This week's photos

These photos don't have any common theme.  They are just photos I took during the past week..

 

These first two photos were taken at a rooftop garden.

 

Sunset with the city skyline, taken from Treasure Island.

  

This is my favorite photo of the Bay Bridge for a couple reasons.  First, it's a blue hour photo so I like the color of the sky, which is a contrast to the orange lights reflected on the surface of the water.  Also, this is a wide angle shot of the entire span of the bridge from San Francisco to Yerba Buena Island.

  

Another blue hour photo which has a beautiful blue sky.  This photo was taken with my tripod set up from a very low angle.

  

Nothing really special about the building or the sky in this photo, but I like the orange color of the building when I shot this photo. This building is located along the Embarcadero, near the Bay Bridge. 

     

I really like taking photos of illuminated fountains at nighttime.  It combines two separate elements, which work together.  I used a long shutter speed setting ( I think 4 seconds in this photo ) to capture this image because of low light but it also causes the water to appear like a mist. 

  

This is a photo of Pier 7 along the Embarcadero.  It's a long public pier that offers a nice view of the bay and city skyline.  There are quite a few benches to just sit and relax and take in the view.  Of course, the pier is usually empty at night.  

  

This image was captured while I was standing on Pier 7 looking back toward the city skyline.  

  

I went to the race track on this day just because it was a nice day.  Taking photos like this allows me to practice taking fast action or sports photography which requires a bit of practice.  First, its not always easy to capture a clear image of the horses running past me.  It takes practice and the right timing.  It's easy to have a photo that turns out all blurry

 

  

There are a couple different techniques that can be used to take a fast action shot.  First, the camera should be set for a fast shutter setting.  I used 1/320 second for these particular shots.   I usually like to use a slower setting, like 1/250 of a second or even 1/100 of a second.  The reason is to create a sense of motion.  By using too fast of setting, like 1/500 or even faster, it captures the image fine, but it completely freezes everything so it ruins the sense of motion.  At least, that's my opinion.  

Another way is to use a higher ISO setting like ISO 800, which is considered fast action setting.  The problem with high ISO is getting an image that has too much noise, or appears grainy, especially if its magnified or printed as an enlargement.  Since it's a bright day, its possible to use a low ISO setting to get a crisp, clear image.  I used ISO 200 for this, but I could have even used ISO 100 if I wanted to.  

Most cameras have a burst mode that helps when taking fast action shots.  By setting it to burst mode, you can press the shutter and hold it down and the camera will take a bunch of shots in a burst.  I didn't use it for these photos however.  I tried to frame the action as it was happening. 

Next time, I will take a pan shot to blur everything in the background while still keeping the subject clear and in focus.   Also, I will take a photo using a slower shutter speed which will give a more creative effect by making the image less sharp and in focus but giving a greater of sense of speed and motion.

Edit:  Added a photo where I shot using "pan" method to create a greater sense of motion.  The photo is a bit out of focus, which is the tricky part.  I guess I should have used a faster shutter speed.  I shot this at 1/80 with the zoom lens set at a focal length of 135 mm at 400 ISO.   I probably should have set the shutter speed and focal length at something like 1/150 at 150 mm.  

Lastly, this is the "gate" to Chinatown located at Grant Ave.  I guess the streets are empty because everyone is home having dinner and a good time with their families because it's Chinese New Year.