Fort Funston 11-30-04

I was at Borders at Stonestown Galleria to pick up another copy of the December issue of Outdoor Photographer, which has an article by me in there. On the way back home, I noticed clouds that would be conducive to a good sunset. With the peninsula which is the opposite direction of the sunset, a mucky looking overcast which woudln't make for good alpenglow light. I decided to go home and get my camera gear and head towards the beach. Fort Funston in San Francisco which is a few miles up Skyline blvd. from my apartment.



When I got there the sun was behind some clouds as I walked up to the viewing platform. This platform was built for people to watch hang gliders. This is the hang gliding hotspot amongst locals. And for good reason. As there are dramatic cliffs down to ocean beach. After I shot a few pictures for stock, I decided to head down the sand ladder trail down to ocean beach. The sun finally broke out of the clouds and bathed the landscape a vibrant yellow. I made the trip down after stopping to take pictures along the way and found myself in a low tide situation.



Lucky me. I’d been down the trail numerous times but never coincided with a low tide. Initially I didn’t realize it until I stepped into the water to shoot some rocks. The water was very shallow and I realized that wasn’t the tide level. The tide was actually a few hundred yards further out, but the beach is relatively flat so the tide left some water behind on the beach. Nevertheless it was enough water to deter me from going out to the ocean as well as everyone else. There was even a dog wading in the shallow water on the beach.



So the sunset and the clouds made for some excellent reflections on the shallow water. I got my pictures, but forgot to bring extra memory cards so I was limited. I made my way back up as the light faded. Being out of condition since I hadn’t hiked the trail in weeks, I was pretty nauseated as I made my way back up the steep several hundred foot trail. I almost threw up at home believe it or not. It was a good workout and one I’d recommend to anyone in SF. Although it’s more enjoyable when nobody is around, which is the case when it’s fogged in during the summer, but that is for another report.

Things to look for: rocks when the tide is low. Shorebirds. The ocean bluffs. Marin Headlands to the north. The San Mateo coast to the south. People throwing Frisbee to their dogs in the water.

Bring: a two-stop graduated neutral-density filter to balance the sky and water. From my experience at this beach, three stops is too much for the water. For landscapes on the beach, I think a soft gradient would be more useful than a hard edged filter. Keep in mind I'm using the Galen Rowell Graduated ND's. Lee and Hi-Tec's might be different although I have no experience with them. Unless you are living on a string budget, I don't recommend Cokin. Graduated Grey isn't neutral so it can make your sky look sick.