Sunset, Sutro Baths

I had low expectations for this sunset last weekend. A friend had invited me to meet up that morning but the cloud cover was thick and the wind was blowing vigorously along the coast. I went to the beach with the intentions of hanging out and catching up more than shooting, but miraculously, the clouds began to clear just as the sun began to near the horizon. 

Photo: "What Remains"

Building 253 at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard was constructed between 1944 and 1947. It's 6 stories tall, contains a large gantry crane that was used to lift equipment into the top floor of the building. 

Maintenance for periscopes and range finders for military ships was done in this building. It was also an electrical shop, used for Radiography Instrument Calibration as well as a gauge shop.  

(From the archives, 2006)

Photo: "Tucked In"

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My alarm went off at 7am this morning and the only few words I remember from the radio program was "Thick, low fog on the Golden Gate Bridge this morning..." Sadly, I didn't paid attention to the forecast last night, or I might have been out shooting. Hopefully +Joe Azure got something good :-)

This shot is from my first fog morning ever, taken a few weeks ago. It was a glorious morning. 

Photo: "Romanesque Curves"

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St. Joseph's was re-constructed in 1913, after being completely destroyed in the 1906 quake. San Francisco architect John Foley was hired to design the building and chose the Romanesque Revival Style, which was not very common for this time period, as it was primarily utilized many years prior. 

To read more about the church, please visit my historical essay:http://bit.ly/StJosephsChurch

Photo: "The Narthex"

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St. Joseph's Church in San Francisco was originally constructed in 1865. Many years later, the complex was destroyed by fire during the earthquake of 1906. 

The building you see here was erected in 1913 and still stands today, but the church has been closed since 1989, when its structure was compromised during the Loma Prieta quake. 

(Read more: http://bit.ly/StJosephsChurch)

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Photo: "One Eye Open"

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A few weeks ago, I got to experience an amazing fog morning from the Marin Headlands. Within moments of getting out of the car, I understood first hand why +Joe Azure spends so many mornings up here.

Not only was it incredibly beautiful, but it was also peaceful and quite surreal. An entire city exists under this fog blanket; a place where hundreds of people are commuting to work, taking their kids to school, going for a morning run, all unaware of the beautiful show that was taking place a few hundred feet above their heads. 

Photo: "Shadows Tell One Hundred Stories"

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Stained glass window, St. Joseph's Church

This large stained glass window spans another 6-8 feet down to the ground floor below. However, after the church was re-constructed, in 1913, after being destroyed by fire from the San Francisco quake of 1906, this small attic-like space was added to this room, visually splitting the beautiful window in half. 

Photo: "Downtown City Lights"

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San Francisco shot from Treasure Island.

December 2012

On this particular night, a few days before the beacon on the Trans America Building turns off for the season, the bay was fairly calm and the city lights were reflecting beautifully in the water. 

Technical:

To capture this shot, I used a 70-200mm lens at f/22 (to capture the starburst on the beacon) and opened the shutter for 60 seconds.

Photo: "Place of Peace"

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I grew up in Southern California and until I turned 21 and moved to San Francisco, I never lived more than a mile from the beach, where I spent many nights and weekends. Sometimes I was with friends, sometimes I'd go for a swim on a hot night, sometimes I read a book, and sometimes I'd sit and watching the waves, reflecting about something going on in my life.

The beach has always been my place of peace.