Dave Wilson Photography » Architecture

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:23:27 +0000

I could easily have spent a whole day inside Grace Cathedral during my visit to San Francicso. It's a gorgeous building with so many interesting little details that set it apart from many other cathedrals.

I already mentioned the fascinating scientifically-themed stained glass but here's another example - a large, brass chi-rho symbol embedded into the floor of the nave partway down the aisle. There's also a labyrinth on the nave floor behind me (I may post a shot containing it later). Both of these make great foreground elements in shots of the whole nave, adding even more interest to shots which are already fascinating due to the majesty of the building itself.

Knowing that I wanted to make the symbol a major part of the composition, I set up right above it with the fisheye lens and shot this image. Of the pictures I've processed from the cathedral, this is definitely my favourite so far.

Hotel Flags, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:14:06 +0000

Apologies for forgetting to post an image yesterday – I was down at Space Center Houston with a bunch of Cub Scout and, despite having pictures queued up and ready to post, I completely forgot to press the relevant button!

We’re moving back to San Francisco today for another image taken in the Nob Hill area. This shows the Fairmont Hotel in the foreground and the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel in the background. I stayed at the Mark Hopkins and very much enjoyed it. On the plus side, the view from the top floor restaurant and bar is breathtaking. On the negative side, they left a bad impression on me with the $6.50 price tag on a 16oz bottle of water in the room (but you can probably ignore that complaint as the whining of a cheap Scotsman, however).

Art Deco Ceiling, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:33:45 +0000

One lesson I've never managed to learn while out shooting in a new city is to take notes. This shot offers a prime example. Jesse Nichols, who graciously showed us around downtown San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, took us into this beautiful, art deco foyer in some office building or other. I was so taken by the ceiling (and the fact that the doorman was happy for us to take pictures of it!) that I completely forgot to note down where we were! If you happen to know, please drop me a comment so that I can update the description.

Embarcadero Stairs, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:19:18 +0000

We're back in San Francisco today with a shot taken during the PhotoNetCast photo walk we held there a couple of weeks ago. This was taken in the Embarcadero center right at the end of the walk (just before we hit the pub).

Next time I'm in San Francisco, I think I'll spend some more time in this area since there appeared to be lots of interesting photographic opportunities there that I didn't have time to exploit on this trip.

Grace Cathedral Nave, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:21:03 +0000

I spent a wonderful couple of hours inside Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill in San Francisco during my recent visit. What a superb building!

While there, I got into conversation with one of the vergers who happened to be British. She pointed out some of the stained glass and I was surprised and delighted to see that many of the windows had scientific themes - one commemorates John Glenn's first US spaceflight, another contains "E=mc2" and a third shows an image of a spiral galaxy. In addition to the strained glass, the walls of the nave are decorated with spectacular murals. All in all, a must-see location if you happen to be in the area.

Hyatt Sculpture II, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:00:34 +0000

Here's a slightly wider view of the excellent sculpture from the atrium of the Hyatt Hotel in downtown San Francisco.

Upper Floor, Xanadu Gallery

Dave Wilson — Sat, 05 May 2012 12:57:14 +0000

Here's another shot from inside the Xanadu Gallery on Maiden Lane in San Francisco (you can find the previous one here). This is taken from the second floor at the top of the spiral ramp that joins the two.

One Eleven Sutter, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:02:53 +0000

This is another shot from our San Francisco photo walk on April 21st but this one has another security guard story associated with it. While wandering around downtown, we noticed this very ornate doorway and decided to stop to take a few shots. Within about 20 seconds, a security guard appeared and informed us that it was illegal to take pictures of the building and especially illegal to include the address plate seen on the left side of the doorway.

We informed him that he was incorrect and that, since we were standing on a public sidewalk, we were perfectly within our rights to take pictures of anything that was visible but he insisted that we were engaging in illegal activity and returned to his desk to call the police.

Once we finished shooting, the police had not arrived so I headed into the foyer, left him a business card and got the address of his manager so that I could write and pass on information on photographers' rights so that he could be more correctly informed next time anyone shows up with an interest in his doorway.

If you take pictures in large US cities, you have almost certainly had a similar experience. To keep yourself informed and ensure you have ammunition on hand next time this happens, head on over to Bert Krages' photographers' rights page and print a copy of his photographers' rights overview to keep in your camera bag.

Contrasting Architecture, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:19:35 +0000

The architecture in downtown San Francisco is fabulous and, as with many north American cities, spans many different styles. Interestingly enough, the styles in the older neighbourhoods appear less varied but that can apparently be explained by the fact that many of these areas were rebuilt quickly after the earthquake that leveled the city in 1906 and, hence, adopted the prevailing architectural styles of the start of the 20th century.

Fire Escape, San Francisco

Dave Wilson — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:17:56 +0000

I'm now home from my week-long photography extravaganza and have had a chance to go back to the images I shot in San Francisco a week ago.

This ornate fire escape near Union Square made a great black and white subject when I passed it on Saturday morning. By the time I returned in the evening, the sun angle meant that it fell into the shade and the great shadows had disappeared.