but now they were beginning to disappear from view.  The fog became so thick that I felt concern for their safety.  Would they be able to see well enough to navigate back toward the marinas?  Would they be able to withstand the sudden drop in temperature?

It took about twenty minutes for the bridge to disappear completely.  This photo was taken in the last few minutes of visibility.  Luckily, the fog rolled in as the setting sun cast an orange glow toward the towers of the span.


a large format fine art photograph of the golden gate bridge in fog
Golden Gate Bridge in Incoming Fog - Fuji Velvia 100

The fog eventually reached my position, and the warm sunlight faded into gray, cold darkness.  I packed up my gear into the car, turned on the heater, and headed to town for a warm dinner.


Ebony SV45TE view camera
Schneider 110mm lens
Fujichrome Velvia 100


Wishing you great light and meaningful moments!

Copyright 2012 Daniel R. South
All Rights Reserved