Need some input from Bay Area RFF members

mkyy

Established
Local time
9:01 PM
Joined
Mar 23, 2005
Messages
117
Location
Vancouver, BC
I'll be going to San Francisco in mid Sept for a relative's wedding. I have a few days free and am planning to go out and shoot some pictures. I've been to the touristy places like the pier, Lombard St., Golden Gate Bridge etc. Where else? any place not to be missed? Oh, and I won't be driving so anywhere within walkable distance from the BART station.

Thanks in advance!
 
I'd say Chinatown and North Beach are a really good suggestion. What kind of photography are you interested in? There is a lot to do and see in the city.

Dave
 
mkyy said:
I'll be going to San Francisco in mid Sept for a relative's wedding. I have a few days free and am planning to go out and shoot some pictures. I've been to the touristy places like the pier, Lombard St., Golden Gate Bridge etc. Where else? any place not to be missed? Oh, and I won't be driving so anywhere within walkable distance from the BART station.

Thanks in advance!

IMO, the real charm of SF is getting into the various neighborhoods. They are all fairly distinct and have their own flavor. The combination of BART and Muni will get you just about anywhere. Once off the transit system, however, be prepared to "leg" it out. SF has plenty of hills and long blocks.

Outside of the touristy spots, you can get some great pictures. The only problem is you'll have to kind of hunt for the shots. Besides some of the great vantage points afforded by the many hills, the better shots I've seen of SF are usually "detail" type shots. HERE is an example of a photographer on pbase, who kind of epitomizes what I'm talking about. We've several SF Bay Area RFF members who shoot in the city. You should check out their galleries too.

If you are into cityscape type shots, head up to Twin Peaks, and get under Sutro Tower (you'll need transportation). If you want some colorful street and building shots, try the Haight, the Castro, Noe Valley, the Mission, Chinatown, North Beach.

One more thing, it's summer in Sept., so bring a jacket when you're walking around, and you plan to be out (say past 3PM),no matter what the weather is like.

maybe you'll hear from so others on this. Fraley?

🙂
🙂
 
Last edited:
I'm more into street photography and interesting building/architecture. Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'll definitely check out North Beach & Chinatown. Thanks for the jacket tip.
 
I recommend north beach at night. Lots of great activity there. If you are going to the GGB, consider Fort Point from the south side and Fort Baker on the north side. Those are, in my opinion, the best angles for the bridge.

You should also check out the embarcardero area at night.

allan
 
All of SF is walkable from BART. As well, MUNI, the public transportation, has a policy of no more than 15 minute wait within two blocks of wherever you are from early morning to late at night...very reliable.

I used to live at the foot of Lombard. Nice place to live but not worth your time to visit. Same with the other tourist destinations. Walk. Constant surprises. Look for the Filbert Steps, behind Coit Tower. Go to Golden Gate Park and see the Arboretum. Eat at Szechuan and Thai and Indian restaurants. Eat at Columbus Cafe (small upside down sign at Columbus and Grant, North Beach)...best callimari on earth. Eat, eat, eat. Eat at North Beach Restaurant, have Smirnoff Pasta.
 
If you're serious about "street photography," take a lot of bus and streetcar rides, long distance...like out to the ocean. If you want to know where San Franciscan's most want to live, take the N Judah out to Cole and Carl, get lost from there.
 
Thats close to where I live, and the Muni ride always provides great photography. In fact, its one of my favorite hunting grounds. $1.25 lets you ride around anywhere for 2 hours.

I've got a lot of stuff in my blog. If you go to the gallery, you can use the drop down menu to see different locations. I keep it pretty organized.

If you have more questions about locations, let me know. I can always plot stuff out on Google maps if need be.

Dave
 
Back
Top Bottom