Lt. Cortesia

Here’s another one from the Port of Oakland tour we took the other day.  If you haven’t seen the other images, please check the post before this one.  Please forgive me but I’m lazy with my words today, so I’ll just leave you with the image.  Hope you are all having a great day!

Lt. Cortesia – Port of Oakland

 

 

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Port of Oakland (3 images)

Last night we went on a 90 minute Port of Oakland tour and it was fantastic!  At first I was wondering if it was going to happen because it had literally rained all day long; but one hour before our tour, the rain magically stopped and the clouds parted!  (Click on the pictures to see high resolution).

The Port of Oakland was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships, and it’s now the fifth busiest container port in the United States.

The tour departed from Jack London Square in Oakland and traveled down the estuary which is between the Cities of Alameda and Oakland toward the Bay Bridge.  I was really excited that we got as close as we did to the bridge.  You can see San Francisco there just beyond this portion of the bridge which is the western portion.

The cranes that lift the cargo containers from the ships were quite big.   I’ve always thought they looked like something out of a sci-fi adventure and half expect them to start wading down the estuary.  “Attack of the Cranes” sounds like an upcoming movie doesn’t it?

See the bow of the boat?  I was on the right hand side most of the tour.  I started off inside but knew I didn’t want to take pictures through a window, so I’m glad I headed out there shortly after the boated departed for the tour because it became completely crowded up there.  I took a lot of pictures but thought I’d share these two (besides the boat) for now since they’re the only ones I’ve worked on.

The tour is FREE….yes FREE!  Amazing!  I’m glad I discovered this because our tour was the second to the last tour of the year.  I’m not sure when they start up again but I’m assuming sometime in late spring or early summer.   You can check out more about the port and find out about the tour here.

Hope you enjoy!

Western Span Bay Bridge – Port of Oakland Tour

The Cranes

Planning Your Photo Shoot

The picture I’ve shared here is one of the Western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.   The spot I’ve taken it from is called Treasure Island which is in between the Eastern span and the Western span.  I took quite a few the other night which also included that moon rising photo I posted yesterday.  While the Bay Bridge isn’t as glamorous or as well known as the Golden Gate, it’s still fun to photograph because you can get it from so many angles.

Western Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge from Treasure Island

I’ve gotten a lot better at planning my shoots rather than just driving to these locations and hoping for the best.  Here is some information that will hopefully help you plan your shots without too much technical mumbo jumbo.  I hope you find it useful!

• The Photographer’s Ephemeris – I depend on this site when planning to take sunrises, sunsets and also moonrises.  I’ve yet to do a moonset but it works for that as well.  You can see exactly where and when these bodies will rise and set and drop a pin to your exact location to be very precise.  It will even calculate the horizon for you if you’re in an area with elevation changes.  You can use the desktop link I’ve included here or the iPhone or iPad app.  All are great!

• Sunsetwx – This great website will show you the quality of the sunset or sunrise.  Is that amazing or what?  So I don’t need to drive to the coast hoping for a red sunset when there won’t be one.  I just open this up, put in my location and voila!  You will then be able to see how red your sunset will be.

• Directions! – I always go to my apple maps (or google maps if you’re on android) and get my directions before I head out the door.  I used to wait until I got in the car but what a pain.  I make sure I have them on my phone before I turn on the ignition.

• Double check your equipment…make sure you have your tripod, filters, extra charged battery, coats, etc., and do all this the night before.  You will feel so good waking up knowing that you have everything you need.

Hope this is helpful!  Let me know how you like the tools if you choose to use them.  🙂