Big bridge, cool shadow

When in San Francisco, take a picture of The Golden Gate Bridge.  I believe that is a rule, or possibly a law - at the very least a universal truth for photographers.  So I did.  I took many, many shots of the bridge, but how can you resist really?  It’s arguably the most famous bridge in the world, and I love bridges anyways, so why not take a few?  The truth is though that I haven’t been pleased with all my shots.  They are all ok, but none have really gotten me fired up and screaming “yeah baby!!” just yet.  Mostly that is due to the time of day I was there - late afternoon with a really bright sun seemingly on top of me.  So, I vow to return at sunrise or sunset on my next trip out there and hope for more favorable lighting conditions.  Anyways, I am not trying to complain - I am in fact very thankful that I am able to travel there sometimes and bring my camera along.

So, I had been shooting around Fort Point, which is a wonderful place to get shots from (thanks to Pete Talke for the tip!), and decided to walk up the trail and get closer to the top.  Along the trail I encountered this view, which I loved.  I loved the big shadow across the water especially.  So this photo began life as 6 exposures (F/14, +2 to -3) that got merged into an HDR.  The result was a lackluster photo due to the excessive sunlight and a nice San Francisco foggy haze thing hanging around.  So, I tried giving it the old black & white charm, and while I was at it I added a little texture (which is a first for me), and here is the end result, which in my opinion ended up being a fairly decent shot after all.  I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed messing around with it!