Don Hill  

San Francisco Skyline by Don Hill

March 2023 - San Francisco Skyline

About the Image(s)

I Made this Image from the flight deck of a World War II Aircraft Carrier, The U.S.S. Hornet. The skyline was about 5 to 8 miles away, and although there were many construction cranes on the rooftops, I decided to leave them in. I also left in a lot of the foreground, and I really thought it was cool that the S.F. Bay Bridge runs in front of the skyline. Sometimes an image does not need a lot of post editing, and that is the case here…or maybe not. This is not a “wow” image, but it kind of shows how sometimes all the planets and stars line up just perfect. The tall building is the “Salesforce Tower”, and it has completely changed the skyline of San Francisco. The sad thing is that it is sinking on one side and although you will probably never see it, the tower is leaning.

This was shot with my Nikon with a 100-300 zoom lens at 300mm. The ISO was 200 and the shutter speed was 1/800 at f7.1.

6 comments posted

Henry Roberts   Henry Roberts
Don, the Hornet must be somewhere over in Oakland in a naval area that I have never explored. I like the black and white version, the highlights in the sky, and the cropping. As a personal preference, I might slightly crop the foreground up to the darker horizontal area in the water.   Posted: 03/12/2023 10:04:43
Andrew Hersom   Andrew Hersom
It's not the usual scene one gets of SF. Nice 'scape. We made it to Oakland but didn't get as far as Alameda. My only comment is that, to me, it looks a bit flat and it could really do with an increase in contrast and vibrance. It all looks a bit too grey.   Posted: 03/13/2023 13:55:52
Don Hill   Don Hill
Hey Henry and Andrew,
Thanks for your comments. I added some contrast and vibrance and cropped a little of the water, but honestly, I wanted to give the feel that the image was taken a long way away, like 5-10 miles away. Thanks for the help with this.   Posted: 03/13/2023 17:11:06
Comment Image
Julie Deer   Julie Deer
Hi Don, This is an interesting image and I do like the monochrome treatment. It makes us look around rather than have our eyes diverted by bright colours. I do like your edited image. It addresses some of the comments I was going to make. The city looks more alive now. I like the Salesforce Tower being off centre and I think the rooftop cranes add to the story.   Posted: 03/15/2023 19:37:24
Lin Sun   Lin Sun
Hi Don, it is good enough to be a "wow" image for me. I like the elements that you put in the image from the sky to the sea. Given all the elements already in good positions, I like the B&W settings which gives a sense of the time around WW2, and the lights coming down from the sky. Especially when you mention the photo was taken on a WW2 aircraft carrier, I wish the millions of heroes died for us at that time could see the flourishing SF and bless our age from the heaven. Great shot!   Posted: 03/19/2023 18:26:11
Catherine Honigsberg   Catherine Honigsberg
|Pretty city scene. There are no dark blacks in the image. |I might try a red filter to bring out the blacks in the blues. An Ansel Adam trick. |Maybe up the whites a little for more contrast.   Posted: 03/23/2023 10:48:52

 

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