Vista Point at the Golden Gate Bridge

Sutro Tower
Canon 20D, 300mm w/2x teleconverter, 1.3" @f/32, ISO 200

This image was taken from the Golden Gate Bridge's Vista Point (north side) with my Dad's 2x teleconverter and my Canon 75-300mm lens at full zoom. If you look closely at the sky, you can see some dust on the sensor/converter/lens--I'm not sure where it came from but it's been long since air-blasted away (another needed Photoshop fix, coming up).

I love the atmospheric effects of long-reach lenses. With my 20D's 1.6x focal length multiplier, a 300mm lens, and a 2x teleconverter, this image was taken at the 35mm equivalent of 960mm. The post-sunset lighting and the haze account for the color of the sky.

This shot is a classic example of the Rule of Thirds in photography...the Sutro Tower is positioned on a 2/3 vertical across this frame.

The following two shots were possibly taken with the same 2x teleconverter (I'm not sure), so they might effectively be 150mm (the EXIF info didn't record if a teleconverter was used :-( ).

Both of these shots are examples of the Rule of Thirds as well, in slightly different ways.


Tree Silhouette
Canon 20D, 75mm, 1" @f/32, ISO 200

In this shot, it's not the main subject (the tree), but the ridge that slices about a third of the frame off. So it doesn't follow the usual tic-tac-toe board espoused by the Rule of Thirds proper, but it's what makes this shot work. This shot is also exemplary of Miksang photography, a style of photography that isolates a single compositional element per image. A photograph in this style attempts to explore, for example, only color and nothing else, or line and nothing else. This shot doesn't quite qualify as Miksang because there are two predominant compositional elements that contribute: the balance between positive/negative space and line.


Bridge Traffic
Canon 20D, 75mm, 2.5" @f/32, ISO 200

The composition of Bridge Traffic is straightforward--it is an example of the Rule of Thirds because the horizon, waterline, and the main subject (the bridge) are all on tic-tac-toe lines. I'm happy with the way this shot came out, but I made the same old mistake I always make--it needs to be leveled in Photoshop. (When will I learn?)