Derek Sisson Photography

Fog Bows on Twin Peaks, San Francisco

Derek — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:59:17 +0000

I made it to the top of Twin Peaks on a foggy morning and had terrific views of the city.

North towards the Golden Gate Bridge:

San Francisco under fog cover.

South towards the San Bruno Mountains:

Looking south from Twin Peaks, fog blanketing the city.

And luckily I encountered another fog bow, as these next three photos show:

Fog bow on Twin Peaks

Presidio Pet Cemetery, part 2

Derek — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 23:55:25 +0000

The Presidio Pet Cemetery has been covered with a section of bridgework, leaving most of the graves in deep shade.

Presidio Pet Cemetery is now covered over.

This new roof will kill all the vegetation, leaving this a baren little plot. Seems a shame, but it is clear that the protection of this little cemetery was planned into the construction project.

Presidio Pet Cemetery is now covered over.

The challenge will be making this a welcoming and peaceful place after the new Doyle Drive is up and running.

For more on the Presidio Pet Cemetery, see this older post.

Fleet Week Air Show, Sunday from the Golden Gate Bridge

Derek — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 20:53:14 +0000

I went to the Golden Gate Bridge on Sunday to shoot the last day of the Fleet Week Air Show. This was certainly a different perspective on the aerobatics: the stunts take space in a three-dimensional space, and this new vantage point is about 90 degrees different from my usual mainland position.

I suppose with the addition of photographers, the time dimension comes into play…

Here’s a flight of four planes flying in very close quarters over the bay; I don’t know who they are.

Aerobatics team over San Francisco Bay. Not sure who these guys are.

And here are the Blue Angels:

Blue Angels over the San Francisco Bay.

Blue Angels over Alcatraz.

Blue Angels over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Fleet Week Air Show practice, Inspiration Point

Derek — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:11:59 +0000

Today I watched the Fleet Week Air Show practice from Inspiration Point, a lookout in the Presidio just inside the Arguello Gate. This vantage point let me photograph the aerobatics over Alcatraz and Angel Island on one side, and over the Presidio Heights neighborhood on the other.

These planes do some amazing stunts. The small planes, like the Team Oracle Biplane, will fly straight up then stall, and fall down backwards. This photo shows a convoluted path above and around Alcatraz.

Oracle Biplane over Alcatraz.

These are the Blue Angels flying above Alcatraz.

Blue Angels over Alcatraz.

Be sure that this air show takes place over a city, with the roar of jet engines reverberating off the walls of the big buildings downtown and rattling the windows of neighborhoods all across the city. It can be disorienting trying to spot the planes because the sound seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Here the Blue Angels fly over Presidio Heights.

Blue Angels over Presidio Heights.

This last shot is quite striking: a United Airlines 747 buzzing Alcatraz. I’m not sure when they joined the Fleet Week air show, but it’s a little unnerving having such a big plane flying that low around the city, especially considering that the city was a potential target for the 9/11 attacks.

United Airlines 747 flying over Alcatraz.

Fleet Week Air Show practice, Hyde Street Pier

Derek — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:24:59 +0000

I caught some of the air show acts practicing for the Fleet Week Air Show; it was a happy coincidence that my wife and I were down there to speak with the Balclutha’s staff about an event.

The next two shots show John Kelly flying his Staudacher S-300D custom aerobatics plane near the Golden Gate Bridge.

John Kelly in his Staudacher S-300D

This shot shows the U.S. Marine Corps Lockheed-Martin C-130T Hercules flying past the Ghirardelli Factory. This aircraft is nicknamed the “Fat Albert Airlines”, and is part of the U.S. Navy’s Bue Angels.

US Marines Lockheed-Martin C-130T Hercules flying past Ghirardelli's

Paddle Boarding at Fort Point

Derek — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:33:04 +0000

Fort Point lies directly under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The Park Service opens up the fort several days a week, and it’s well worth a visit. The architecture is wonderful, and the views of the bridge, the bay, and the city are fantastic.

Of course, you need to pick a day when the fog isn’t limiting those views…

I caught this guy paddle boarding on the city-side of the fort; here he’s waiting for a wave:

Paddle boarder and pelicans.

Riding that wave!

Paddle boarder catching waves off Ft. Point.

As I was wandering the Fort, I saw him surfing directly under the bridge.

de Young Museum and the Moon, Golden Gate Park

Derek — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0000

I was biking past the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park when I spotted this great alignment of moon and museum tower.

de Young Museum vs. the moon.

The problem with this shot is that because of that essential alignment, I couldn’t frame the tower in such a way that the vegetation was out of shot and still show the height of the tower.

This next shot has a nice composition, but I just don’t think it works in black and white; of course, I didn’t shoot a version in color.

Sculpture, de Young tower, the moon.

Better luck next month!

Tour de Fat 2010, Golden Gate Park

Derek — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 00:56:00 +0000

This year’s Tour de Fat was during a heat wave, on a hot, sunny day. I rode my daughter to the park on the Xtracycle and hooked onto the tail end of the parade. The parade is special because it is supported by the police, who close off the intersections to car traffic as we pass by. My daughter loves to wave from the back of the bike and talk to other cyclists.

Because I was riding, I have no photos of the parade.

But we had a blast back at the Tour de Fat proper. We watched a comedian call up to the stage two innocent victims, as well as the sartorially resplendent Gary Fisher of mountain bike fame.

Tour de Fat contestants spin wheel. That's Gary Fisher in the red suit.

At one point, Gary got a bit rambunctious and started spanking the comedian MC:

Gary Fisher spanking the comedian.

The dancers came on next.

The Tour de Fat dancers.

One of the big draws of the Tour is the collection of crazy bikes:

Crazy bikes rodeo.

Grandview Park, San Francisco, Part 2

Derek — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:10:54 +0000

I climbed up to Grandview Park for the first time in several weeks, and timed it just right to catch the sun breaking through the fog.

I love these stairs, partially because they aren’t just an access mechanism to the park: they are part of the park.

Stairs to Grandview Park.

The sun burning through the fog made for some interesting light effects.

Light through the trees of Grandview Park.

The sun and fog combined to make this cool circular rainbow, which was unfortunately hard to photograph clearly.

Circular Rainbow and Self-Portrait.

Update: this circular rainbow is actually a type of fog bow called a Brocken Spectre.

Farmer’s Market, U.N. Plaza, San Francisco

Derek — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 23:43:06 +0000

There are farmer’s markets scattered around San Francisco. On my bike ride this past Sunday I passed three farmer’s markets and one arts and crafts market.

These shots were taken at the U.N. Plaza, across from City Hall. With the first one, I was trying to capture the juxtaposition of the word “truth” with the activities of the guys in the foreground trying to get signatures for their cause.

U.N. Plaza Farmer's Market

At the south end of the plaza, a Chinese musician was playing an Erhu, or Chinese violin. While I was listening to him, a street artist came up and started sketching him.

Artist sketching Erhu player.