USA

The Hilton bar in San Francisco brings you a great view in all four cardinal directions, with windows reaching from the top to the floor. There are no optimal conditions for taking photos, no tripods allowed, shooting through reflective windows. As a photographer you cannot resist the view, so you have to try your best and make steady handheld shots, higher ISO, lower F-Stop. After your photo session, it’s easy to look after the right place for a drink and relax.

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop

• Camera: DSC-RX1R
• Aperture: ƒ/2.2
• Shutter speed: 1/80s
• Focal length: 35mm
• ISO: 6400

We were a group of eight when crossing the Golden Gate Bridge with rental E-bikes. The bike lane is relatively narrow; you have to manage the driving while many bikes come from the opposite direction. Often you have to stop, let others ride, start again, pause, then stopping for sightseeing, get on the bikes and go further. It’s a great experience on that large bridge. After arriving on the viewing point, I had the great opportunity to take some photos, which have a bit of a different view of the bridge.

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop

• Camera: ILCE-7RM2
• Aperture: ƒ/5
• Shutter speed: 1/1600s
• Focal length: 48mm
• ISO: 400

The photo shows the Apple store directly in front of the new Apple headquarter. An architectural marvel, maybe a bit more designed and unique than the other stores. I hoped that we could also get a sightseeing tour of the new UFO-like building, but it’s closed for visitors. As a compensatory, there was an augmented reality iPad-tour in the store, through holding the iPads against a model of the new building you could look inside and saw the new virtual working world.

Post processed with: Photoshop

• Camera: Pixel 2 XL
• Aperture: ƒ/1.8
• Shutter speed: 1/3906s
• Focal length: 4.459mm
• ISO: 56

The lone jogger at Lake Michigan, with the skyline of Chicago in the background.

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop

• Camera: ILCE-6000
• Aperture: ƒ/7.1
• Shutter speed: 1/160s
• Focal length: 55mm
• ISO: 100

It’s fun and exciting to watch the different types of trams in San Francisco, besides the Cable Car. They have different wagons and styles, colors like green, red, grey and blue and roll through the city, from station to station and give every photographer one more reason to come and visit. This night shot is an example for one advantage of smartphones for photo shooting. Suddenly I heard the tone of the tram, and it was approaching the station, and I shot the scene with my Google Pixel II XL immediately. With my Sony A7R II in the photo bag, the shot would have gone lost.

Post processed with: Photoshop 2019

• Camera: Pixel 2 XL
• Aperture: ƒ/1.8
• Shutter speed: 1/40s
• Focal length: 4.459mm
• ISO: 400

Check-in and two hours, this was the time of our first hotel-stay in San Francisco. With outdated and derelict rooms, a noisy radiator, even it was inoperative, the washing-dish in the sleeping room… We made the fast decision to relocate to a different hotel and were delighted that we found a stay in the Nikko hotel, which I can fully recommend. 🙂 

Post processed with: Aurora 2019, Photoshop 2019, Color Efex Pro

• Camera: ILCE-6000
• Aperture: ƒ/5
• Shutter speed: 1/20s
• Focal length: 10mm
• ISO: 320

Looking like the aisles in a futuristic starship, the styling of the San Francisco Aquarium is one of a kind. A cool location for visiting, best with your kids or friends to get an experience of education, surprise and excitement. And don’t forget your wide angle lens.

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop

• Camera: ILCE-7S
• Aperture: ƒ/2.8
• Shutter speed: 1/60s
• Focal length: 14mm
• ISO: 25600

After visiting the Willis Tower, I took some nachos and a cold diet coke from food trucks, which were on the opposite street side. After that refreshment, I was ready to continue with my photo tour. I saw that niche between the skyscrapers on a place between the Chicago River and the Willis Tower. Never forget wide angle lenses in cities, a requirement for street photography.

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/16
• Shutter speed: 1/80s
• Focal length: 15mm
• ISO: 100

It was later in the evening when I walked back to the Nikko Hotel in San Francisco. I had only the Google Pixel 2 XL with me and soon got into street shooting mood. Often I get an extra motivation to shoot with a smartphone because it’s so easy, fast and flexible. And with the quality of this Google device, you get pretty good photos and colors.

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop

• Camera: Pixel 2 XL
• Aperture: ƒ/1.8
• Shutter speed: 1/40s
• Focal length: 4.459mm
• ISO: 400

My colleagues and I took the cable car from Fisherman’s Wharf all the way to the Market Street. We got a place on the outside at the reeling, standing on entry-slat, with one hand holding on the buttress with the other side taking photos. It was an exciting tour with some shots of the high streets of San Francisco. I would recommend this tour, great fun and an experience to retell.

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop, Color Efex Pro

• Camera: iPhone 6 Plus
• Aperture: ƒ/2.2
• Shutter speed: 1/942s
• Focal length: 4.15mm
• ISO: 32