USA

At the time of my visit to San Francisco, the Summer of Love Festival took place. Exactly where the hippie movement had its roots. Upper Haight Street turned into a freak show, dozens of street food and souvenir items filled the street sides. There was a smell of pot, live bands playing, people dancing on the street to “American Pie” by Don McLean. That was the year 1968 again.

Post processed with: Aurora 2019, Photoshop 2019

• Camera: ILCE-7RM2
• Aperture: ƒ/5.6
• Shutter speed: 1/800s
• Focal length: 35mm
• ISO: 320

After coming back from Sausalito, we decided to take the cable car for the drive to Market Street. Since there was a long line, I took the camera and did shots of the closer environment. This is one of the reasons, why a smartphone is not enough. If you cannot leave your place and are shooting photos, you have to use the zoom of your lens. For post-processing I added Orton Effect to get a dreamy look.

Post processed with: Aurora 2019, Photoshop 2019

• Camera: ILCE-7RM2
• Aperture: ƒ/16
• Shutter speed: 1/80s
• Focal length: 24mm
• ISO: 100

It was very hot, so I searched for a place in the shadow. The bridge was a safe place, covered by shadows from the skyscrapers. I could rest a bit and drink my ice-cold diet coke as the yellow boat approached, then I prepared my camera for shots from the Chicago River. I like the composition from the river which is meandering through the city.

Post processed with: Aurora 2019, Photoshop 2019

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/16
• Shutter speed: 1/60s
• Focal length: 15mm
• ISO: 100

How to differentiate from the thousands of Golden Gate Bridge – pictures? I had the luck and patience to see some shipping at the bridge. My friends had to wait a bit. I was eager for shooting the photo. Then we could continue with our goal, to cross the bridge with E-bikes and then drive to Sausalito.

Post processed with: Aurora 2019, Photoshop 2019

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