After visiting San Francisco on 8-10 occasions, I was finally rewarded with the perfect sunset with a clear sky and warm colors.
Hawk Hill offers the most spectacular and breathtaking view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. The only problem is the weather which is very unpredictable. There is no way to predict what to expect at sunset hours on any given day. All you can do is visit it as often as possible, hoping that the theory of probability will kick in at some point.
Loc: 37.827778, -122.499444
It was a perfect afternoon in San Francisco at the beginning of February. It was very warm and what was even more surprising, there was no wind at all. The air was clear and the blue sky was covered with bright clouds.
And, just before the sunset, during the golden hour, the already amazing scene became illuminated by warm sunset light. It was just perfect.
Shooting & Processing
When I saw the cargo ship entering the San Francisco Bay I knew that it was my chance to enhance the composition of my photographs. I waited until the ship approached the Golden Gate Bridge and took multiple photos with the various focal lengths.
I took 3 bracketed shots on a tripod but used only middle exposure for editing.
I used Lightroom Rapid Editing for Landscapes, applying Golden Gate preset first from Landscape Collection and then used TOOLKIT adjustments.
Lightroom Editing Formula: Golden Gate (8, 17, 22, 34)
Deconstructing Featured Photo
- Camera: Sony a6000
- Lens: Sony 16-70mm
- Focal Length: 70mm
- ISO: 100
- Aperture: F8
- Shutter: 1/80
- Bracketing: 3 (-1, 0, +1)
- Tripod: FEISOL Tournament CT-3442 – Check my FEISOL Tournament CT-3442 Review.
- Ballhead: FEISOL CB-40D
Processing:
Lightroom: import, tagging, straightening, Lightroom Rapid Editing, Editing Formula: Golden Gate (8, 17, 22, 34)
Photoshop: color correction, contrast.
Photoshop Plugins:
- Topaz DeNoise was used to reduce digital noise (sky, water).
- Topaz Clarity was used to enhance details and boost colors (bridge, city).
