Boats and San Diego Coronado Bridge
Coronado Island is a charming community off shore from San Diego connected via the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge to the city of San Diego. Although technically not an island, the drive over the bridge is the shortest and most convenient way to reach the city of Coronado.
The sandy beaches attract many tourists, but photographers come for the fantastic views of the San Diego Skyline.
Coronado offers many interesting photographic destinations. It should be on your itinerary if you happen to stay in San Diego.
GPS position
Centennial Park:
Tidelands Park Beach:
How to get there
Map of Coronado
I usually park on 1st street when I photograph near Centennial Park.
Park your car at the parking lot at the end of Mullinix Dr and walk toward the bridge. From here, you can photograph the boats and the bridge. Walk underneath the bridge to the other side for a different view. Unfortunately, you cannot walk very far since everything is fenced off.
How to photograph on Coronado Island
Coronado Skyline and Flowers, Centennial Park
If you are in a hurry, head to Centennial Park first. If you have plenty of time, go everywhere else first and come here to enjoy and photograph the sunset.
An interesting shot includes the flowers of the park and the skyline (above). You need a normal lens to compress the space between the flowers as far as possible while getting everything sharp. A telephoto lens would be even better, since it can pull the skyline closer, but you will have trouble getting the foreground and the background sharp. With a tripod, you can take several photos at different focal lengths. Then combine the pictures in a process called focus stacking (software: Photo Acute Studio or CombineZm).
The park benches and lamps offer many more compositions, especially during twilight. Coronado is safe, even after sunset, but it never hurts to see who is around at night when you are using expensive camera equipment.
San Diego Skyline from Coronado
To the left of Centennial Park is a small beach where I took the shot above. To the right is another beach with the San Diego Coronado Ferry terminal. You can frame the skyline through the pier entrance or use the pier lights to enhance your composition and guide the viewer into the picture.
Coronado has some of the best beaches in California on both sides of the Island. You can find the longest beach along Ocean Avenue in the west. The most interesting thing to photograph here will be Hotel del Coronado (covered in a separate article). On the beach next to the hotel, “Coronado” stands written in the sand, but it is invisible from the ground.
The Navy base to the north covers half the Island. You can often see Warships and sometimes even Aircraft Carriers and Submarines in the bay. A good place to spot them is from Centennial Park. The base itself is off limits, which means you will only hear the roaring thunder of a fighter plane when it takes off, but you cannot get close for photographs.
The distinctive arching bridge connecting Coronado to San Diego is notoriously hard to photograph. A good spot is at the beach (see GPS) where you can photograph the boats and the bridge (see picture at the top of this article). Use a wide-angle lens to emphasize the boats in the foreground and to show the long sloping bridge. Use a longer lens to photograph the boats in the bay and the bridge.
Best Time of the Day and Best Season
Coronado Island is a great place to enjoy the sunset and to stay for a few hours to shoot at night. The gardens are beautiful year round. The light is best from afternoon to sunset.
Time required
Take your time on the Island. Enjoy a stroll along the promenade starting at Centennial Park and keep a mental note of good places for photography. You should be able to shoot the skyline in 30 minutes if you come prepared, but I recommend that you try different locations for the skyline and shoot the boats at Tidelands Park. Take half a day and you have plenty of time to shoot the world renowned Hotel del Coronado, made famous by movie stars like Marilyn Monroe.
Equipment
- Tripod and Cable Release
- Panoramic Camera, Tripod Head …
- Lenses of all focal length
- CP filter
- Coins for the parking meters
- A soft cloth to wipe the salty film from your camera at the end of the shooting session (or use your shirt)
Fees
During my last visits, there was no bridge toll. Take a few quarters for the parking meters.
Close Locations
- Hotel del Coronado
- Santa Fe Depot
- San Diego Maritime Museum (incl. Star of India)
- Aircraft Carrier USS Midway
- Balboa Park
- Seaport Village
- San Diego’s best Night Photography spots
- Old Town
- San Diego Mission
- Cabrillo National Monument
- Mission Bay
- Pacific Beach
- Point Loma
- Zoo
- Sea World
Useful Resources
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4 Comments
I assume it’s just the bend in the bridge that gives it its warped appearance? great perspective
My boss is staying at The Del right now, “catching a cool breeze.” Lucky her.
The photo of the skyline and flowers is beautiful, it almost looks like a painting. Did you use the stacking technique you mentioned on this photo?
Thank you for this post. I always wonder how people get a shot of the San Diego skyline and harbor as if they are in the ocean. And now I get it, they were standing on Coronado!
Dude, exactly what I was looking for. Thankfully there are people out there like you that know how great this information is to any san diegan photographer. Thanks!