Golden Gate

The bridge is about 30 miles from where I live and of course I was like ‘wow’ when I first saw the bridge. My wife was so keen to see it and for some reason or the other, I just hadn’t taken her out there. One fine day (after nearly 2 years) we decided and to make a visit and she also gave the ‘wow’ thing after seeing it.

This is one of those places which has been shot to death…of course I mean in terms of photography. Yet you’ll find many taking a shot at it. So I joined that group too…about 2 weeks back, which later turned out to be a a total disaster

Initially I was going to join some friends to a trip of the city, but finally it was just me heading out to the bridge. Seeing this pathetic state of me venturing alone at night, my wife and a family friend decided to give me company along with my 2+ year old daughter.

As I was heading near the bridge, my sheer excitement turned into disappointment after seeing the thick fog over the bridge. For a moment I thought of just heading back, but still continued towards the bridge with just one thing “There will always be something that I’ll learn from making an attempt”.

The point that could give the view I wanted is well known as Fort Baker. From its military post bunkers you can get a good view of the bridge. After parking the car all I had to do was just open the door to get another dose of disappointment; gusty winds…It was so windy that I had to put some strength to shut the car door. Seeing this wind, my wife and co decided to stay put in the car (really a wise idea) and I dared to head towards the point.

As I was walking, my mind kept telling me one thing “just hang onto the ground and don’t die!” Seriously I had never ever imagined that the winds would be so strong out there. I could barely walk and kinda crawled to the place. After reaching the point, I took my gear out, got the angle and elements I want in the composition and pretty soon realized that a cheap $20 tripod, can’t stand a chance against the winds. Though it had a hook where I can suspend some weight (used the backpack), still didn’t suffice to keep the camera steady. Add to this that I can’t keep the camera in a stable position to get my horizon right. Imagine getting a long exposure shot and soon you realize that there was a camera shake in that shot and the horizon is not straight….:(

I took quite a few shots and every single one of them had the dreaded camera shake in them. By the time I had reached home, I had made up my mind that I’m going to now buy a decent stable tripod. If there were any stores opened at that time, then I would have certainly bought it at that very moment. But now I’m more than convinced that I need one. Explaining my wife as to why I’m paying so much for a 3 legged stand would be very easy…show her these pictures 🙂

Here are two of the shots which has got the least amount of camera shake in them. Its more like the better of the worse set.

Golden Gate, originally uploaded by kaddisudhi.

…and the complete north tower of the bridge…

Golden Gate, originally uploaded by kaddisudhi.