San Francisco Tall Ships

[bob_bill]

I am not familiar with San Francisco and am not a sailor. Anyone have suggestions for locations in or near San

Francisco to photo the tall ships entering the bay under the golden gate bridge next week? I am looking for a shot

of several ships compressed closer with a long lens hopefully as they are heeling over under full sail and framed by

the bridge. (Oh, and some fog and chop would be nice too.) Will probably be in a 300-400 mm range on a zoom for

compression. They are coming in at noon so I dont think the Marin side will have any better light. I expect it will

be somewhat high rear light but maybe some rim if I catch them as they come out of the bridge shadow. Will the

cable shadows be visible on the water at that time? Any places you can recommend that will allow a tripod?

Thanks

[denise_d]

Drive down to Fort Point (under the GG Bridge on the SF side) and start walking East along the shoreline/beach. The area

right around the Warming Hut is a decent distance from the bridge. There is also a small pier that will take you a little ways

out onto the water. If that's not far enough away to work with your lens, you can keep walking towards Crissy Field until

you find a spot that works for you. That area is all public beach and very accessible on foot (limited parking though, so

expect to walk a bit). I've used a tripod there with no problems and I don't believe there are any restrictions.

[andrew_cary]

You can use a tripod anywhere on San Francisco's waterfront. Don't expect to use one on the GG bridge. (although

I have prior to 9/11)

 

I second Fort Point /Crissy Field. An alternative would be Fort Mason. - less bridge more Marin backdrop..

 

A really interesting shot would be from the Treasure Island as they sail between it and the city front.

 

BTW Most of the bigger ships come in under both sail and power. Although a couple of years ago when the Mexican

tall ship (Cuauhtemoc) and a Russian tall ship (Pallada) came in.- The Russian came all the way in under sail -

story was they didn't have enough oil to operate the engines. Dunno if it was true, but if so it was pretty a

ballsy trick by the pilot...

[bob_flood1]

Shooting from Ft Point, you will be shooting the ships broadside, with the bridge above your head leading over the bay and over the ships. A lens long enough to give some compression like you describe will exclude the bridge, and a lens wide enough to include the bridge will offer no compression at all.

 

If you want head-on shots of the boats, the #1 location on land would the Alcatraz, but getting there may be impossible for the event. But you should check with them (online).

 

#2 option - the north end of Treasure Island. #3 - the end of Pier 45. Go to Google and select Maps, put in San Francisco, and zoom in to get the bridge and Treasure Island in the frame - it will become apparent. The other option is on a boat in the bay. Try searching for any charters that will be taking passengers for the event.

 

You can expect the ships to come under the bridge under sail and approach into the bay - not much point in a display of tall ships if they don't use sail. But the navigation difficulties caused by the spacing and the private boats will force them to sail under power once they get into the bay.

[flemming_s._christensen]

I have shot Tall Ships once, but not in the US. The whole parade lasted for an hour and a half and I was almost bored to death by waiting until the next ship passed by with hopefully yet another mast.

Flemming

[roger_dunham]

Anybody been out on the ships during the parade. I just bought tickets for the California . I am thinking I will not need

much more than a 90 on my M8 ..thats a 120FOV. My guess is that some shots will benefit from a 200Mm but beyond

that probably isn t needed.