California Photo Scout

Fisherman's Grotto, San Francisco

Candid photography, or street photography, has an emotional barrier that is hard to overcome. Our social norms teach us to respect each other’s private space. The media often paints an image of paparazzi that has little to do with the documentary style of street photography, depicting human social life, capturing moments in time.

Fisherman’s Wharf is my favorite place in San Francisco for street photography. Any area bustling with people is potentially a great street photography location, but the diversity of pictures you can take at Fisherman’s Wharf and the openness of people here are unmatched. With so many things happening at once, it is easy to get into the zone and blend with the tourists. It does not require much work to put your subjects at ease, making this the best place for a beginning street photographer to get over the initial hurdles.

Despite the challenges, street photography has the advantage of not being reproducible. The same people will never again come together in the same way.

GPS position

• 37°48’29.80″N 122°24’57.04″W

How to get there

Parking at Fisherman’s Wharf (37°48’30.91″N 122°24’55.60″W) is costly, but you can get your parking validated if you eat here. You can also park at the Pier 39 Garage (37°48’29.14″N 122°24’39.25″W) and validate your ticket at one of the shops of the Pier. If you arrive during the off-season months, you may be able to park in one of the streets. Try Chestnut, Hyde and Francisco Street. Some offer free one hour parking and some have a meter. Sometimes I park at the garage of this shopping mall: 37°48’23.41″N 122°24’46.15″W

Your best choice is to take advantage of San Francisco’s excellent tram system. Take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) into the city and take the tram to get around in the city. This is also your best option during public events, which are generally a good time for street photography.

How to photograph people at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf

Boy at Fisherman's Wharf

Unlike in nature photography, you need to be acting very fast. Action can unfold within a split second. Familiarize yourself with your camera! You need to be able to operate it in complete darkness without ever looking at it.

Practice makes perfect. Practice with your camera before you leave home. As travel photographers, we do not get second chances. We may never return to a location. Practice with people familiar to you. Shoot at your next-door barbeque; photograph your children, your parents, your spouse, or your friends. Practice how you can put them at ease and make them completely forget your presence.

I usually pre-set my camera so that I can switch quickly between the settings.

1. I dial in shutter priority mode (TV, T) and select an exposure time that will ensure that I can get photographs without camera shake. For instance, I set my exposure time to 1/60s if I use a 50mm focal length equivalent (learn more about crop factor here).  Then I select an ISO setting that ensures that my minimum aperture can capture highlights (I meter of a bright patch to see if the aperture is blinking 22 or 32). I also meter of shadows to see that I get at least f/8. Eventually you need to tweak your ISO to be within that range.
2. I leave the settings above and dial to aperture priority mode (Av, A). I select the largest aperture I can (e.g. 2.8). I already know that this will give me a shallow depth of field to isolate my subjects.
3. I leave the settings above and select manual mode (M). I then dial in the “sunny 16 rule” (Aperture f/16, Exposure: 1/ISO e.g. 1/100 for ISO100). I know that this will give me the correct exposure on sunny days. On overcast days, you need to adjust accordingly. Bright highlights and dark shadow patches often confuse your camera automatic. If I selected ISO200 in step 1, I will adjust my manual exposure accordingly so that I do not have to switch ISO too often.
4. In some photographs, you may want to show the entire scene, and place a person into the surroundings, as they are an integral part of the scene. In other shots, you might want to isolate a person, like in a portrait and blur the background. With the presets above you can quickly switch between 1 or 3 and 2 to show everything or isolate a person. I am using this technique to switch modes without having to pay attention to my camera dials. For difficult lighting I usually use 3, otherwise I use 1 if I wish to get maximum depth of field.
   Using the presets, I can raise the camera to my eyes, flip the switch while doing so and take a picture in one continuous motion.

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

I often resort to street photography when the light is not good enough for scenic shots. Simply look for a well lit place and take photographs of people as they enter the frame. Candid shots do not need to be perfect to be good. Imperfections make them seem more authentic.  Street photography is also something you can do during mid-day when the light isn’t quite right yet for scenic photography.

Time required

You can easily do this walking between Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39. Simply ready your camera (as described above) so you can take pictures while walking around. You can switch between people and scenic photography.

It can take up to one hour to become comfortable with your subjects and with what you are doing.

Equipment

• Normal Lens that looks harmless (the kit lens works well here)
• An advanced point and shoot camera with optical viewfinder will work well too (Canon G10)
• Film camera with low light film is yet another option
• Go light and do not bring too much equipment
• I use a Lowepro Slingshot 300 AW to carry my camera and a couple of spare lenses. It is light, small, and offers easy access on the go.

Difficulty Photographing

Shooting strangers on the street requires us to overcome our fear and that we recognize that we are doing something good and beautiful. If we do not believe in this, we cannot convey this to others either. There are plenty of other things to photograph if you feel that this is not for you.

Take a sample of your work with you to show around should people ask what you are doing. Offer them a copy of the picture and delete their picture if they request it.

Use common sense when you photograph children. Be upfront and do not use a telephoto lens. Immerse yourself in the crowd and don’t be an outsider.

Close Locations

• Fisherman’s Wharf
• Pier 7
• Pier 39
• Lombard Street
• Marina
• San Francisco Cable Cars
• Alcatraz
• Coit Tower
• Chinatown
• Palace of Fine Arts

Useful Resources

• The Photographer’s Right (print and take it with you)
• My Street Photography Galleries
• Fisherman’s Wharf  Website

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