Partied Like It’s 01-01-011

Hangover?

Roof With A View

A couple of San Francisco icons, as seen from neighboring rooftops: above, Coit Tower in North Beach, and below the famous Transamerica Pyramid.

Golden Glow

A slightly filtered view of the Golden Gate, with the polarizer bringing out the colors of the sky and the bridge basking in the afternoon sunlight.

Ellis Island of the West

Angel Island is bit unassuming, and much less famous, than its nearby sister Alcatraz, but no less interesting. For many years, the speck of land in the San Francisco Bay served as the point of entry for millions of immigrants coming to the U.S. – mostly from Russia, Latin America and Asia, especially China.

While today Angel Island is mostly enjoyed by hikers, bikers, and nature-seekers as a National Park, remnants of its history are still visible at the former Immigration Station.

You can even walk through the remains of the barracks which used to house personnel and immigrants. In World War II, Angel Island also served as a detainment center for prisoners of war.

For non-history buffs, though, the main attraction are clearly the many views of other parts of the Bay Area. Above, Treasure Island and the East Bay. Below, Tiburon.

And seeing San Francisco’s skyline from Angel Island is certainly worth the ferry ride across the Bay, not just during Fleet Week.

After a long walk, you can chill out in the picnic area right next to the ferry landing...

...or let your feet take a cool bath in the Bay.

Quadrupledecker

The Blue Angels are in town, and it’s getting loud for Fleet Week weekend. You can either grab earplugs – or your camera and head out the door to enjoy the spectacle.

Here are four of the fab six performing one of their stunts over Alcatraz, flying in close formation.

Seen in direct sunlight, they almost seem to crack the sound barrier right before your eyes.

Still, there are others to whom flying comes a bit more naturally...

Ferry Tale

Once upon a time I took a ferry just like this one, and you wouldn’t believe what an incredible sunset I saw over the Golden Gate Bridge. Well, maybe you would. Here it is...

Marina Bird

No idea what species this fellow belongs to – but I appreciate the picturesque posing in San Francisco’s Marina, right next to Fort Mason.

The Gate to the World

It’s a fairly safe bet that this ship passing underneath the Golden Gate Bridge picked up its cargo at the Port of Oakland, across the Bay. San Francisco’s lesser known, not-quite-as-pretty twin city handles 99 percent of all containers coming to and from Northern California by sea. The port has ten container terminals and is the fourth busiest in the U.S.

And while that’s certainly impressive, the prettier picture (sorry, Oakland) is still the passage through the gate to the world...

City Lights

San Francisco’s skyline on a moonlit, fogless evening, as seen from Acquatic Park.

In Your Brain, Inc.

Busy day yesterday with the announcement of Google Instant (and writing a quick article for stern.de). Here’s Google’s VP for Search Products and User Experience, Marissa Mayer, speaking at the press event in San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art.

The best illustration of what the search giant aspires to do comes from Google itself... (This is picture was projected onscreen shortly before the presentation started.) 

The Colors of Fall

There’s no Indian Summer to speak of in San Francisco, nothing like the exuberant changing of the leaves in New England – which may explain why I got a little trigger-happy ...

...when I came across a tree on Russian Hill which was illuminated by the afternoon sun in all its colorful autumn glory just as I happened to walk by.

Hovermaster

The fog is back, and Baker Beach probably looks as forlorn today as it did on the grey day of spring when I saw this seagull hovering over a stretch of sand, suspended in the air near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Museum Ships

Square-rigger “Balclutha” taking a bath in the late afternoon sun in San Francisco’s Acquatic Park. Nothing special, I was just trying out my new Tamron 70-300 mm zoom lens. First impression: mediocre handling, due to stiff zoom and oddly placed focus ring, but very good optical quality for the price. It’s a keeper and will see more action when Fleet Week comes around. Meanwhile, here’s a close-up of Balclutha’s neighbor, “Eureka.”

At The Wharf

How do you know summer in San Francisco is almost over? The fog is finally leaving, and the tourist crowds in Fisherman’s Wharf are thinning. Best time to come visit...

Literary Landmark

Few bookstores in the U.S. – or even the world – have a pedigree like San Francisco’s City Lights: This is where “Beatnik” writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg found a home, at a time when no traditional publisher dared to touch what they wrote.

Today, City Lights is both an official San Francisco landmark and a vibrant independent bookstore, located in North Beach. Upstairs, there’s a whole room dedicated to Beatnik poetry.

I had a chance to photograph this icon of literature for the Swiss newspaper Le Temps. You can find a gallery with many more images on my photo website.

Sunset Cruise

Team Canoe meets ocean liner at the Golden Gate: While some people need to put a lot of effort into getting ahead, others cruise along, enjoying the view from the sun deck. (And as I’m not one of the lucky ones, there was not much going on here for a while – too many deadlines to meet.)

Ferry Fly-by

There’s more to see on San Francisco Bay than just The Bridge...

Take a Peek

A floral view of San Francisco’s landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge.

The View from Sausalito

On a clear day, you can look all across the Bay, and if you catch the right spot there can be something poetic about the view of San Francisco, as seen from Sausalito.

Used Vinyl

 

Does anybody still buy records? Those plastic things that spin around, sound scratchy after a while and don’t really fit into an iPod? Well, for music fans who do, the Bay Area is a true haven, with both Amoeba Records and Rasputin Music offering a huge selection of vinyl (and CDs) in Berkeley and San Francisco. Best of all, they also buy used music – from those of us who’ve gone all digital...