When A Photo of Foggy San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge Is Not Enough
As a photographer I always strive to capture the beauty of a scene I’m photographing and often it is more than possible to do so. Still Photography by its nature is revealing, yet also not so revealing. Still Photography by definition has its limits displaying a split second of time or a short duration of time if using a slow shutter speed. Freezing time has its merits lettings others see something they’ve missed and/or wish to remember. Here in San Francisco, California the weather is both fleeting and unpredictable. Having the perfect weather conditions, lighting and ability to be in the right place at the right time all are dependencies when capturing fog rolling through the Golden Gate Bridge. But is this as good as it gets?
Foggy San Francisco & Golden Gate Bridge Sunrise
When looking at this photo are you missing anything? I can assure you you’re missing out on the adrenaline rush I got running to get in place to take this photo, but as a viewer sight is only part of the experience. Our other senses provide so much more and its for this reason you always hear photographers repeat over and over “enjoying the experience behind the camera is as important as getting your photo”. Smell, Taste and Touch have yet to be addressed in the world of photography and for most subjects that’s just fine! Audio on the other hand can really enhance the viewing experience of a photograph or series of photographs. Adding motion into the mix and you add yet another dimension that transports viewers to what you’re capturing. Is it all too much? For some purists it will likely be argued “yes”, but as time goes on we may find Still Photography relies less and less on being “still” let alone silent.
For your viewing and listening enjoyment 30 seconds of birds, wind, fog horns and ambient traffic noise heard while photographing fog rolling through the Golden Gate Bridge into the San Francisco Bay. While this looks as though its just audio put to a still image this is in fact video so watch carefully for the movement in the fog.
Technorati Tags: San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, Fog, Foggy, Travel, Stock Video, Stock Photo
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Most of the pictures do not display on the site. They don’t work in the RSS feed as well.
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Jim Goldstein Reply:
July 7th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Jan I haven’t been able to reproduce the problem. Can you try again and let me know if you still are having issues. Thanks
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very nice. if you did a timelapse then perhaps the movement of the fog would be more obvious. you could then add the sound separately.
eg. http://vimeo.com/5138484
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Jim Goldstein Reply:
July 7th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Will that was also done, but I can’t post everything at once
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Will Reply:
July 7th, 2009 at 9:35 am
haha! good… looking forward to seeing it!
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I have no problem seeing the image or video (on the RSS feed as well).
Very neat post, I like combining video and image, a winning concept imho. I wish Nikon had a 5D MkII equivalent
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Jim Reply:
July 7th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Younes in time I’m sure they will.
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Thats really good idea, Jim, thanks for that short video, it really showed so much more than the photo alone. Too bad it didn’t have as good quality and color as a photo. Anyway, pleasure to listen.
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Very nice work Jim.
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Thanks for the comments Marcin and Richard
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Love the video, I never realised photographs can be noisy!
Was it done on a Canon 5D MkII?
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Jim Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Thanks Mandy. Actually this was filmed on a Sony HXR-MC1. I’ve not yet invested in the 5D Mark II. I’m still waiting for video in dSLRs to mature a tad more.
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Great photo Jim, and the video is a fun touch!
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Jim Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Thanks Ron. I’m planning on experimenting a considerable amount more in this area so we’ll see what else I can come up with that is a bit more engaging.
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