san fran seems pretty cool!

[matt_m__toronto_]

spent a week in l.a and was not really impressed, one night into week here in

san fran, and i'm wowed. very cool city. now i need to go find a bessa and a

cheap lens as i brough nothing! D'OH!

 

plan to check out SF MOMA and some clubs. any other high recommendations?

[vivek iyer]

Matt, You can post a plea for borrowing gear here as there are quite a few RF folks in/around SF. Great city indeed. Enjoy!

[Spearhead]

<i>any other high recommendations?</i><p>Alcatraz. The Mission District. The Presidio. Beserkely. Summer of Love (today in GG Park.)

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

I spent the night on Alcatraz last summer and got a better nights sleep than at the Courtyard

Marriott. It's difficult to arrange an overnight, but a day trip is not to be missed. Very

interesting place. A bit spooky at night. IF you like to photograph big crowds and tourists

then Fisherman's Wharf is a must-photograph. Only good for photography. Get over to City

Hall. Beautiful building inside. Eat at Original Joe's. Great big burgers, or pasta, or steaks.

Known for the burgers. Golden Gate Park is terrific. The Japanese Garden there is good for

some peace and tranquility. If you have time and energy walking across the Golden Gate

Bridge is fun (I think you can still do that).

[jtk]

Walk in any direction across the city. Don't set goals, just walk.

[wendell_kelly]

Finish the day with dinner at one of the trattorias on Columbus.

[david_s4]

Hello Matt,

<p/>

For photos of funky people, visit Haight-Ashbury, known from the 1960's for Hippies and Beatniks.

<p/>

If you have a car or other easy transportation...

<p/>

For photos of the city, I like locations highlighted in Hitcock's 1958 film <a href="http://www.basichip.com/vertigo/main.htm">Vertigo</a>, such as Mission Dolores, Fort Point (better light before noon), the Palace of Fine Arts (also better light before noon), and the Palace of the Legion of Honor.

<p/>

There's a nice 360 degree view of the city from the tower at the <a href="http://www.deyoungmuseum.org/">de Young</a> museum. Admission to the tower is free. It's in Golden Gate park near the Japanese Tea Garden. The garden is nice too, but costs $4; however it is free at certain times (not sure, but maybe 9-10am MWF and/or after 4pm daily). Check out the sign at the entry for the free hours.

<p/>

Good views of the Golden Gate Bridge are from the Marin Headlands, just across the bridge to the north, and Baker Beach. Fair warning though: it is a nudist beach at the northeast end, which is closer to the bridge. Both locations may be better after noon, as you're on the western side.

<p/>

Sausalito is good for about an hour's visit if you want to browse touristy shops. There's a very small hamburger place (it has no name, but I remember a green awning) in the middle of the strip that is quite tasty. Get a burger to go and eat on the edge of the harbor nearby.

<p/>

And yes, the restaurants on Columbus should be visited frequently...

<p/>

Cheers, David

[Richard Williams]

There are some good threads over on the Travel forum, e.g. this recent one:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00MCcX

 

Random suggestions: Check out Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill; it's interesting in its own right and there are great views of the city. Cross the GG bridge on foot or by bike (if you do it by bike, you can cycle on to Sausalito and get the ferry back). Wander around Chinatown (not just the tourist shops on Grant). Explore some of the stairways (link in other thread, or pick up the Adah Bakalinsky guidebook). Get the BART to Berkeley. Book ahead for the boat to Alcatraz or you might miss it. Eat a burrito in the Mission, chowder at Fisherman's Wharf (where you can also choose from the biggest selection of fake designer sunglasses in North America), and Ghirardelli chocolate anywhere. Buy a 7-day Muni passport today...

[john_shriver]

Watch the sunset from the observation area at the far end of the Golden Gate bridge.

[Brad_]

>>> I spent the night on Alcatraz last summer and got a better nights sleep than at the

Courtyard Marriott.

 

John, me too. Were you in my PhotoAlliance group???

[thomas_hardy1]

Hey, another San Fran fan. What a great city!

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

Brad--I went to photograph a Boy Scout troop spending the night there.

[michael s.]

Matt - Still having a hard time believing that a photographer like you would go to San Francisco and <i>forget your camera</a> ! :-)</i>

[Nowhereman]

LA vs SF! That is verboten here: just like film vs digital.

 

--Mitch/Bangkok

[Alex_Es]

City Lights Bookstore on Columbus. Vezuvio Cafe next door.

[ray .]

Uh, let's just hold on a minute. L.A. has MUCH better weather than SF, better beaches (great

white sharks will eat you if you go in the water in SF).... and

way better looking women. I tried living in Frisco for a summer. Couldn't do it. Overcast or

fog every day. What a joke. People jump off that bridge up there because they're depressed

from never seeing the sun.

[matt_m__toronto_]

wow, thanks for the responses! have definitely been eating well and drinking maybe a little too much.

 

it's not that i forgot my camera, but i'm here on work and did not think i'd have so much time off...it didn't even occur to me that we'd be gone over labour day weekend.

 

as for L.A , i guess i was just bored of every other car being a bentley or porshe. the space of the city was also too much for my taste and the air quality putrid.

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

I used to live in San Jose. One Friday night my wife and I jumped in the car and drove to LA

for the weekend to visit her sisters. So, we pull into the LA basin (correct term) about 4am

and there's like a million cars driving around. I looked at my wife and asked, "Where are all

these people going (at 4am, Saturday morning)"? Breakfast at The Original Pantry calmed me

down. But I still ask that question when I'm jammed up on the 405 or wherever. Where in

heck is everybody going? Sheesh. That said, the San Francisco Bay Area isn't much better.

Please, this isn't really a complaint, just an observation.

[Spearhead]

<i>L.A. has MUCH better weather than SF,</i><p>Whoaaa boy, today: San Francisco is 74, LA is 97. I'll take SF any day, that heat is a killer.<p><i> better beaches (great white sharks will eat you if you go in the water in SF)</i><p>Surfing is nowhere as good though.

 

<p><i>and way better looking women.</i><P>That's because the plastic surgeons who make them are all in LA.<p>All that notwithstanding, I have a shoot in LA next weekend so I will see it again close up.

[kens]

...and don't EVER call it "Frisco". A sign of ignorance and ineptitude. :-)

[w.a._gerrard]

San Francisco is my favorite city. Previous recommendations to get out and walk are

justified. If the prospect of hoofing it up and down all the hills is daunting -- don't be

ashamed, they are steep and long -- walk from the Wharf through the edge of the Mission

District to the Golden Gate. It's flat, but long.

 

Take a ferry across to Sausalito or Tiburon. Great views of the city, especially at night. If

you have a car, there is a turnoff immediately after you hit the northern end of the Gold

Gate Bridge that offers postcard views of the bay and the city. With or without a camera,

you should stop.

 

Ferries leave from the Wharf or from the Ferry Building. If you like to eat, go to the Ferry

Building early. Great food shops, and a fine farmers market on Saturday morning.