My first attempts at infusing the feeling of motion into my photographic images originated with my shooting moving objects – cars, trains, people walking or running. (more…)
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2007
Containers In, Containers Out
San Francisco’s Golden Gate shipway has a depth of 300’ plus 220’ of bridge clearance allowing the famous Bay entrance access to all forms of commercial shipping. Most prevalent are the container ships plying the Asian-North American markets. Piled high, these ships are spectacular behemoths in size, mass and color, and their graceful, quiet passage provides a visual foil that equals the narrows’ tides and weather and the magnificent Bridge above.
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2007
The Bridge
In 1916, a bridge connecting San Francisco to Marin was first seriously considered. Seventeen years later after extensive design and engineering editions, political maneuvering and WWI interruptions, construction finally began. In 1937 the majestic Golden Gate Bridge was completed.
Truly a masterpiece in every sense, the Golden Gate Bridge became the grandest of functional art. Painted orange vermillion to compliment its natural surroundings while still appearing as visible to ships as possible, its aesthetic design is equal to its superior engineering. Who isn’t enamored with its iconic grace?
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2007
San Francisco Coastline
Stretching south from the Golden Gate Bridge, the houses high along Presidio Cliffs gradually descend to Baker Beach and Pt. Lobos beyond, creating spectacular views along this idyllic portion of the San Francisco coastline. The panorama includes the Bridge, Marin Headlands, the ship traffic, the ocean, and on very clear days the Farallon Islands, 27 miles west.
Churning that coastline is the continuous suction of the sea followed by its mad rushes at the mile-wide gate. And the weather is almost always either pushing or pulling, with or against tides. My challenge is to portray that force.
2007
Marin Headlands
Looking north across the golden gate, the Marin Headlands provide a unique perspective; the contrast of the ocean against the colors and textures on the headland’s face. The headland receives the sunlight directly, and reflectively from the water. The channel provides unobstructed first and last light, while the ever-changing weather plays its part.
2007
Dancing With Pelicans
I began photographing the Golden Gate in earnest in 2007, as a daily diversion whenever visiting San Francisco to see my 93 year old, failing mother. From the San Francisco side of the bridge, the Marin Headlands, the Presidio Cliffs and Baker Beach, the mile wide strait, the ocean beyond, the Bridge, and the ships all proved to be ready subjects.
Surrounded by this incredibly diverse and active landscape, pelicans are a reassuring constant, with their grinning profiles as they migrate north in the winter to breed. Brown Pelicans, even with their six-foot wingspans, are the smallest of the eight pelican species and the only ones that dive for fish. Surfacing with their enormous bills full, the water drains leaving the fish to be swallowed. Working the coastline at varying heights in squadron-like formation, upon spotting a school of fish, they skim the water in single file pursuit of their next meal.
Gliding high above the Bay, pelicans are a visual counterpoint to man’s incessant activity at the Golden Gate. Although prehistoric in nature, their peaceful flight is more efficient than man with all his trappings.
