Golden Gate Under Low Clouds

Golden Gate shrouded in low-hanging summer clouds

The best laid plans....

It was supposed to be an evening with great night photography at the Golden Gate during the blue hour, Palace of Fine Art and later at the Bay Bridge to see the moon rising in the late evening.  I had made these plans for an out-of-town visitors to whom I already explained that the city experiences more of a winter cold wind and fog during our summer days.  As I drove up on 280, the ominous clouds were unmistakable in the early afternoon pushing in from the ocean over the sunset district of the city.  From the high point at Divisadero, the business district was bathed in sunshine with only puffy clouds making it that far into the Bay.  As the afternoon proceeded the low cloud overcast pushed more and more over the city and into the Bay.

View through the North Tower from Battery Spencer

I hadn't been on Hawks Hill on a Saturday late afternoon in August - and the vista points along the road were not just packed but there was chaos on the road with the parking lots overloaded.  Walking up to Spencer Battery, we were greeting by fierce wind funneling into the Bay.  The tip of the Golden Gate towers previously still visible were progressively swallowed in clouds with more fog rolling in.  Timing our arrival before sunset, any hopes to catch the blue hour with the light coming on were blown in the wind or swallowed in fog!

It was time for alternative options!  By now the cloud cover extended pretty much all the way into the bay and maybe Fort Baker on the East side of the bridge would give us a better view.  Sandwiches, hot tea and granola bars bridged the time until the light fell.

Golden Gate shrouded under a low cloud ceiling

With all the moisture in the air, the warm colors of the night were reflected in the water.

Next alternate stop was the Palace of Fine Art with its reflection pond that invites any night photographer to stop and linger.

Palace of Fine Art

Forgetting moon rise at the Bay Bridge (!) our next stop was at the Legion of Honors.  I had photographed there in the past and experienced a nice reflection in the pond, but tonight the fountain was going giving us a different experience.

Legion of Honor

Horse and Rider Sculpture at the Legion of Honor

As midnight approached, I bid good bye to my friends.  Although I had planned quite a different evening the city of course offers many wonderful sights during the day and the night, and  I was happy that we captured some nice images at these alternate locations.

By now, Bill and Russ are back in the Midwest, but I am sure they will come back during the winter time when the skies are clear and we again can go out, and this time hopefully can capture the Golden Gate in 'better light" during the blue hour and into the night.

Until then, happy travel wherever your journey takes you!

Meggi

Beautiful Night Sky over the Bay

I am on the verge to go on a month-long trip to South America but wanted to share some of my new night images taken during the last month.  I will travel overland in Patagonia visiting glaciers and rugged mountains before ending up at the Magellan Street where I will explore the waters and marine life on a small boat for another week.

Moon-rise over Bay Bridge

The first full moon in the year is called the wolf moon and legend has it the ancient people named is such since hungry wolves could be heard more in the winter time the food sources scarce in January and more howling to be heard through the cold nights.

So it was the Wolf Moon that I captured last weekend over the Bay in the above time lapse video.  The images were captured over almost 2 hours and while my camera was working I connected with many photographers who were out on the Embarcadero photographing the raising moon.  Although cold, it was a beautiful evening.

The winter months are excellent for night sky photography since the sun sets early and the twilight is beautiful.  The sky is much clearer in the winter without the fog rolling in as is so often the case in the summer months.  However, finding ‘dark’ sky not polluted by the city lights can be a challenge.  So I spent many cold evenings and nights ‘out there’ capturing the night sky for star trails and time-lapse videos exploring various locations.  I found that even over the heavily lit Bay Area one can get interesting images despite the city lights and the heavy airline traffic streaking over the sky. 

Enjoy the sampling of last month’s images:

Star Trails and Sky Art over the Baylands and the Duck Pond

Twilight over the Ocean near Pescadero

Heavy airline traffic out of San Francisco Airport

A gorgeous but very cold night at Mount Hamilton

Looking South towards San Jose with its air traffic.

Beautiful Star Trails over Golden Gate

Pigeon Point Lighthouse -  a beacon against the night

It's raining stars above Golden Gate

... and last but not least, the stars right over my home, captured right from my balcony in Palo Alto.

I marvel at what the camera can see when our eyes only pick out a couple of stars.

For right now, I am off to new horizons again - but I know that I will continue to explore the night sky and my new-found nightlife further.

So long,

and til next time,

Meggi

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