Corona Heights Park is the only place in San Francisco that offers a true 360 degree unobstructed vista. The former quarry does not show up in most guidebooks. Corona Heights is thus, mostly a local hang out spot and a dog’s playground.

The rocks are easy to climb, yet steep enough for superb unobstructed views. Randall Museum is located on the grounds of the park. It too has breathtaking views.

Corona Heights is the ideal place for scenic photography. Its views are less familiar than those of nearby Twin Peaks, yet often more spectacular.

How to get there

Corona Heights Map

The park entrance is located near Roosevelt Way and Museum Way (see map). It can take some time to find parking. The roads are steep, making parking even more difficult. California law requires that you turn your wheels when you park on a steep road. If you are unfamiliar with the law, observe the other cars parked in the same direction to avoid a ticket or a runaway car.

GPS position

N 37°45’54.11″ W 122°26’21.40″

How to photograph from Corona Heights

Corona Heights, skyline and bushes

Look for foreground elements to distinguish your pictures from others. I asked my travel companion to pose for the image at the top of the article. I asked her to look toward the most prominent features of the skyline.

We have a natural inclination to follow the line of sight of people in photographs. Place people to the side, and let them look into the picture at a slight angle. This will help to concentrate the viewer’s attention on the most important aspects of the picture. As the eye keeps wandering back to the foreground, the person’s view draws us back in again, creating a dynamic composition.

Foreground elements also enhance the depth of your images, bringing the pictures to life by giving the viewer a sense of being in the scene. Without a foreground, the viewer floats in the air, but a foreground element anchors her to the ground.

Try different foreground elements. The yellow bush in the picture above adds color and works as a contrast to the blue sky. It also erects a barrier between a potential steep drop and us. This can help make viewers feel more comfortable looking at images taken from high altitudes.

A wide-angle lens would make the background objects too small. Use a normal lens (around 50mm) and step back from the foreground element. This requires a very small aperture to preserve sharpness in the foreground and in the background. Sometimes the required depth of field is simply too large. In this case, I recommend keeping the most important element, the city skyline, in focus. Close objects are still easy to distinguish, even with a slight blur. Focus stacking can help you to increase the depth of field, but a slight amount of blur in near/far combinations looks more natural.

Mission seen from Corona Heights

Use a telephoto lens to isolate parts of the city. Even with a telephoto lens, you should pay attention to depth and perspective. Including the bay and the ship above together with the Mission creates a stronger more interesting image. Cover the top portion of the image with your hand and compare it to the full image.

The outstanding views simply beg for panoramic photography. The Twin Peaks article contains detailed instructions about panoramas.

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

The park is open from 6 am to 10pm. Any time of the year is good. The light is best during the afternoon.

Corona Heights Hours

Corona Heights Park is a small dog park. Despite the warning signs, I cannot imagine where coyotes would live here. Nevertheless, it is always a good idea to err on the side of caution.

Time required

Thirty minutes to one hour is sufficient time to photograph the small park. If you shoot large-scale panorama photographs, you need to invest more time.

Equipment

• Telephoto Lens
• Normal Lens
• Tripod
• Panoramic Tripod Head
• CP Filter
• Wind Jacket (it can get cold, even in summer)
• Flashlight

Fees

The park is free.

Close Locations

• Buena Vista and Haight-Ashbury
• Twin Peaks
• San Francisco Mission
• Civic Center with City Hall
• Golden Gate Park East Side
• Golden Gate Park: Conservatory
• Japanese Tea Garden
• Stow Lake, Strawberry Hill, Botanical Garden
• Beach and Cliff House
• Lands End and Sutro Baths
• Lincoln Park and Legion of Honor

Useful Resources

• Randall Museum
• Park History

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Golden Gate South Tower

Take brilliant pictures of San Francisco from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The iconic Golden Gate Bridge that spans the waters where the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean meet, symbolizes the Gold Rush and wealth of the Golden State of California. San Francisco’s most recognizable landmark is also its biggest tourist attraction. Featured in every travel publication, the Golden Gate Bridge is the most photographed attraction in California.

Although it is hardly possible to photograph this icon in a novel way, the hike across the bridge promises some distinct compositions that are harder to find than the most typical overview photographs. Hiking on this majestic bridge also lets you appreciate the marvelous accomplishment that this bridge represents.

Take the walking tour across the windswept bay and enjoy some of the best views the city has to offer!

How to get there

Golden Gate Walk Map (click to enlarge)

From Highway 101 north, take the last San Francisco Exit (View Area Presidio / Golden Gate NRA / Fort Point). Turn left to the parking area. You can park here or take the tunnel underneath Highway 101 to the slightly larger parking area on the other side. Additionally you can park a little further on Merchant Road (free) or on the lot near Lincoln and Battery East Rd (free).

From Highway 1 north, merge onto Highway 101 and then take the next exit. Then follow the directions above. From Highway 101 south, take the 25th Avenue exit right after the Golden Gate Bridge then turn right onto Merchant Avenue.

The rate for the parking meters at the viewing area parking is $1/hour between 8am to 9pm, 7 days a week.

GPS position

• 37°48’50.39″N 122°28’40.20″W

How to photograph from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge

Golden Gate from southeast viewpoint

The southeast viewing area, close to the parking lot offers an interesting view of the Bridge and its extension. Below it, you can see the top of Fort Point. Unfortunately, a wire-mesh fence partially blocks your view.

Nearby, a statue of Joseph Strauss pays homage to the chief designer of the Golden Gate Bridge. Standing back as far as possible and zooming in when photographing the statue, compresses the space between bride and statue, pulling the bridge closer.

Take the thrilling walk on this fascinating bridge! Once you cleared the wire mesh fence, you have a clear unobstructed view down. Since the bridge is popular with jumpers, this openness is in question. Lawmakers are considering extending the fence, which would influence photography.

Downtown San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge

Currently, you can still take photographs such as the one above, putting the bridge in the foreground and the city in the background. I focused on the city, to keep the distant features sharp, accepting some blur on the bridge. It is impossible to get the bridge and the city in focus, even with a very small aperture. A slight blur on the bridge does not matter though, since its features are easily distinguishable. The same amount of blur on the city would however be distracting. The movement of the cables makes focus stacking, the process of combining two pictures with different focal plane, difficult.

The platforms at the bridge towers offer the best spots for photography. I took the picture at the start of this article at the south tower. Looking straight up, I used the same focus technique, keeping the smallest features sharpest, trading off some sharpness on the larger nuts.

Golden Gate Long View

The sidewalk leads around the tower’s east pillar and protrudes out. From here, you have a better angle on the bridge (see above) and a good view of the tower’s macro details.

Golden Gate Painters Cage

Standing on the bridge during a slight wind and heavy traffic, gives you only a small sense of what it must feel like to work on the towers. Look straight up and imagine working there! When I discovered this painters lift / cage hanging from a cable from the south tower, I had to get on the floor to photograph it from this perspective. The image demonstrates the work environment of the bridge workers. The wide-angle perspective works in favor of the image, impressively demonstrating the height of the tower that seems so distant in this shot. The worker who has to stand in this small cage, dangling high above the bridge road deserves our utmost respect.

Look for details such as this cage, the door into the tower, the cable connectors and others to complete your bridge portfolio. Although it is hard to create unique bridge images, it is not impossible.

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

The views of San Francisco are better during late afternoon.

Time required

You can spend two hours leisurely crossing the bridge and taking photographs, but one hour does suffice if you do not have that much time.

Equipment

• Wide-angle lens
• Normal Lens
• CP filter
• Leave your tripod in the car. The bridge rocks in the wind and due to the traffic, making a tripod nearly useless.
• Bring $2 in coins for the parking meters.

Close Locations

• Fort Point
• Views of Presidio
• Presidio historic walk
• Land’s End and Sutro Baths
• Golden Gate Bridge from Hawk Hill and Battery Spencer
• Fort Baker
• Baker Beach
• Legion of Honor
• Stow Lake, Strawberry Hill, Aboretum (Golden Gate Park)
• Japanese Tea Garden (Golden Gate Park)
• Marina, Crissy Field
• Palace of Fine Arts

Useful Resources

• Walking and Biking Information for the Golden Gate Bridge

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Fort Mason roofs and Palace of Fine Arts

Located on a small hilltop overlooking the entrance to San Francisco Bay, Fort Mason was the obvious choice for defensive fortifications. In the age of high tech weaponry, Fort Mason still makes a formidable base for high tech shooters of a different kind, photographers.

Throughout the years, the fort was home to Spanish and American troops and earthquake refugees and served as a port of embarkation for World War II.

Fort Mason is divided into the upper Fort, where attractive white wooden buildings house the Golden Gate National Park Headquarters and a Hostel, and the Fort Mason Center, which encompasses the covered piers and warehouses, now transformed into venues for every imaginable occasion. The pavilions, theaters, and meeting rooms host a number of cultural highlights, tradeshows, and galleries.

How to get there

Fort Mason is in walking distance from Fisherman’s Wharf. The closest Muni station is located on the intersection of Fillmore Street and Bay Street.

You can park at Fort Mason for $1 per hour. On weekends, you can park free at Van Ness Avenue. If you do not mind the short walk, you can park free at the Marina near 37°48’25.67″N 122°26’9.60″W.

GPS position

• 37°48’28.03″N 122°25’40.26″W

How to photograph Fort Mason

Fort Mason Cannon and Golden Gate Bridge

Fort Mason is less photogenic than other destinations in San Francisco, but it offers a couple of interesting options. It is an attractive location because less people visit, but you have to work harder for your pictures. You can find a couple of unique viewpoints to take pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. The battery (image above) makes a good foreground, but trees cover most of the views. Choosing a vertical composition allowed me to use the stones of a walkway to draw the viewer into the picture, toward the cannon. The cannon points toward the Golden Gate Bridge, therefore connecting foreground and background.

I found another good view of the Golden Gate Bridge at 37°48’26.12″N 122°25’56.37″W, which includes the yachts of the Marina in the foreground.

McDowell Road, on the cliffs of Upper Fort Mason, follows the outline of the water. I used a telephoto lens to photograph the Palace of Fine Arts with the red roofs of Lower Fort Mason (image at the beginning of the article). The telephoto lens compresses the large distance between the roofs and the Palace, bringing everything close together.

Fort Mason House

The chapel and the colonial style houses on top of the hill, around Franklin and Funston Streets are worth checking out. Use a zoom lens to isolate the houses from the distractions of the neighborhood or to isolate an interesting feature. A circular polarizing filter will help you to enhance the colors of the grass and the sky and will give your photos more pop.

If you did not already come this way, take the stairs from Franklin Street to the Municipal Pier. From the stairs, you have good views of downtown San Francisco and Alcatraz. Use the crescent shaped pier to draw your viewers in or to define the corners of a downtown shot.

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

Morning to mid afternoon on a sunny day is best.

Time required

About one hour is sufficient time for a pleasant stroll and a few quick photos.

Equipment

• Telephoto Lens
• Zoom Lens
• CP Filter

Fees

There are no entrance fees to see the park. The seasonal exhibitions of Fort Mason Center are not free and parking costs $1 per hour. On weekends, you can find free parking on Van Ness Avenue near the municipal pier.

Close Locations

• San Francisco Maritime Museum
• Palace of Fine Arts
• Cable Cars
• Pier 39
• Fort Point
• Presidio Views
• Presidio’s Main Post
• Golden Gate Bridge
• Baker Beach
• Alcatraz

Useful Resources

• Official Website
• Fort Mason Center

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Alcatraz Cellhouse Broadway

Alcatraz, the infamous penitentiary, is visible from the hills and beaches of San Francisco. It is San Francisco’s second most famous tourist destination, after the Golden Gate Bridge. Deceptively beautiful from a distance, the sheer cliffs, icy cold water, and treacherous currents made escapes from “The Rock” a futile attempt.

Authorities sent only the hardest criminals to this maximum-security facility. Among its famous residents were former Chicago mobster Al “Scarface” Capone, murderer George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and snitch Theodore “Blackie” Audett. The design of “The Rock” served to intimidate the criminals while it simultaneously reminded them of their lost freedom, due to the close proximity to San Francisco.

Today, Alcatraz still grips morbidly fascinated visitors, while offering unique opportunities for photographers. The dark dungeons of the cellblock let you create spectacular images that set a gloomy tone. The absence of natural predators like coyotes makes the island a preferred breeding ground for sea birds. The colorful wildflowers provide an unexpected foreground for the decaying concrete and steel buildings.

Alcatraz offers more than you might expect. It is therefore vital to prepare and get the most from your trip. Board the ferries and get ready to discover a piece of American history.

How to get there

You can only reach the island by boat. I recommend booking with the official provider, Alcatraz Cruises, who are under contract with the National Park service (see resources below). Avoid third party providers, who will resell those tickets. Book your tickets well in advance, since the tours fill up fast. If you are serious about your photography, you need to take the early bird tour, which sells out the fastest, often weeks in advance.

Park your car at Pier 27, on the “Priority Parking” lot. Nobody beats their weekend rate of $10 for 12 hours. From here you can walk to Pier 33, the Alcatraz Cruise terminal, in less than 10 minutes. Weekdays are just $15.

The parking lot across the street from Pier 33 charges a hefty $25.

Alcatraz Map (click to enlarge)

GPS position

• 37°49’36.65″N 122°25’16.45″W

How to photograph Alcatraz

Alcatraz from the Ferry

Your photography adventure starts the moment you step on the ferry. You will have good views of downtown San Francisco, Coit Tower and Fisherman’s Wharf including the SS Jeremiah O’Brien. Use a telephoto lens, preferably with image stabilization, and a circular polarizer. Get a place on the top deck of the ferry. Do not worry where you sit. As soon as the ship leaves, people are up and about, moving around the boat. The port side (left) of the ship offers the best views on the way to Alcatraz.

Alcatraz Broadway shot with Fisheye Lens

Once you are on the island, the park rangers will give you a short introduction. This is a good time to buy the $1 brochure “Discover Alcatraz”. The tour to the main cellblock will lead uphill to your right. Stay to the right and start walking uphill as soon as the rangers give the command. The whole mass of people usually moves with you. As long as you are with the first few people you will be fine.

The rangers hand out audio tours at the entrance. The audio tours include instructions where to go and what to see. Fortunately those instruct visitors almost immediately to stop and observe some plaques. Keep moving ahead and walk through the cutoff into the main hall, called Broadway. You will have this hall to yourself for only a few minutes until the audio tour catches up with you. Use a wide-angle lens (image at the top of the article) or fisheye lens (above) to give the halls even more depth.

Make sure you bump your ISO high enough to avoid camera shake. Since you have only a limited amount of time, I recommend erring on the high side to avoid blurry images. I simply set my camera to aperture priority mode to guarantee sufficient depth of field and used Auto ISO mode. Sometimes I set my camera to manual mode to guarantee depth of field while ensuring a maximum exposure time. Auto ISO mode takes care of the rest. The digital grain (noise) usually works well with historic subjects.

Alcatraz Library Black and White

Moving along the route of the tour, you will pass the library (above). The library is just an empty room with many windows. Taking advantage of the spotlight on the floor, this scene works well either completely empty or with a lonely person sitting on the bench. Use a wide-angle lens and leave some room on the side to allow perspective correction on the computer. This is a common problem with wide-angle lenses that you tilt up or down.

The administrative section is very interesting but not very photogenic. Leave the building toward the warden’s house and the lighthouse. From here you have the best views of San Francisco, the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. Walk down the stairs and to your right on West Road to the historic gardens. Since 2008, a colony of white egrets has made this area their home.

Egret in flight

With some patience, you can sometimes catch the birds flying across the trail to the garden area to forage for food or nesting material. The birds are graceful in flight and comics in nature. Arguing over resources, the animals make almost human sounds, while at the same time sounding just outright hilarious. If your camera has a video mode, this would be a good time to use it.

To photograph the birds, set your camera to high speed shooting mode, select the center focus point, and use the focus servo mode to track them. You probably need several trials to catch them whizzing across the trail.

Alcatraz Garden

In spring you can see the gardens in full bloom. The bright colorful flowers contrast with the dull and lifeless concrete walls of the prison. You can take a docent lead garden tour Friday’s and Sunday’s at 9:30 am. The tour includes gardens that are off-limits to visitors, like the Rose Garden. The photographs on this page are all from publicly accessible areas. The picture above shows the west-side gardens with the cell house and the water tower in the background. I took the poppy photograph on the trail between the guardhouse and the Post Exchange.

California Poppies at Alcatraz

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

Crowds at the Dock

I recommend the early bird tour, since this is the only time of the day where you can get the cellblock shots without massive amounts of people in your way. The light in the evening is best for photographing San Francisco, which creates a small problem, forcing you to wait or prioritize.

Summer can often be foggy and winter can be rainy. Spring and fall are the best seasons to visit the park, while spring offers the best shooting options. The white egrets nest in spring and the wildflowers add a wonderful touch of color to the bleak, barren island.

You need to book in advance, and thus have little control over the frequently changing weather. Even gloomy days offer good shooting, enhancing the mood of the dark prison cells theme, while sunny days offer exceptional views of San Francisco.

Time required

Once on the island, you can stay as long as you want. The ferries run on regular intervals. We spent the whole morning here, returning about 1pm. This gave us sufficient time to see every location multiple times.

You could arrive in the morning and wait for the light to change toward the evening, but you will run out of things to do and since there are no food services anywhere on the island you need to prepare yourself for the trip accordingly.

Equipment

• Tripods: Contrary to information posted in some internet forums, you can bring your tripod. If you plan to shoot San Francisco during the late afternoon, you probably should. Although the lighting conditions inside are less ideal, I prefer not having a tripod. This gives me more flexibility to deal with the crowds and quickly take advantage of an opening. Ultimately it comes down to your preference.
• A wide-angle lens is indispensible in the tight cellblocks.
• A fisheye lens will give you even more field of view to photograph inside a cell or create grossly distorted views.
• A telephoto lens is necessary to shoot the birds and San Francisco. Image stabilization will be useful to avoid the tripod and to photograph from the boat.
• A circular polarizer brings out the colors in the flowers and the buildings, especially if you continue shooting until mid-day when the light is harsh.
• Food and drinks are not available on the island. Bring your own.
• Bring a jacket, even in warm weather. The conditions on Alcatraz are unpredictable. Wear shoes suitable to climb the hills and stairs of the island.
• Charge your batteries and bring sufficient storage / film to last all day.

Fees

A ticket with Alcatraz Cruises (the official operators) costs $26. This includes the boat ride to the island and entrance fee as well as the audio tour.

Difficulty Getting There

You can only get to Alcatraz on a ship.

Difficulty Photographing

The crowds make photography difficult. The early bird tour offers the best option.

Close Locations

• Ferry Building Farmers Market
• Pier 7
• Fisherman’s Wharf
• Fisherman’s Wharf Street Photography
• Pier 39
• Treasure Island
• Financial District
• Coit Tower
• Embarcadero Center
• Maritime Museum
• Chinatown
• Lombard Street
• Fort Mason
• Tiburon

Useful Resources

• Alcatraz official website
• Alcatraz Cruises (reserve your trip here)
• Alcatraz Gardens (and garden tours)

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The attractive Mission San Juan Bautista and the equally named charming small town surrounding it are easy to miss if you don’t already know its location. San Francisco Bay Area residents therefore consider the town one of their insider secrets, a place to relax, to shop, and to eat.

Art stores, antiquities shops, and restaurants line the narrow streets, each competing for your dollars. Unusual characters and harmless but grim looking bikers mingle at the saloon, just next door to the ice cream parlor filled with the excited noise of children begging their parents for sweet treats. San Juan Bautista’s rich, colorful street scenes seem made for photography.

Most visitors come to see Mission San Juan Bautista, the main attraction of the city. Founded 1797, the mission was the largest of the 21 California Missions. The mission is still active today, continuously serving the parish. Its lush gardens are an oasis of color and its bell tower and St. John statue are well-recognized symbols. The mission and nearby buildings of San Juan Bautista State Park are relics from different periods. An old west hotel, horse stables, Plaza Hall and Castro-Breen Adobe provide a unique insight into the old West and provide a great way to complement your portfolio of photographs.

San Juan Bautista has a lot to offer to the casual visitor. Many of its sights reveal their secrets only at the second glance, providing hours fun for exploration.

How to get there

From Highway 101 take Highway 156 toward San Juan Bautista and Hollister (east). After about 2.5 miles turn left and arrive at San Juan Bautista.

GPS position

• 36°50’42.29″N 121°32’9.67″W

How to photograph San Juan Bautista

Mission Bell

The mission is without a doubt the most interesting object for photographers. The view from Second Street showing the long colonnade with the bell in the foreground is one of the most popular mission shots. It also requires the most patience from the photographer, since the mission entrance is along the corridor. People walk in and out and frequently decide to rest in the shade.

I waited long enough for everyone to clear my picture, except for a single person in the distance, at the end of the colonnade. Although hardly visible at this size, it helps to define the focal point in the full-size version of the picture. In processing, I chose to boost contrast levels to add definition and draw attention to the textures.

The colonnade acts like a tunnel, guiding us toward the person and the statue of Father Junipero Serra in the distance. Stepping back to the other side of Second Street would allow you to zoom in and thus compress the distance, bringing the statue closer to the bell.

Flowers

The tasteful landscaping of the mission garden is a delight to enjoy, but difficult to photograph. The few interesting subjects such as the praying statue and the bench with bell are situated in places that make it difficult to place them in a skillful composition. Photographs easily seem cluttered and viewers start to wonder what the photographer wants to show or why (s)he bothered to take the picture in the first place. Simplifying your composition and keeping the shots interesting will be difficult. Experiment to come up with good shots.

The mission chapel is the highlight of the tour. Use a wide-angle lens to emphasize the size and avoid camera flash to create warm and rich colors.

St. John the Baptist Statue

The most famous view of the mission places the statue of St. John the Baptist in front of the bell tower. I moved to the right to put the statue to the side. This avoids the unpleasant illusion of St. John grabbing the bells of the tower. I also wanted to use the white mission background and did not care to cut St. John in half with the mission roof, which could easily happen if you step too close.

Since the statue stands in front of a small rose garden with fountain and several other statues, you can find a number of compelling compositions. Walking about 100 feet into the distance and using a longer focal length de-emphasizes the size of the statue, which allows you to direct the viewers attention to the mission buildings.

El Camino Real

From the small rose garden, you also can view the farmland and the golden rolling hills behind it. A sign marks the location of the El Camino Real, the King’s Highway connecting all 21 California missions. I used a relatively long focal length and a very small aperture for the picture above. The long focal length helped to bring the farmworkers closer, while the long focal range kept the background reasonably sharp.

Photographing the interior of the old state park buildings requires a wide-lens and a good handle on the trade-off between noise, depth, and camera shake. The light shining through the windows creates additional dynamic range problems that can confuse your camera exposure meter. Always check your camera histogram and use exposure compensation where necessary.

Sidewalk

Bikers often visit the Saloon near Third Street and Mariposa Street. Use them in your pictures to create an outlaw western town atmosphere unique to San Juan Bautista or keep everyone out of your pictures to create a peaceful small-town atmosphere. You can create many good shots along Third Street. Keep your eyes open for details but avoid cluttering your shots with the tremendous amount of detail you can find here. The fire truck picture that I took on Polk Street is a perfect example of simplification.

Fire Truck

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

Weekend festivals draw large crowds. Although the festivals themselves can be outstanding photo opportunities, they are not representative of the otherwise prevailing calm atmosphere of this quaint old town.

I like to visit San Juan Bautista during the early and late summer days, but any time of the year can be appealing. Come early for good photographs of the mission. You are looking west when photographing the façade and there will be less people roaming around during the early hours of the day. For photographs of the busy street life and the bikers, the early afternoon hours are best. You can eat lunch in one of the few very pleasant restaurants.

The mission is open between 9:30 and 4:30, except for major holidays. Masses are held Saturdays at 5pm and Sundays at 8:30am and 10am.

Time required

You do not need much more than 2 hours for a thorough sweep of the mission and a few shots of the city and you can be off hurrying to one of the nearby locations, but I recommend spending some time here. San Juan Bautista is a very inviting and relaxing place. Take a rest from your busy photographer’s life and stay for lunch. Then take a few shots in the afternoon.

Equipment

• Wide-angle Lens
• Normal Lens
• Macro lens
• Polarizing Filter
• Pont and Shoot Camera

Fees

The entrance fee to the State Historic Park is $3/person.

The mission charges a $4/person entrance fee.

Close Locations

• Carmel Mission
• Carmel Bye The Sea
• Pinnacles National Monument
• Soledad Mission
• Moss Landing
• Pacific Grove
• Point Lobos
• Capitola
• Point Pinos Lighthouse
• Winchester Mystery House
• San Jose Mission
• Santa Clara Mission
• Uvas Canyon

Useful Resources

• San Juan Bautista Website
• Mission Website
• SJB State Park

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Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad is the thirteenth California Mission. This very small mission does not receive the attention of its more famous sisters. It lies within the Salinas Valley Farmlands that once were dry and inhospitable.

Once a larger mission, the adobe buildings crumbled after its abandonment for over a century, leaving only small piles of rubble and remnants of walls. Some of the original remains are still visible behind the museum, but they are not very photogenic.

Although Soledad Mission is not as attractive as others are, it is only a small detour from Highway 101 and therefore always worth a quick stop. If you are weary of traveling and happen to be in the Salinas area, Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad is the perfect stop.

How to get there

Take the Arroyo Seco Road exit from Highway 101, just south of Soledad. Drive west for 1.2 miles and then turn right onto Co Road G17/Fort Romie Road. Follow this road for about 1.5 miles. The mission will be on your left.

GPS position

• 36°24’16.67″N 121°21’22.07″W

How to photograph Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad

At the Soledad Mission, you have to work harder for your images, but that also means there will not be as many competing photographs available from other photographers.

For the picture in the introduction, I chose to put the small statue in the foreground. The statue is only a few inches tall, but it appears to be much larger in the picture. I achieved this effect by using a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses emphasize foreground subjects and de-emphasize background subjects.  Try different focal lengths and change your point of view often, as these subtle changes sometimes have a large impact. Using different lenses, you can keep the size of the statue the same while changing the relative size of the background, or vice versa.

The statue appears to look down at an angle. I chose a point of view that makes it appear as if the monk looks toward the mission. The lighting was difficult for my position, but the resulting composition was good and worth the tradeoff. By following the line of sight of the statue, we discover the mission peeking through the brushes.

Balcony

A strong sense of perspective and depth enhances the viewers feeling of being there. A colonnade (shown above) is one of my favorite subjects for perspective photography. Converging parallel lines of the roof and patio, as well as the diminishing apparent size of subjects of equal actual size from the near to the far end of the picture help to accomplish this effect. Viewers know that all the benches, windows, and flowerpots each have the same respective size. Yet they diminish in size in the distance, thus reinforcing the sense of perspective.

Placing the convergence point off-center, toward the left of the frame further creates tension through asymmetry.

Chapel with Virgin Mary Statue

To protect the artwork, the museum and church are off-limits for flash photography. The dark atmosphere makes photography more difficult, but with modern image stabilization and high ISO cameras, this is not an issue anymore. Using the available light creates a warmer atmosphere. I photographed the image above at a slightly upward angle, which results in a small amount of perspective distortion (walls leaning in). You can easily correct this effect if you strive for representations that are more accurate.

Mission Bell

The original mission bell survived the deterioration of the mission nearly unharmed. The mission ruins on the other hand are too far-gone to be worthy subjects.

The surrounding fields with colorful dotted farmworkers can make very good subjects. Using a long focal length, you can pull the distant mountains closer while showing the farmworkers in a green field at work. Align yourself with the rows of plants, so that they lead directly to the workers or any other focal point that you choose. Place the workers high in your frame and leave enough space around them to show the vastness of these fields.

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

Since the mission faces south, you can create good photographs throughout most of the day. The late afternoon sun looks best.

The fields look best around harvest time (late summer and fall) and the roses at the mission look best in late spring.

Time required

About one hour is sufficient for a quick visit to this small mission.

Equipment

• Wide-angle lens
• Image stabilized lens
• CP Filter
• Telephoto Lens
• Tripod

Fees

Although there is no “entrance fee”, the mission relies on your kind donations to continue operating.

Close Locations

• Pinnacles NM West Entrance
• San Juan Bautista (city and mission)
• Sea Otters of Moss Landing
• Monterey Fishermans Wharf
• Monarch Grove Sanctuary
• Point Pinos Lighthouse
• Pacific Grove
• 17 mile drive
• Carmel Mission

Useful Resources_­

• Soledad Website
• Missions Resource Center

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Point Reyes Lighthouse is perched on a steep cliff in the windiest place on the Pacific Coast and the foggiest place in California. Despite the unusual weather, the lighthouse is a favorite destination for visitors. Located on the westernmost outcrop of Point Reyes National Seashore, the lighthouse is also the best location for whale watching from land.

Chimney Rock is a similar outcrop, on the opposite side of the tip of Point Reyes’ peninsula, at Drakes Bay. It is a narrow stretch of land of unbelievable beauty. Surrounded by deep blue and turquoise sea, this small peninsula is vividly colorful during spring, when carpets of wildflowers cover portions of the lush green pastures.

It is not a secret how picturesque this portion of Point Reyes is. Consequently, you will have a lot of competition for your photographs. Despite the large number of visitors, both locations still are exceptional photographic treasures that you shouldn’t miss.

How to get there

California Highway 1 leads through Point Reyes Station, north of San Francisco. In Point Reyes Station, you will see a sign to Point Reyes National Seashore and Inverness. Signs are posted in the northbound and southbound direction. Following the signs will lead you to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. Follow this road through Inverness, all the way to the lighthouse parking lot.

To get to Chimney Rock, follow Pierce Point Road, which branches off to the right shortly after Inverness. Stay left on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

GPS position

Lighthouse

• 37°59’44.86″N 123° 1’22.77″W

Chimney Rock

• 37°59’24.65″N 122°57’55.71″W

How to photograph Point Reyes Lighthouse and Chimney Rock

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Lighthouse Stairs

Using the long flight of stairs, which lead to the lighthouse in a graceful curve, results in an esthetically pleasing composition. No wonder most photographers end up with an image just like this in their portfolio. The proportions and the flow are perfect. The viewer follows the stairs to the reward, the main subject, at the end. It puts the lighthouse in perspective. The fog helps to emphasize the distance and the length of the stairs. It also adds tension, since the lighthouse seems to stand at the edge of a deep abyss. The image gives no clue of what lies beyond, but somehow it seems as if we are meant to walk down the stairs to find out.

There is no bad weather for photography. Especially fog can greatly enhance the mood of any picture. Avoid including too much sky in your pictures and use your exposure correction, since cameras tend to underexpose in these conditions.

Lighthouse

It is no secret that the spectacular location makes the lighthouse so popular. You can find many interesting details and even some unique views down here, but the views from the stairs are simply the best. Unfortunately, those are also the most photographed, so don’t expect to come up with something entirely new. The picture in the introduction shows a different and much less photographed view of the stairs, facing in the opposite direction.

The exhibition inside the lighthouse provides a plethora of detail shots waiting for your camera and the perimeter has good views of the original lighthouse, standing on the ledge that workers blasted into the granite rock face over 100 years ago.

Danger! Charge!

After you say goodbye to the lighthouse, you still face the arduous task of climbing the stairs back up. Take an occasional breather and turn back for another view. Sometimes the weather changes quickly and the lighthouse may look better on your way up than it did on the way down.

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock is the most spectacular hike in Point Reyes. The Pacific Ocean foams on one side and Drakes Bay lies on the other side of the narrow land bridge leading out to Chimney Rock. The beach beneath is a popular hangout for cool seals and the meadows above are dotted with wildflowers. Just like the lighthouse, this hike is often very windy.

Fish Docks

Do not let the wind distract you from the extraordinary views and superb photography. Look for seals at the beaches and keep an eye open for whales blowing in the distance during spring. The most famous view is from the Headlands overlook trail (two pictures above). Chimney Rock is a small offshore rock that is not particularly photogenic. The trail makes up for it though and I recommend walking the trail to the very end, where California suddenly ends and the vast Pacific Ocean begins. This would be the perfect place to use a fisheye lens and photograph the curvature of the earth, including the Chimney Rock trail.

From here, you can also hike down to the historic lifeboat station via the Underhill Trail. Due to the heavy fog, even the lighthouse could not completely prevent shipwrecks. This station saved many lives, yet the nearby cemetery also tells the story of those that were not lucky enough to catch a ride on the boat in time.

Tanks

Keep an eye on the beaches and you may be lucky to spot seals taking a sunbath. Watch out for other subjects that can enhance your landscape photographs. Point Reyes is also home to a large population of deer, Tule Elk (not here, but further north), and mountain lions. Attach your telephoto lens during hikes and preset your camera (Exposure speed, Auto Aperture, and Auto ISO) so you are ready when you have to be.

Enjoy your trip!

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

The stairs to the lighthouse are open from 10am to 4:30pm. If wind speeds exceed 40mph, the stairs will be closed. During the whale-watching season (last week of December to mid-April) and on weekends you will have to take a shuttle bus on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard (the road leading to the lighthouse and Chimney Rock). Spring (April and May) is the best time for a visit, since you can drive here directly and you will be able to find a large number of wildflowers.

Time required

Driving out to Chimney Rock and the Lighthouse from Point Reyes Station takes about one hour. Walking down the stairs to the lighthouse and back up takes about the same time and hiking the 1.6 miles out to Chimney Rock and back will cost you at least one hour. Together that is already three hours, without taking a single photograph. Since both locations provide exceptionally good opportunities, you should plan your entire day around this visit, maybe combined with a stop in Inverness.

Equipment

• Telephoto lens (whales, deer, sea lions)
• Zoom lens
• Fisheye Lens if you have one
• Tripod
• Polarizing Filter and UV filter
• Point and Shoot Camera
• Sweater and Windbreaker
• Snacks to get you through the day

Try to keep the load light for the climb down to the lighthouse.

Fees

Although there is no entrance fee for Point Reyes National Seashore, the shuttle bus (see Best Time section) will cost $5 / person.

Difficulty Getting There

You cannot drive to the lighthouse between the last week of December and mid April. You need to take the shuttle bus and plan accordingly.

In order to get to the lighthouse, you need to climb 308 stairs down and then back up. If you are in reasonably good physical condition, this is not a major obstacle, but it takes time and costs energy.

Lastly, the parking lot is notoriously overcrowded. You may need to park further away and walk.

Close Locations

• Tomales Bay State Park
• Pt. Reyes Tule Elk Reserve
• Pt. Reyes Coastal Trail
• Inverness and Earthquake Trail
• Fort Ross
• Bodega Bay and Bodega Head
• Bodega Dunes
• Bodega Cliffs
• Mt Tamalpais
• Muir Woods
• Point Bonita Lighthouse
• Secret Views of Marin Headlands
• Marin Headlands Bay Views

Useful Resources

• Lighthouse page on nps.gov
• Lighthousefriends page
• Chimney Rock hike

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Despite its convenient location along a well-traveled path, San Miguel Arcangel Mission is an often-overlooked photographic treasure. Due to recent earthquakes, the old mission used to be in a desolate condition. The mission church was long closed with the thread of an immanent collapse looming over it. Today the church has reopened, owing to extensive restoration projects funded through donations.

The decay that threatens the very existence of this mission also makes it one of the most appealing ones to photograph. Crumbling walls, rusting ornaments, and peeling paint give it an authentic old feeling that some other missions lack. While you walk through the old mission remnants, you can feel the age of the buildings.

Simply plan a stop on your next trip along Highway 101, you won’t regret it.

How to get there

San Miguel Mission is located conveniently right next to Highway 101 about eight miles north of Paso Robles.

Heading north on Highway 101, take the Mission Street Exit (239A). You will see the mission from the off ramp. From 101 southbound, take the 10^th Street exit (239), then turn left onto 10^th Street. Drive about 0.2 miles then turn right onto Mission Street. You will arrive at the mission after another 0.2 miles.

GPS position

• 35°44’41.16″N 120°41’49.46″W

How to photograph Mission San Miguel

Mission Bells and Cacti

The bell tower is the most distinctive element of the mission. It is located at the south side of the mission. The orange-red colored brick stones and blue skies are complementary colors, creating a bold look due to the high color contrast. A circular polarizing filter can help you enhance the colors even more. Use this filter sparingly, as it can easily lead to very unnatural looking images.

Pay attention to the perspective of the clock tower. If you tilt your camera while using a wide-angle lens, the tower will appear to lean backward in your photograph. Either you can use this effect to enhance your picture, or you can strive for accuracy and may want to correct it. In that case, I recommend leaving some cropping space above it, which will make correction easier.

San Miguel Front Gate

Boosting large and small detail and sharpening are two techniques I use to emphasize the texture of the peeling paint, the crumbling plaster, and mossy stones. It adds character to the photograph and emphasizes the historic aspects of the mission. Pay attention to smaller details. Stop and ask yourself what made you look at a feature and why you recognized it. Can you capture this fleeting spur of attention in a meaningful photograph? Can you isolate this feature?

Bell

Show details in a larger context, to add meaningful background information or isolate the detail and leave the viewer puzzled to highlight the graphical properties.  The image above uses selective focus to emphasize the bell, while leaving enough detail in the background to avoid the appearance of a bell floating in empty space.

Obviously, there are limits to the depth of field you can accomplish. You can however simulate narrow depth of field on the computer by adding blur to an image. Simulating an infinite depth of field is also possible, but requires proper planning. Photographing multiple pictures with the focus set at varying distances, and combining them on the computer can simulate this effect.

Piano

To keep the decay at bay, flash photography is not allowed inside the mission. Natural light often results in better-looking photographs, but presents severe challenges. Eventually, you cannot boost your ISO settings any higher and the image stabilization will reach its limits. A common trick is to take several photographs of the same scene. Since your handshake is random, there will always be a few pictures that turn out sharper than others.

The increased amplification (high ISO) usually means that your camera will not record as much dynamic range as it can in bright light. This means it may become more difficult to brighten dark areas, as they will turn out even noisier. Advanced noise filtering can help. I use Topaz DeNoise filter for these situations.

Colonnade and Wagon

Spend some extra time walking the grounds of the mission and look for creative angles, different perspectives, and uncommon points of view that enhance the character of the mission. A small shift in the camera position or angle can make a big difference in your photographs.

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

The museum is open between 10am and 4:30pm and the church opens from 8am to 5pm. If you are running late or early, it is therefore best to save a visit to the church for last or do it first. The early morning and late afternoon light is best. Due to the opening hours, it is a good destination for an off-season visit, since the sun will be at lower angles during this time.

Time required

You should plan a minimum of one hour. It would be best if you can afford to spend two hours here.

Equipment

• Zoom lens (with IS if possible)
• Wide-angle lens
• CP Filter
• Polarizing Sunglasses

Fees

During my last visit, the mission gratefully accepted donations of any kind that were desperately needed to repair recent earthquake damage.

Close Locations

• San Luis Obispo Mission
• San Antonio Mission
• Cambira and Cayucos
• San Simeon Otters and Seals
• Hearst Castle
• Morro Bay
• Montana de Oro State Park
• Avila Beach
• Shell Beach
• Pismo Beach

Useful Resources

• Mission Website

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Known as the “Queen of the Missions”, Santa Barbara Mission is a primary tourist attraction in Santa Barbara, a Spanish style coastal town in Southern California. The parish church is still in use today.

The façade of the mission and the nearby rose garden are popular backgrounds for wedding photography, whereas the mission grounds and the architecture are the main subjects for travel photographers and tourists interested in early California history.

The location of the Santa Barbara Mission sets it apart from all other California Missions. It sits atop a small hill, exposing it to a cool breeze from the ocean. The nearby Santa Ynez Mountains provide a wonderful backdrop for panoramic images while the rose garden is a popular foreground motif for mission photographs.

I highly recommend spending some time around the waterfront to soak up the cool relaxed atmosphere of Santa Barbara before photographing the mission. Take advantage of the location.

How to get there

The mission is located on 2201 Laguna Street in Santa Barbara.

From Highway 101 take the Mission Street exit (99A for northbound traffic, 99 for southbound traffic). Turn north onto Mission Street (right if you came northbound, left if you came southbound). Drive about 1 mile, then turn left onto Laguna Street. The mission will be straight ahead.

GPS position

• 34°26’16.65″N 119°42’48.21″W

How to photograph Mission Santa Barbara

Fountain

One way to take advantage of the location is by including as much of the Santa Barbara feeling in your photographs. Use the nearby hills, white colored buildings, and palm trees of Santa Barbara to convey a sense of place and southern vacation town feeling.

The mission church is massive and tends to overwhelm photographs. Put it in the background by photographing at an angle, similar to the fountain photograph above, where the church is some distance away. Using a short focal length will further diminish the size of the church and give you enough field of view (how wide the shot is) to include the reflection of the church in the pond.

The rose garden that is located across E. Los Olivos Street is yet another good foreground choice for the mission. There you need to use a longer focal length and step back from the roses and fountain in order to prevent the mission from becoming too small in your picture.

Jug

Use high ISO and image stabilization for your indoor shots. A wide-angle lens will help you to achieve maximum depth of field, even with wide apertures required due to the low light. At the same time, the wider angle is useful to include more of the indoor scene. Try to hold your camera straight. If you angle it up or down, you will get distorted images (converging verticals). If you have no other choice, make sure you leave enough room around your main subject to allow distortion correction and cropping on the computer.

The courtyard has a fountain and several tall palm trees, all of which are difficult to fit into a compelling composition. Instead, I chose to focus on the colonnade (below) and other architectural elements (above). The authentic looking roof tiling (above) is indicative of these missions. Don’t forget to capture some detail shots with your telephoto lens.

Colonnade

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

The Mission is open between 9:00am to 5:00pm. If you come early, there will be less visitors and good light on the mission façade, including the fountain.

All seasons are good, but the garden will be most colorful in spring and early summer.

Time required

You should plan about 90 minutes for a visit. Anything less than one hour will be too rushed.

Equipment

• Wide-angle lens
• Zoom Lens
• IS lens (indoor shots)

I prefer to travel light in such locations. A small photo backpack contains only the necessary equipment. This allows me to stay mobile. I often do not even bring a tripod.

Fees

Adults pay $5, seniors pay $4 and children between 5-15 pay $1.

Close Locations

• Santa Barbara Presidio
• Santa Barbara Courthouse
• Santa Barbara Wharf
• Solvang
• Santa Ines Mission
• La Purisima Mission
• Nojoqui Falls Park
• Guadalupe Dunes
• Mission San Luis Obispo
• Shell Beach
• Mission San Buenaventura
• Ronald Reagan Library

Useful Resources

• Mission Website
• Historic Information
• Pictures and Information
• Santa Barbara Prints

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Presidio Brick House Porch

Unravel the history of San Francisco’s Presidio and take great photos on a self-guided walking tour of the Main Post, the heart of the Presidio.

The former Spanish / Mexican / US military site is part of the National Park Service and in public hands since 1994. With over 200 years of military history, the park offers a unique combination of attractions for history buffs and photographers.

The stylish 19th century houses, lavish porches, and beautifully maintained gardens make this area of the park attractive to photographers. Most of the buildings serve as residences and offices and are thus off limits to exploration, but there is still much to see on the short walking tour.

How to get there

Presidio Walking Tour Map (click to enlarge)

The temporary Visitor Center is currently located at the Officers’ Club at 50 Moraga Avenue. Make the visitor center your first stop. Here you can get a detailed map of the entire park and a brochure with background information of the Presidio’s Main Post.

Parking is free. The most convenient place to park is in front of the visitor center. Alternatively, you can also park on the Main Parade Ground.

GPS position

• 37°47’52.42″N 122°27’30.71″W

How to photograph the Buildings of the Presidio’s Main Post

Presidio old car

The visitor center lies within the confines of the original 1776 Presidio. From here, walk along Moraga Avenue to the Chapel of our Lady. If you get a chance to photograph inside the small civil-war-era chapel, take it. The bright wooden interior of the picturesque chapel is worth it.

Continue on Moraga Avenue to the corner of Funston Avenue. The large brick building to your right has a long porch graced with white pillars (image at the top of the page). You can find good compositions from the porch and from Funston Avenue.

The classic white 19th century houses along Funston Avenue seem too similar. Such is the appeal of the former military architecture. Lining them up in a row seems natural, but is difficult. I found one of the best angles from the first house near Moraga Avenue, but depending on the season and the prevailing light, the view from the north (other end) may look better. Look for anything that stands out. I found an old car (image above) that added a nice touch.

Presidio Flowers at the Hospital

From Funston Ave, take a short detour to Mesa Street, where you will find two impressive three story stone buildings with giant arched colonnades. You can climb to the second floor using an outside stair. The buildings look impressive but the parked cars in front of the buildings ruin the composition. Maybe you will have more luck.

Continue down Funston to the withered old Army Hospital. Restoration on the crumbling building constrained photography during my last visit, but I found that the peeling paint provides good abstract studies. Behind the Hospital, you can find two cabins that served as housing for the earthquake victims of 1906.

Presidio Fire Truck

Turn left on Lincoln Blvd and continue for another block. Across the street on Lincoln, you will find the old fire station. The building is not interesting, but maybe you are in luck and the trucks are out.

The Enlisted Barracks on Graham Street are notoriously difficult to photograph. I climbed the fire escape stairs on the building across the street to get a better point of view.

Presidio Disney Museum

Walk across the Main Parade Ground, which is just a large concrete parking area, to the red brick buildings on Montgomery Street. One of these buildings is the Visitor Center under restoration. Keep of the porch. The wood is old and brittle. The porch of the Disney Museum is already restored.

If you wish, you can take a small detour to the Main Post Chapel at 130 Fisher Loop. Part of the Interfaith Center, the chapel is one of the oldest buildings here. It was erected in 1776.

On your way back to the visitor center, you will pass the cannons. Use a wide aperture and medium to long focal length to isolate them from the clutter in the background, especially the parked cars.

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

Most of the views are to the west, which makes mornings the better time to take the walk. I shot this place on an overcast day’s afternoon, which works well too, if you can eliminate most of the sky from your photographs.

Although spring will be a good time for the gardens, I like to visit here during the summer and winter, when other places are less attractive. The maintained grounds are beautiful year round.

Time required

It takes about 90 minutes to walk around and take photos.

Equipment

• Zoom Lens
• Wide-angle lens
• CP Filter
• Tripod (for HDR shots)

Close Locations

• Fort Point
• Presidio Views
• Golden Gate walk
• Land’s End and Sutro Baths
• Baker Beach
• China Beach
• Legion of Honor
• Stow Lake, Strawberry Hill, Aboretum (Golden Gate Park)
• Japanese Tea Garden (Golden Gate Park)
• Marina, Crissy Field
• Palace of Fine Arts
• Twin Peaks
• Fort Mason

Useful Resources

• Presidio Official Website
• Golden Gate NRA

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