Bridge to Yerba Buena, San Francisco Bay Bridge, California

Time for a nice refreshing swim in San Francisco Bay! Actually there was some crazy person swimming on the right side during this 2-minute exposure. No trace of him in this photo however. No HDR.

Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!

See the 1200 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/417788563...

---------------------------------------------------------
Settings etc.:
---------------------------------------------------------

Canon 5D Mark II
2-horizontal shot panorama (about 10,000 pixels wide)
Canon 17-40L @19
2-minute exposure @F14
1 LEE soft ND grad 0.9 (100x150mm) (2 filters reflects bright lights)
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer.
ISO 50
Small Slik tripod with Manfrotto pistol grip ball head
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop

The west span of the San Francisco-Oakland bay bridge is an amazing suspension bridge, built in 1935! The east span (behind the island) is being rebuilt right now.

102 million vehicles crossed over the bridge in 2008 which makes it the second-busiest bridge in the world behind the George Washington bridge in New York, which carried 108 million.

This span is 10,304 feet long (3,141 m), nearly as long as the world's longest suspension bridge, the 12,826 feet (3,909 m) Akashi Kaikyo bridge in Japan. And there is another 10,000ft non-suspension section to the right of the frame but it is not counted, so the Japanese bridge is considered longer.

It has 5 traffic lanes on the top deck and 5 on the lower deck, so the traffic always packed to the limit, even at night. The George Washington has 7 in each direction, so the traffic is probably better there. Fortunately we have the Bay Area Rapid Transit system with a tunnel on the bottom of the bay crossing underneath the bridge and entering the city almost right underneath where this photo was taken!

This is a rare example where a clear sunset with the sun behind the camera is often better than a sky with clouds. I've tried this shot with cloudy skies and I just can't get it to look as good as this.

The map shows exactly where this is. Parking can be difficult so the transit system is often the best way to get here.

See my Flickr profile for a link to my newly designed website.
.

PS - I made a new version of the Diablo Panorama. It is the previous shot to this in my stream.

Taken in: United States / California / San Francisco / South Beach (show map)

Taken on: December 5, 2009

Tags:

landscape

seascape

bay

bridge

water

sunset

suspension

travel

vacation

embarcadero

san francisco

Yerba Buena Island

california « less

Sets appears in: • San Francisco Area

Groups appears in: • 100 Club (All pics must have been 'Favorited' at least 100 times • 100 faves more » • Favorites: 100 • *GreatPixGallery 100 Faves+ • 100+ Faves 1-2-3 (Post one,Comment and Fave two) • World100F – The QualityGroup • Chapeau! (invited only) • ~ Flickr's Finest (100+ Faves Only) ~ • Stuck On Earth Community « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/14.0, 85 sec, 19mm, ISO 50 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Aperture:	f/14.0
Exposure Time:	85
Focal Length:	19mm
ISO:	50
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Unknown (9)
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS4 Windows
Show full info

Stats: 87,478 views / 115 comments