Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

Farallon Islands, California as seen from the Marin Headlands

To most this will seem to be a rather ordinary photo, but for those familiar with the Farallon Islands you’ll find this photo amazing… and no this wasn’t the result of Photoshop wizardry. The Farallones are 27 miles off the coast of San Francisco and normally cannot be seen as they’re often concealed behind a shroud of fog. In addition when you do see them they’re specks on the horizon.

Back in January I drove to the top of Mount Tamalpais for sunrise and in between taking photos of waking wildlife and a golden cityscape I noticed how clearly the Farallon Islands could be seen. This was a really rare super clear day. On this day I was using a 600mm lens and the Telephoto Effect makes the islands appear as though they’re just a short boat ride off the coast.  Even more amazing is that there is a tanker on the horizon that is likely twice as far from the Farallones as they are from San Francisco. This had to easily be a day with 50+ miles of visibility. The next time you’re in San Francisco be sure to see if you can make out these islands on the horizon. If you’re luck you’ll be able to and if you have a stomach of iron you can take a boat ride out to them for a nature tour.

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