| Author | Thread |
|
|
09/04/2003 08:23:19 PM · #1 |
I'm going to San Francisco, down to Monterey and Big Sur, over to Yosemite and back to San Francisco, for eight days in October. I welcome any photography advice for where to go for good scenery, etc.
1. I'm thinking of buying a wide angle lens for the trip, would you?
2. I hear the waterfalls in Yosemite are only flowing in the Spring and early summer from the mountain ice melt and not in the fall, does anyone know if this is true?
3. Does anyone know of any "must see" coastal or other areas between or close to these destinations?
Never been to California.
Thanks in advance.
|
|
|
|
09/04/2003 09:33:08 PM · #2 |
| I'm from California. Born in the San Francisco area and now live in L.A. First of all, you've picked beautiful places to visit. I love San Francisco but now it is overcrowded and packed with tourists. Still, it offers lovely views of the bay area, Golden Gate Bridge, etc. The coastline all along the trip you will be taking is stunning. Big Sir is one of my absolute favorite places. Again it is the coastline that will inspire you and capture your interest. A wide angle would be a good idea and bring along a telephoto if you have one. You can see dolphins, sharks, whales,etc. just depends on the day, but the rocky cliffs and the pacific are amazing. Monterey and Big Sur are not crowded like San Francisco so you will have more opportunity to do some serious shooting without people getting in the way of all of your shots. Beautiful redwood trees and roaming deer should also be abundant. In Yosemite, you can practically drop your camera and it will take a good picture. it is so scenic, you can't go wrong. I do believe the waterfalls have dried up by June, but there is still so much else to see and photograph . Plan on doing some hiking with your camera so you can reach some special vantage points. In Yosemite, as you probably know you can encounter all types of wildlife. It seems like you will be covering a lot of ground in eight days, but if you do find you have some extra time, the wine country is also gorgeous for picture taking and the fall is a great time to capture the harvest. Grapes are picked, crushed and stored in the barrels in the fall. There are so many beautiful vinyards you will want to go online to check them out and draw out a route that will take you all day. I often visit four or five different wineries in one day. Hope that helps a bit. |
|
|
|
09/04/2003 09:34:11 PM · #3 |
Richard,
We have had a real dry year and are now into the fire season. I don't think there are any forest fires in Yosemite at this time but they are getting lightning strikes now. Of course SF and all of the coast is good picture taking area and Yosemite has so much to offer other than the falls I wouldn't worry about that. If you have time you should venture about 50-60 miles north of SF to catch some of the coast up there, you won't be sorry. Be prepared for some hot weather.
Good Luck and have loads of fun. Bring Money, gas is over $2.00.
Dick |
|
|
|
09/04/2003 09:36:56 PM · #4 |
Must see coastal route 1 North of San Francisko starting at GG Bridge...
|
|
|
|
09/04/2003 09:46:02 PM · #5 |
I can't speak to item #2, but I'll tell you what I think on the other ones.
1. Yes, The scenery, especially on the coast is breathtaking. When I used to shoot 35mm in that area, my favorite lens was a 24mm.
3. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, anywhere along Pacific Coast Highway and if you can get far enough south, Hearst Castle really needs to be seen to be believed |
|
|
|
09/04/2003 09:52:14 PM · #6 |
Better bring that earthquake preparedness kit. Just had a little minor one about 20 minutes ago on the East Bay.
I think GeneralE lives on that side of the bay.
Interesting thing about the San Francisco Bay area is that when you're near the coast sometimes it's really foggy and drive minutes away and it's really sunny. The weather in Oct. is usually rain.
Is it your for time in San Francisco? You may want to hit the tourist area. Just so that you can capture those places and say you were there.
Cable Cars, Lombard st, Haight/Ashbury, Golden Gate Bridge, Cliff House, Sausalito, Fisherman's Wharf (Pier 39), Chinatown, Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate Park and the Presidio are the usually places to go when relatives come over.
Bring lots of batteries and hopefully a laptop. Tons of photo ops. With about 8 days it's pretty easy to take more then 1000 shots.
If there's a particular subject you're looking for please e-mail. I live in SF.
Message edited by author 2003-09-04 22:19:26. |
|
|
|
09/04/2003 10:52:03 PM · #7 |
Not the highest quality pictures on this site but it will give you a good idea what's in San Francisco.
Message edited by author 2003-09-04 22:55:01. |
|
|
|
09/05/2003 12:28:49 AM · #8 |
I left SF for Redding 8 years ago, but the coastline still tugs at my heart and at least twice a year I shoot over to Eureka to get my "ocean" fix. Definitely recommend the Carmel/Monterey coastal areas: Cannery Row for a bit of John Steinbeck History, any stretch of the coastline (especially gorgeous in Big Sur), and as far as San Francisco goes you might want to try a Bay Cruise on a ferryboat: you can get up close and personal with the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Angel Islands, and the Fisherman's Wharf area (get some good seafood too while you're at it!)
Message edited by author 2003-09-05 00:29:50. |
|
|
|
09/05/2003 03:36:38 AM · #9 |
Originally posted by faidoi:
Better bring that earthquake preparedness kit. Just had a little minor one about 20 minutes ago on the East Bay.
I think GeneralE lives on that side of the bay.
Bring lots of batteries and hopefully a laptop. Tons of photo ops. With about 8 days it's pretty easy to take more then 1000 shots... |
I'm here, but that was a wimpy 3.8 on the Hayward Fault. One good jolt and it was all over. I was at work, and at first thought someone had driven the forklift into a support column!
The list of places mentioned so far is pretty complete, but if you're going from Monterey down through the Big Sur area, be SURE to set aside some time to stop at Point Lobos State Reserve. I took this last summer (only one I have a handy link for):
You Want Me To Stand WHERE?
A couple other things in San Francisco might be Coit Tower (murals on the inside) and the new ballpark.
From San Francisco, if you take BART (light rail system) to Berkeley you will end up in the new "Arts and Entertainment District" downtown, from which you are a short bus ride southeast to Telegraph Avenue/People's Park. You can walk back downtown through the UC campus. If you're up for a really expensive and fancy dinner you can try and get reservations at Chez Panisse -- where the "California Cuisine" movement was born -- or eat at the slightly less expensive upstairs cafe. But the whole North Berkeley area where it's located is usually referred to as the "Gourmet Ghetto" by local pundits.
If you drive to the East Bay, I recommend driving up to the Lawrence Hall of Science above the UC campus. There's a huge plaza with a great view of SF and two or three bridges. You can then drive North along the ridge towards Tilden Regional Park for assorted other photo ops; Tilden also has a good carousel, pony rides, and small steam train system (you can ride). You can get excellent shots of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges from either the Berkeley or Emeryville marinas, and if you drive from Oakland to San Francisco watch for signs of the new East span of the Bay Bridge, under construction off to your right
In Yosemite, it's possible that Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls will continue to flow, but the rest are probably pretty dry. I haven't been there for a long time; I understand it's pretty crowded now.
If you have time to detour a bit on your way back to SF, I understand there's a good railroad museum in West Sacramento; just stay away from the State Capitol -- they'll be even more bonkers by then!
Message edited by author 2003-09-05 03:38:16. |
|
|
|
09/05/2003 10:41:33 AM · #10 |
Thanks all! I'm looking forward to the trip and the photo-ops.
|
|
|
|
09/05/2003 12:13:48 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by pitsaman:
Must see coastal route 1 North of San Francisko starting at GG Bridge... |
Definitely a must see, but a bit out of the way-- kind of the opposite direction you're headed, in fact! I just got back (3 weeks or so) from a whirlwind tour of California (2 days Disneyland, Route 1 from Ventura to SF, 1-1/2 days in SF, then US 101 to Petaluma, back to the coast on Route 1 for another 100 miles or so to Gualala, then all the way back to LAX on I-5 for the flight back home... all in 5 days!) My wife and daughter insisted on So. Cal, but I had never been north of LA, so we put a few miles on the rental car and made a road trip out of it. A really LONG road trip! :-)
For us, the drive along the coast up into Big Sur, Carmel, and Monterey was nice, and there were some great photo ops, but we enjoyed the drive from Petaluma to Bodega Bay, and then along on up the coast even more. There were just a lot fewer people north of SF, and the scenery was absolutely incredible-- better than Monterey, in my opinion.
The sunset along the coast is truly breathtaking, but morning brings in the fog off the water, and provides an almost surreal environment. Lots of rugged coastline, plenty of great waves... just a perfect spot for some fantastic shots! |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Prints! -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/19/2024 10:37:21 PM EDT.
