San Francisco
 EXPOSED
Part of the "Great Cities Exposed"
Online Photo Exhibit Series

Online Photography Exhibit Featuring the San Francisco Bay area
GALLERY 02

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"San Francisco Exposed"
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San Francisco's "Dia De Los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) Procession
An important annual community event in the Mission District

photography by DAVE GOLDEN
San Francisco, California

Nikon D700, 85mm; f/1.8, 1/100, ISO 1600
© 2011, Dave Golden

Perhaps what's most intriguing about Dave Golden's work above is the juxtaposition of happy faces and celebratory costume, with the seemingly morbid skeletal face painting.  As a cultural observance, this photography is important; as an art form, the work is steeped in aesthetics; as technique, the image is perfect and accurate.

A bit of background is needed.  The Day of the Dead street procession and festival of altars has been celebrated in San Francisco's Mission District every November 2, rain or shine, since the early 1970's.  It is a Meso-American holiday dedicated to ancestors, while honoring both death and the circle of life.  The Mission District is a predominately Hispanic neighborhood that hosts the event; one that involves no vendors, selling, booths nor alcohol.  It is pure, non-commercial observance and celebration.

One of the things that first caught our eye in Dave's picture - beyond the startling face paint - was the short depth of field and resulting bokeh in the background.  It's a gentle backdrop to the crisp focus and contrast of the women.  Dave's choice of monochrome was absolutely suitable given the context.  In the live scene, you would have seen a yellow daisy near the bottom center, colorful ribbons in the hair of the woman to the right, pink and yellow carnations hanging from a green hat on the woman to the left, bright red lipstick, and colored lights in the blurred background.  In our opinion, all of these colors fight for attention; Dave's black and white version centers the focus on the women and their skeletal makeup.

His choice of subject matter sealed the deal for us; it features another important side of the City of Dreams - one with a unique story all of its own.

Take a look at his exposure settings.  ISO 1600, 1/100 and f/1.8.  Interesting combination.  Why did he select such a high ISO and such a wide aperture?  No flash.  That's right; Dave decided to use the ambient light during this night-time procession, which was (pardon the pun...) brilliant!  Had he used a flash, the white makeup would have blown-out the exposure and flattened their faces.  This way, Dave preserved form and realistic shading.  Beautiful work Dave Golden!

We were so impressed with Dave's diverse subject matter and his professional style of photography,
that we decided to include two more of his images in this exhibit:

Inauguration of SF Mayor Ed Lee
(City's 5 Previous Mayors in Attendance)

Nikon D700, 125mm focal length; f/4, 1/400, ISO 1600
© 2012, Dave Golden

Dave Golden's photography takes him to many different types of stages.  He's certainly no stranger photographing  in front of stages that host music and drama performances, but his above photo demonstrates that he shows an appreciation for the civic stage as well.

On Sunday, January 8, San Francisco's newly elected Mayor, Ed Lee, was inaugurated in a special ceremony that included the city's five previous mayors; Willie Brown, Dianne Feinstein, Gavin Newsom, Frank Jordan, and Art Agnos.  Lee, San Francisco's first Asian American mayor, has a strong following in this city that celebrates diversity.

We chose to include this photo in this San Francisco EXPOSED exhibit primarily because it represents a very important, yet under-photographed, side of the city; it's government.  Our Submissions Review Team realized that out of the hundreds of photos that were sent-in for this exhibit, most had to do with scenery.  This photo (and the one above showing the Dia De Los Muertos) reminds us that a great city is not merely the sum of its landscapes and attractions.  To be whole, the exhibit should speak of these things, as well as its history, its people, its cultural experience and its civic situation.

Like Dave's first photo at the top of this page, the camera shot a color photo and was later processed in monochrome.  Again, we applaud Dave's decision to go this way, because it encourages a sense of historical significance.

Sutro Baths Ruins
(A Day Without Fog!)

Nikon D700, 52mm focal length; f/4, 1/200, ISO 800
© 2012, Dave Golden

At first glance, our team pushed this particular image aside, deeming it too basic as, "just another sea side sunset with some rocks jutting out of the water...been there done that."

But with closer investigation, we realized that, just as with Dave Golden's other submissions, this one had significance far beyond the pretty colors and silhouetted rocks.  What Dave gave us was another window to San Francisco's glorious past.

This is the vista seen from what was once a magnificent bath house resort that opened in March of 1896.  The resort had a reported 500 dressing rooms, pavillions, fountains, clubhouses and more.  As a world-class destination, it was popular with both travelers and well-to-do locals.

Over the ensuing years, the site had been transformed to other, less grand uses, such as Playland and a skating rink.  What was left burned down in 1966 during its demolition.  Visitors to the site take some physical risk, as nature is allowed to continue taking back what is left.

So, at second look, we realize that there is something more important being conveyed in this photo.  The simplicity and natural beauty serve as both a reminder and a sharp contrast to what once was.

By the way, Dave's "stage" photography has included some brilliant photography of live performances by the likes of Eric Clapton,
Emmilou Harris, Alice Cooper, John Lee Hooker, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Sara Bareilles, amongst other musical greats.
He was also an official photographer for the 40th Annual Northern CA Area Emmy® Awards.
You can see more of Dave's photography here: dave-golden.com

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"San Francisco Skyline in 180 Degrees"
Photography by STEVEN SHPALL
Palo Alto, California

Nikon D200, 70mm focal length; f/8, 1/800, ISO 200
© 2012, Steven Shpall

Nikon D200, 70mm focal length; f/5, 2 sec., ISO 200
© 2012, Steven Shpall

What an interesting concept!  This is a literal TWIST on the standard skyline panorama.  We talked with Steven Shpall after reviewing these submissions, expecting that he used the "Hugin" and "Flexify" plugins for Photoshop.  He corrected our assumption, describing a process that simply uses what's already built into Photoshop.  In his own words:

"The photos were made by creating a panorama of the city from 4 or 5 images shot from Treasure Island.  It was then folded into a circle using the Distort Polar Coordinates filter.  Finally it was stretched with free transform to make the final image."

Certainly sounds like a feasible, if not rather simple, process to achieve these epic results!

It's also interesting how he decided to use a 'building only' skyline for the daytime pano, but included the Bay Bridge in the nighttime pano.  Smart idea, considering that the bridge lights provide another dimension to that photo.  When distorted in a circular fashion, it's interesting how much the bridge looks something like the top of a ferris wheel or carnival ride!

Thanks Steven for your inventive and awesome contributions!

"Patriotism...Golden Gate Style!"
Photography by RICHARD FAY

Nikon Coolpix S8000, 30mm focal length (slr equivalent); f/7, 1/1600, ISO 100
© 2011, Richard Fay

If you've visited San Francisco as a tourist or have lived there for any time at all, chances are pretty good that you've taken a boat "cruise" around the Bay.  There are countless options, so you might find yourself on a kayak, a modest sailboat, a large catamaran, a converted fishing boat or an extravagant three-story "Champagne Brunch Cruise" boat!  But whatever your mode of transportation around the Bay, it's highly likely that in addition to cruising around Alcatraz and by Fisherman's Wharf, you'll almost certainly get a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Perhaps we should have expected it, but we were still surprised that in response to our Call for Submissions for this San Francisco EXPOSED exhibit, so very many of the images either featured or included the Golden Gate Bridge.  It is, after all, one of the most photographed and iconic aspects of the San Francisco landscape.  But, having said this, you can see too much of a good thing!

But, when Richard Fay sent us his picture seen above, we realized that it's more than just another way of seeing the same thing again.  While on one such cruise around the Bay, Richard saw an impressive photo op that shows the familiar span with a patriotic spin.  From a photographic perspective, we really like how the flag (the focal point) is backlit to create rich color saturation and an awesome glow!  The bridge and background landscape, while under the same sun, reacts differently, showing in a more subtle - almost silhouetted - manner.  This pulls attention toward the flag and keeps the bridge as a contextual point.  Nice composition as well, with the stars in the flag being in the top right rule of thirds intersection and the bridge acting as a natural frame.

Thank you Richard for participating in this photo exhibit!

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