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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Point Richmond

I was in Point Richmond this afternoon and walked out to the abandoned structures at Ferry Point. I've lived in the Bay Area for almost 11 years now, and I'm still amazed at the amount of historical remnants scattered about. It appears that the railroads used to roll through the Point Richmond tunnel and were able to load their cargo onto the ferry bound for San Francisco at a time when there were no Bay Area bridges.

For my own sake, here's a little summary of the Bay Area Bridges and their construction dates:

Antioch Bridge 1926/1978
Carquinez Bridge 1927/1958/2003
Dumbarton Bridge 1927/1982
Bay Bridge 1936/2013
Golden Gate Bridge 1937
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge 1956
Benicia-Martinez Bridge 1962/2007
San Mateo Bridge 1967/2003

Once the bridges were up, there was less need for the system of ferries, and the respective ferry docks began to deteriorate. Ferry Point is a perfect example of such rapid changes to the Bay Area over the past 100 years. The aging hoist and tracks are still visible against the powerful ocean waves, with the tech savvy San Francisco skyline in the distant horizon. Concrete floors litter the grassy landing where large buildings once stood.

I mainly visited this site to see if it provided a better view of the sun setting over the soft silhouettes of the coastal clouds. I attached the neutral density filter and was able to get a decent shot, but the high level clouds created less of a distinct line between day and night. I think the view from the hills along Point Richmond will actually provide a better view of the cloud dynamic, but that also entails climbing with a significant portion of gear.

After the sun was fully down, the glow from Point Richmond illuminated the cove, so I set up for one last little shot. It was harder to get the proper shutter speed to provide enough light, yet also prevent the cloud action from becoming too blurry. Again, for me, the low level clouds are difficult to incorporate into a nighttime timelapse series.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Busted

A few days ago I realized that I wasn't taking pictures in the aspect ratio that I preferred.  My Canon T3i defaults to a 3:2 aspect ratio, but most HD video is in the 16:9 aspect ratio.  I looked through my settings and changed the default from 3:2 to 16:9.

A high pressure system has rolled through the Bay Area the past few days.  This means that the coastal clouds typically stay off the coast and don't make their way into the bay.  It also means that the Bay Area gets a bit warmer.

My goal is to get time lapse of all three Bay Area airports at night in some fashion or another.  SFO typically gets more fog than the other two, so I figured this would be a good time to see what shots are available of it.  I'd found one person who shot SFO from Sweeney Ridge and figured I would head up there without any fog issues.  Of course, I didn't decide to head there until a little before 9pm.

I looked on the map before heading out and wanted to see if there were any alternate spots to check out on my way up to the top of Sweeney Ridge.  When I made it to Sneath Lane in San Bruno, all my alternate shots had too much light, so I made my way to Sweeney Ridge Park.  When I arrived, I found an empty parking lot, but no warnings about a curfew or the park closing at any hours.  I also looked at the trail sign which indicated a 1.8 mile hike to the top.

Ouch!

It was already 9:30pm and getting to the top would take at least another half hour, if not longer, and I didn't want to be out all night.  Also, when I checked my flashlight, the batteries were dead, so I'd mainly be in the dark by myself late at night.  After remembering what Joe Reifer wrote in his blog entry about possible homeless people living in the deserted dwellings at the top, I figured I would nix this attempt by myself.  There was a pretty cool view from the parking lot, though, and since I didn't want to go home empty handed, I set up the shot of the hillside and a lone tree, with the back drop of the dimly lit Milky Way behind it.  The camera was arranged such that it was on the driver's side of my car and protected from some of the area light.  I was really surprised that this many stars came through with so much city light nearby.

I had to open up the camera as much as possible and leave the shutter open for 20 seconds in order to get a good picture.  From what I read elsewhere, if the shutter is open longer than 25 seconds, one starts dealing with star trails.  I set the intervalometer for 25 seconds, which gave the camera 5 seconds to store the data before being ready for the next exposure.  I thought I had the 16:9 ratio set, too, but it appears that the 16:9 is only available when you use the "live view" even if the default is 16:9.  It reverts to 3:2 when the "live view" isn't used.

View from the parking lot.
With 25 seconds between shots, that's just over 2 pictures a minute.  At 30 frames a second in a movie, I need 150 pictures just for about 5 seconds of playback.  That equates to about 75 minutes of exposures.  I had my laptop with me and hadn't fully caught up on my How I Met Your Mother episodes, so I had something to keep me occupied.   I started the camera running, and then crawled into the passenger seat to watch a few episodes.

Every once in a while, a car would go by about half a block away, and the car lights would shine on the hillside.  I figured it would probably show up on the exposures.  There were a few planes that flew over, too, and I wondered how they might look, as well.

As the time rolled by, I found I had enough shots, but I had only a few minutes left of the current episode and wanted to finish it.  All of a sudden, my whole area is basked in bright light.  I turn to see a car shining a spot light on my car.

It's a cop.

I close my laptop and place it in the back of my car, before slowly exiting my vehicle.  I suppose crawling out of the passenger side looks bad, but when the female cop approached, I pointed to my camera and said I was just doing a little time lapse photography.

The po-po's lights finished off my shoot.
She'd already called in my license plate and they were reading back my info to her.  She asked to see my driver's license, so I dug it out of my purse for her.  She said they had a lot of trouble makers in this particular parking lot and that they would often break into cars.  She said she wanted to check and make sure I wasn't some missing woman or anything.  I said I was fine and was just wrapping up my shoot...especially with all the extra light kinda killing the last few shots.  She was amazed that I had driven so far for this shoot, but I explained that it was only about a 30 minute drive.

As I was driving home, though, I realized I need to be extra careful out shooting night shots in these "remote" locations.  I also need to get some pepper spray and fresh batteries for the flashlight. After looking at Google a little more, it also looks like there is slightly easier access off Skyline to another trail nearby, which may provide just as good a view.  I'll probably try it the next time we're low on fog.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Lazy Sunday

It was just another lazy Sunday, and as the sun was setting, I figured I would take a walk to see how the sunset looked.  The weather has been nice this weekend and the sky was fairly clear.  I took note of the coastal clouds crawling their way over the area hills, and thought it would make a decent shot.  I had purchased a neutral density filter when I bought the camera, as I had heard it would help take better time lapse pictures when there was extreme light.  I attached it to the camera and adjusted the settings.

This series of shots was 1 picture every 6 seconds, and I tried to continue until the screen was basically pitch black.  There was plenty of light still in the sky, but with the filter on there, the picture went dark fairly fast.  I wish I had started a bit earlier on this, as I think having the sun further up in the sky and the clouds being playful along the horizon would have made this series even better.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

On the Water

I had a gathering in Alameda this evening that ended around the time the sun was going down.  With the Alameda waterfront lending itself a fantastic view of downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge, I figured I would give it a go.  I first scanned the view from my perch in Alameda, but the view of the bridge was slightly obstructed.  I figured I could get a closer shot from the northern part of the island, which is, unfortunately, the old Alameda Naval Base.

I drove around the northern end of Alameda, but couldn't find a clear shot, nor an entrance onto the old naval airfield.  I looked at the map on my iPhone and saw a small park on the other side of the thin sliver of water between Alameda and Oakland.  I made my way off the island and around the maze of shipping containers to arrive at the small park.  I parked my car, but noticed the sign indicating the park curfew from 10pm until 5am.  It was just after 9pm, and I figured I could walk out to the end of the park and see what view was available.  As I was making my way, the park's guard made his way along the path I was headed.  I asked him if it was OK to be out there, and he said it was...and that I might be able to stay out a little longer since his replacement came on at 10pm.

I continued along the park path, and soon noticed a pier at the very end.  As I got closer, I noticed two fishermen conversing.  I could also hear them talking about me as I approached, noticing that I was a photographer.

I set up shop on the furthest spot out with the best view.  After playing with the settings, I set the intervalometer and was up and running within a few minutes.  The sky started out with just a few clouds rolling by, but near the end, it seemed to glow with an abundance of fluffiness.

As the series of shots continued, though, I noticed that the pier would slightly shift throughout the run.  I was worried that the shots would looked blurry if the pier moved while the shutter was open.  After looking through the pictures, though, it looks like things turned out fine.

After heading home, I decided to get one last shot in for the night.  I've noticed the marina has very interesting views with the boat masts, and I figured another nighttime shot in the marina would be nice.  I tried to get the best angle looking down the planks, but this was the best I could manage.  When I watch the timelapse, the boats seem to move in this eerie motion that's kinda cool, but the clouds moving by are dark and overshadowed by the looming boat movement.

Friday, September 23, 2011

The Gate

I was back at work today after traveling back from China yesterday.  I tried to leave at a respectable time, but with the horrible jet lag, I made it out of work and home just in time to see the sun setting over the Bay Area hills.  The marine layer does this mystical dance along the coast, especially through the Golden Gate.  Thus, I decided to set up shop and catch the clouds playfully move through the majestic scene.

Nine minutes after picking up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, though, the fog had basically surrounded my area and started depositing water droplets on both my camera and lens.  Doh!

I am not an expert on camera maintenance, but I knew that touching the lens was bad.  It's right up there with crossing streams.  Just don't do it!  Unfortunately, I did it anyway, but tried to touch it gently in order to wipe away the excess water.

After looking through the camera and determining that the image looked OK, I set up for another shot to watch the fog move through the marina.  (As long as the focus isn't set for close shots, anything on the surface of the lens won't show up in the picture unless it's right in the very middle.) 

I'm still trying to figure out how to put together a time lapse with shots that take over 3-5 seconds to develop.  It seems like the clouds that aren't super far away get really blurry at that time period, but any less exposure time doesn't typically allow in enough light.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Sunrise in China...Take Two

Today was my last day in China this week, and I got up early before the driver took us to the airport.  This time, I was up and at the location that I scouted earlier this week before anyone was out there to "exercise".  One guy did show up about 30 minutes after I had started and sat there slapping himself for at least a thousand times.  Seriously.

I played with the settings a bit before triggering the intervalometer.  This photo on the side, with several seconds exposure, showed the night glow from the city lights before the sun came up.  I also figured out that I can zoom in using the "live view" and focus the lens properly.  This helped immensely when the view was mostly dark and I had little to focus on.  I started the sequence so that the shot was mainly dark as I figured the encroaching light would soon give me a nice shot.  As I progressed with my shots, though, I noticed that the settings I started with only allowed for about 20 minutes worth of decent photos.  After that, the light just overwhelmed the sensor and basically started turning the photo too white.

After getting three series with the pond in the foreground and the buildings in the background, I moved over to the nearby clock tower.  I think the tower is probably my best series thus far...with the hands of the clock moving faster than time while the clouds gently move across the sky.  One can even see the reflection of the clouds in the building's windows.

I only had about 20 minutes for each shoot before heading back to the hotel to get some breakfast before flying back to San Francisco.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Sunrise in China

Well, I've endured the 12 hour flight over to China, and have pretty much gotten used to the time change.  It feels way easier traveling to China by staying awake on the flight over and then crashing when arriving at the hotel.  Getting to bed early also lets me get up early...either to take some sunrise timelapse or to exercise before work.
Unfortunately, I don't always guess right.

After working out the first morning, I decided to give the sunrise a shot in the nearby park.  I made it out around 5:30am and wandered around the park trying to find the right shot.  I found a pond with a view of the hotel and some of the local construction, and thought it was a nice blend of the Chinese art and history with the fast moving pace of the country's production and construction.

There was a Chinese man doing some exercise on the small pier on the pond, so I set up my shot so that he wasn't in it.  About halfway through my timelapse, though, he left, and a woman worked her way onto the small landing and into the corner of my shot.  With the overcast weather, though, I didn't really have a good series of photos anyway.  Hopefully I can get a nice shot before I depart on Thursday.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Dolores Park

I was in the city this afternoon after a number of errands on the peninsula and figured I would visit one of my favorite spots in the city.  At the top of Dolores Park, there is this amazing view of downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge.  With the park sprawling out over 2 city blocks, it provides this unobstructed and spectacular view of the cityscape. 

The correct intervalometer arrived earlier this week, so I was finally set to do my first timelapse.  I brought my camera and gear along on my errands in the hope that I could kinda scout out a few areas, and hopefully actually get my first series out of the way.  Unfortunately, I did not adequately prepare for the weather when embarking on my little escapade.


It was still light when I set up my camera and tripod on the south end of Dolores Park, but with typical San Francisco summer weather, the temperature and wind were definitely on the cooler side.  I had two spare towels in my car, and took them along...one to sit on and the other to wrap around myself to stay warm.  I had my laptop with me, too, so I sat there for a little over an hour and a half reading.  I got up more near the end of the shoot...mainly to stay warm and stretch out a bit.

I had looked over some of the camera controls before tonight, but I had heard that shooting from light to dark is considered the holy grail...mainly because it is hard to have constant settings that maintain a great picture with ever changing light.  Since it was my first time out, I decided to put the camera on almost automatic settings.  I knew that there would be lighting issues, such that it would never really appear to go from light to dark, but I thought it would be interesting to see how things looked during the sunset.

The camera takes great photos, but I think I had my interval set too high.  I shot one picture every 20 seconds, but with the wind and clouds/fog moving so fast, I probably should have shot a picture every 3-6 seconds.

I still need to assembled the pictures into a movie, but hope to do that with Quicktime Pro soon.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Labor Day Weekend

It's Labor Day weekend and I'm at my dad's place in Missouri.  I just bought my Canon T3i a few weeks ago, and I've been dying to try out the timelapse here in the Midwest where there is less light pollution. All of my accessories arrived this last week, including my intervalometer, an extra camera battery, my camera bag, and the AC adapter for the camera.

After buying the camera, one of my goals was to get a window seat in an empty row on an airplane so that I could shoot a timelapse sequence while flying, but I had a couple of things holding me back on this flight.  First, I realized that I had purchased the wrong intervalometer.  Doh!  (I need to put the Canon TC-80N3 back on Amazon or ebay, and try to recoup some of the cost.)  Without the intervalometer, that meant I would need to load the Canon EOS software on my old PC laptop and bring it, along with my new MacBook Pro.

So, I loaded both computers into my backpack for the trip, placed all the camera equipment in my camera bag, and checked my main piece of luggage.  I heard that the TSW allow 2 pieces of carry-on and a camera bag, but I wasn't willing to gamble my gear on a rumor.


The Milky Way from Missouri.
After finally making it out to my dad's place, I assembled the camera tonight and played around with some of the settings.  I know that there is ISO, shutter speed, and something called an f-stop.  I looked over the instruction manual and also found stuff like locking the mirror up into place and an image stabilizer.  I played around with those settings while trying to take photos of the Milky Way.  I'm including my best shot, as I think my tripod wasn't as stable as needed, with some star movement appearing on most of my limited shots.  I also see that I didn't focus on infinity, as it was hard to focus via the view finder with very little light shining through.


I still have a lot to learn, but I was excited to finally take some long exposure shots, especially in anticipation of finally putting together some time lapse shots.