When we arrived at the pylons near the Bay Bridge, along Embarcadero, the brand new Bay Bridge LEDs were going off in beautiful fashion. The pre-burn also started to peak out!

Shot through the Bay

I've photographed the Bay Bridge pylons from along Embarcadero Road several times but I've never quite managed to witness it with a beautiful sunrise. A few weeks earlier the forecast looked perfect but the clouds slowed down and didn't arrive in time. Eager to *finally* get the shot, I didn't want to miss this particular morning, which was also forecasted to be perfect. Willie, my normal photography buddy, was on his honeymoon and I asked my SmugMug co-workers if anyone wanted to join. Alex, determined to shoot more landscapes, immediately screamed "YES" and the two of us drove up for sunrise. The Bay Bridge had recently been retrofitted with new LED lights and they were going off in full fashion! When the pre-burn lit up the sky with beautiful purples and oranges, I knew we were in for a treat! Escaype didn't lie -- this morning turned out to be 100% beautiful. I wanted to try a little bit of a different take on this scene, since everyone has photographed it from right along the waterfront, where a series of pylons make for a nice foreground, and I had seen another photographer attempt this shot. The beautiful "Cupid's Span" (bow and arrow) made a perfect foreground while the sky above the Bay Bridge lit up beautifully. Luckily, the pre-sunrise burn allowed me to capture this with the Bay's lights all lit up too! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 15mm, f/11, 1/6 sec, ISO 100

Escaype predicted sunrise would be killer ... and it was!

Blazing Bay

I can't count the number of times I've driven to San Francisco, parked along the Embarcadero, and tried to photograph sunrise here at the Bay Bridge. The pylons make for a neat foreground but I've never quite witnessed the sunrise that I've wanted. Willie and I had attempted this photo a few weeks earlier, but the clouds slowed and didn't match the forecasted model. When Escaype predicted another 100% chance of beautiful sunrise, I jumped at the bit! My normal photography buddy, Willie, was on his honeymoon and wasn't in town, so I grabbed one of my co-workers, Alex, and we drove up to the city. It was actually Willie's birthday and I think Mama Nature wanted to torment him for missing this one. It really did "blow up" as we like to call it. Prior to photographing this scene, I stood further back, near "Cupid's Span", a giant Bow and Arrow sculpture, and then raced over to the familiar pylons. I was afraid I might have spent too long at Cupid's Span, so I quickly ran over to the pylons, setup my tripod as quickly as I could, and began snapping. The sunrise this morning really was quite spectacular, as you can see here. The entire sky lit up beautifully in orange and yellow! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 16mm, f/11, 1/13 sec, ISO 100

Cupid's Span

Along the Embarcadero lies Rincon Park, a little patch of grass right looking out at the Bay Bridge. Situated in the park lies "Cupid's Span", a giant Bow and Arrow sculpture created by Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg. Commissioned by D&DF FOundation of San Francisco, it was installed in 2002 and was inspired by San Francisco's reputation as the home port of Eros. This particular morning treated me to a beautiful sunrise. I first photographed this looking out at the water and onto the Bay Bridge, then raced down closer to the water to photograph a set of abandoned pylons left at the waters edge. Looking back behind me, I saw this scene and decided I would run over and capture the Cupid's Span with the city behind it before the clouds lost all their beautiful color. This photo has a lot of "distortion" in it, from photographing it at the wrong angle using a super wide angle less. I decided not to correct the distortion because there were elements on the edge of the photo that I thought were interesting, like the palm trees and a few additionall buildings. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8: 19mm, f/22, 3 seconds, ISO 50