Inside the Ferry Building
One of my favorite spots in one of my favorite cities…
Every time I visit San Francisco, I make a point to get over to the Ferry Building. It’s just a lovely structure and something about it just draws me in, every time. I have shot here before sunset and after sunset, and at all times in between. Regardless of the time of day or the associated crowds, it’s just a lovely place to see and photograph. Highly recommend if you are visiting this beautiful city!
Morning in San Francisco
Blue hour at the Ferry Building in San Francisco…
I love to get up and wander in the early morning hours when I travel. It’s generally always peaceful and quiet, and I can enjoy the beauty of a city without all the crowds getting in my shots. :-) This was taken before sunrise in San Francisco one morning. This is the Ferry Building, which is one of my favorite spots in the city, which is full of great spots by the way. I just love the look of this place, inside and out.
In the Ferry Building
Inside the Ferry Building in lovely San Francisco…
My favorite building in San Francisco is the Ferry Building, which is just lovely. I adore the place. This was taken on the 2nd floor a few years back. I just wandered up there and fired away. Easy!
San Francisco in blue and gold
I'm a big fan of the city of San Francisco, and always enjoy my visits to the City by the Bay. I also love the Ferry Building there, and that's the main subject of today's post. I caught a wonderful blue hour there one morning on my last visit, as well as some other cool shots from a sunset or two. Take a look at this collection of 12 pics and enjoy!
This city looks so great in blue and gold!
I spent a week in San Francisco back in June and collected quite a few pics on that trip. Since then I traveled to Nashville and OKC and then launched into this wonderful summer holiday that I am still enjoying (and still on). In other words, my camera has been busy.
But my keyboard has also been busy, as I have been working hard to edit a lot of photos and get them published. If you want to keep up with the full library of my published works, you can do so on my portfolio site or follow me on Flickr. All my work ends up in those two places (and you get an early peek at things on Flickr because I put my iPhone images there while I travel - or at least the ones I really like).
One part of the San Fran trip that I was dying to edit is all the shots I am sharing here today. They were all taken of, in front of, behind or beside the Ferry Building. Let's just say that area is a target-rich environment.
I find San Francisco to be just an absolutely gorgeous city. Every time I am there I love it even more. I can understand why so many people love it too. It's way more my style than say some place like NYC. Nothing wrong with NYC of course - it's amazing - but I could never imagine living there, whereas I could see myself in SFO.
As I have written here before, the Ferry Building is one of my favorite things to shoot in San Fran, and I have shot it inside and out several times over the years. Many of today's shots are also of the Ferry Building, since it's really to close to where I normally stay and being on the water too, it's just a natural draw for me.
One morning I got up early (my body is used to Central Time, so I always wake up early there) and decided to go grab a few shots before work. My hotel this time was literally across the street from the Ferry Building, so that's the first place I headed, and I am glad that I did! I just loved the lights reflected on the street and of course I always love blue hour.
It's always great to get out and shoot San Francisco, but in the cool early morning air when the streets are mostly empty - that's just really special. As you can see, I also captured a few pics from another day, right around golden hour and sunset. I thought I would just throw them into this post, since they sort of fit the theme. Call it a bonus! :-) The last two pics at the bottom are from my hotel. Not from my room though, unfortunately. I had to work to find that view but it was well worth it!
Thanks for stopping by today!
20 Minutes in the Ferry Building
When in San Francisco, be sure and see the Ferry Building!
The Ferry Building is one of my favorite spots in San Francisco, a town which is full of awesome spots. But I do just love this thing. It's a beautiful building, and being a fan of architecture, I just love all the lines. It's a great subject for us photo-addicted types.
The funny thing is that even though I shoot there on many of my San Francisco trips, I never really tire of it. It's just one of those places that has captured me in some way. It's sort of like The Temple Bar in Dublin, Ireland. I could shoot it every day and never really get bored.
So on my most recent trip to San Francisco, which was a couple of weeks ago, I got out to shoot at about 6pm one day. The trouble was that it was raining, and raining hard. So I figured if I could brave the 10 minute walk from my hotel, I would be fine, since I was going to be inside the thing.
So I walked down Market Street and made my way inside. By the way, the choice of 6pm was on purpose. I tend to try and shoot places like this when there are likely to be fewer tourists around. I have shot the Ferry Building at 7am before and found it mostly empty, and I was satisfied with the thin crowds at 6pm on this day as well.
However, I was not satisfied with the Security Guards. Like I said, I have shot here several times over the years, and never been hassled at all. That is, on the ground floor I have never been hassled. I have also ventured upstairs before and was immediately told by Security that I could only shoot handheld there.
But down on the ground floor, I have never once had an issue, until this visit. Literally as soon as I set up the tripod and started framing my first shot, I was approached by 2 security guards, coming at me from both directions. I knew how this was going to end.
They informed me that it was "dangerous" to have a tripod there, but it was ok to shoot without one. I asked if they were concerned about someone tripping over the tripod leg, and they said yes. I made a show of looking around for people, but only saw them, me, and a couple of folks further away. Seemed pretty low risk.
I played nice though, and told them I was from out of town, and would really enjoy shooting this place because it is so beautiful. I guess my charms worked, because they actually said I could take a few photos, as long as I was quick and was careful with the tripod.
So of course I fired that first one, moved on, fired again, moved on and fired again...until I got towards the other end of the grand hallway. At that point, they both circled back towards me and I knew it was time to leave. I told them I was packing up (while my last shot fired, LOL) and heading out.
Luckily, it only took that 20 or so minutes to get all the shots I wanted, and when I walked outside the rain had stopped. I spent the next two hours walking down the Embarcadero, all the way to Ghirardelli, firing away happily the whole time. And, I got lucky with some great skies and an amazing sunset and blue hour. I'll share those when they are ready!
Thank you for stopping by today!
Sunrise at the Ferry terminal
Catching the first ferry of the day in San Francisco!
San Francisco is a wonderfully beautiful town, whether you bring a camera along to document it or not (though I obviously recommend you do). When I am there I try to shoot as much as possible, which is hard because I am always there on business. But somehow, I find a way. :-)
Actually, "the way" is that I normally get up early and wander the streets before I get busy with work. That's ok with me. Though I like my sleep as much as the next person, I like photography better, so I make sacrifices. Isn't that why caffeine was invented anyways??
On the morning of this photo, I was wandering around the Ferry Building area (which in addition to being close to my normal hotel, is also my favorite building in SFO) and shooting away. It's a great area because in addition to the Ferry Building, just a few steps away is a great spot to shoot the Bay Bridge from. It's all good. In fact, that's the Bay Bridge off to the right there.
So I fired away inside the Ferry Building way before anyone else showed up, and then as sunrise was coming together I popped out back for some of that nice morning light that I alway seem to find out West. I saw this Ferry terminal and decided it would look cool to snap it with the great color and light...and then a guy walked up to buy a ticket. I decided to take the shot anyways, and am glad that I did. I feel like having him there gives it a little different feel. What do you think?
Prowling around the Ferry Building
The Ferry Building is my favorite building in San Francisco! What's yours?
I just love the Ferry Building, and try to visit each time I go to San Francisco (though sadly, I fail in this effort at times). It's just such a compelling place, architecturally speaking. The interior hallway (which you see here) is just rich in details, and the exterior has that big red neon sign out back, staring out over the Bay. It's beautiful. I wish I was there shooting it right now!
It also has a fabulous Farmer's Market a couple of days each week, filled with artisanal baked goods, cheeses, chocolates...and more! It's all very yummy.
As far as photography goes, I try and get there in the morning before the crowds show up, since I like my shots essentially devoid of humans (though you can see one way in the distance in this shot). In addition to the numerous stores in the building, there are also some business offices which are up on the second floor.
I've been up there to shoot as well, and you get a great view down on this lower hallway. But note they don't allow tripods on the 2nd floor, and there is a guard there as well. Down below, I've never had an issue.
So if you visit SFO, be sure and swing by here early one morning and fire away!
Morning in the Ferry Building
As a follow up to yesterday’s post – where I mentioned that the Ferry Building is my favorite building in San Francisco – I thought I would share an inside view of the place. It’s a very historic building, and serves as both a ferry terminal and a marketplace. There are shops inside featuring lots of good food and drink and they even host a farmer’s market on weekends. It’s all pretty fun and interesting.
But as I tend to do in places like this, this one was shot around 7am. I always like to get out and shoot early, especially when dealing with well-known landmarks or places that are normally busy. It’s a real treat to get a place all to yourself (well almost, you can see a couple of folks way down the hall). A few stores were open as they prep for the morning rush, but mostly I had it to myself, which was great.
I shoot here nearly every time I visit San Francisco. Even though the view doesn’t change, I find the place just incredibly beautiful from an architectural standpoint. So, expect more like this someday.A ferry foggy morning
I was in San Francisco recently, and most people are aware that the city often gets blanketed in thick fog. However, I have never experienced it despite having been there many times over the last few years. But my recent trip was a bit different – I experienced quite a bit of fog, and found that it was great fun to shoot in. It adds an interesting moody element to a shot.
One morning I got up and headed out to shoot along the Embarcadero and around the Ferry Building, which is my favorite building in the city (thus far, at least). Since it is a ferry terminal, it sits on the water and the fog was literally *right there*. It was pretty awesome, actually.
This is right behind the Ferry Building and is one of the ferry landing gates, or whatever you call them. I loved the thick fog of course, as well as the orange lights and the reflections.
Before the first ferry
I want to thank everyone for their visits and comments this week. I am traveling and have not been online much, so it is nice to see that folks are stopping by to view my daily shots. Thank you for that!
Secondly, due to my extensive travels this week, I have a HUGE amount of new photos to process and share so you will be seeing those arrive here starting sometime next week.
Lastly, though I have been doing an iPhone photo post at the end of the week recently, today I am not doing that. But, I have several hundred new iPhone shots to share too! More soon!
This was a sunrise in San Francisco, CA that I captured one morning while wandering around behind the Ferry Building there. It's a great spot, and I was happy to find it empty at this early hour (go figure - the smart folks are still sleeping!) and enjoyed the colors in the scene. Plus, I just love the Bay Bridge which you can see in the distance - I am always shooting that thing!
Ferry Building impressions
I love the Ferry Building and tend to shoot it from this same spot on nearly every trip I make to San Francisco. It's just a beautiful scene in my opinion. Consequently, I have a lot of shots that look pretty similar though. But that's ok, because even though I shoot the same scene twice, in reality it never looks the same due to weather and lighting changes.
In this case, it was pretty dark already and this scene tends to sparkle a little more when there is more available light, at least in my opinion. This is an HDR image and when I finished creating the HDR, the overall scene was somewhat "blah". I briefly messed around with it and tried a few other things, but decided it was not going to make an impact. But then I had an idea: how about changing it up and treating this more like an Impressionistic version or a watercolor-type of painting?
So I popped over to Topaz Adjust and went to work. And you know what? Topaz Adjust saved the image for me! Thanks Topaz!
Farm Fresh to You!
This is one of the many little markets inside the Ferry Building in San Francisco. On my last trip out there, I had lunch in the building and walked around for a few minutes taking some shots. It was lunchtime - therefore it was crowded - but I caught this market briefly empty. The Ferry Building is home to many shops like this, that sell locally-grown and locally-produced products - it's essentially a large farmer's market. There are also lots of great restaurants, and it's just an interesting place to photograph.
Upstairs in the Ferry Building
I love San Francisco, and always stay nearby The Ferry Building so I end up there a lot with my camera - which ain't all bad. It's a beautiful building and I just enjoy walking there with my camera. On one of my trips I went upstairs and tooled around a little bit. Here's one of the images I captured that day. I suspect I will get many more this year as I do travel out that way a few times a year for work. Hope everyone is enjoying the start of 2011!
Welcome to San Francisco
I just love The Ferry Building in San Francisco. It’s such a cool place and at night with that big red neon sign all lit up, it’s like a huge welcome sign to the city. As I have mentioned previously, my hotel is just a short stroll away, so as a result I have a lot of shots of this wonderful structure, which is ok by me. In many respects it is more fun to take shots of new places and new things when you travel - I certainly have that addiction going on, and always get excited before I am off to the next place - but I make an exception for The Ferry Building when I am in San Fran. I have taken shots of it from all sorts of angles, and always enjoy looking at them, whether they are post-worthy or not. And, next time I am in San Francisco, you can bet my memory card will come home with more shots of this place. And more than likely, they will eventually make their way here. Hope you don’t mind humoring me.
Ferry Building marketplace
As I have written in previous posts, I really like the Ferry Building in San Francisco. I like the history as well as the architecture. It's cool both inside and out. A few times each week they have this excellent farmer's market, and I was happy to find it in full swing on my recent visit. This time I was able to get up on the 2nd floor and get a nice view of the action. I also got some cool shots of the 2nd floor itself, so look for those sometime soon hopefully! Thanks for stopping by!