First Place - Beginners Projected Images

Teena Armes
Beginner Photographer

Despite spending the first 23 years of my life in the Bay Area, I had never found out how to get a close view of the bridge from the San Francisco side. I recently found the spot and spent many hours over several days trying to shoot the whole bridge--the shot we've all seen. I had already shot the bridge all morning, mostly shrouded in drifting fog. Not the transparent stuff Texans call fog. Low, heavy fog--zero visibility. I gave up and headed elsewhere in the city. Suddenly the sky cleared and I worked my way back to my vantage point. When that rare sunny day comes, the locals come out in droves to enjoy it. I wasn't surprised to see sailboats heading out onto the bay, and cruise boats taking tourists for a spin under the bridge. But it was striking to me to see this relatively small boat headed straight for the Pacific Ocean, especially since the fog began rolling right back the instant I returned to set up my tripod. It seems there was no catching a full view of the bridge. Besides, as natives to the area know, it almost never looks that way anyway. So I settled down to shoot my beloved Golden Gate, peeking out from its white blanket, as I always remember it, and tried to imagine the courage of that person in the yellow slicker leaning back, headed for the open sea.