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Travel guide of Alcatraz Island
3 km from Alcatraz Island
I’m quite happy I managed to get this iconic shot of the San Francisco cable cars… not just one but two! This is on the corner of Powell St and Bush St. I took the cable car all the way down to Market St and I must say the views you get along the way are well worth the $7 price tag on this trip.
3 km from Alcatraz Island
A unique view of what used to be the tallest building in San Francisco (eclipsed by the new Salesforce Tower in 2018). The Transamerica Pyramid is still a prominent figure on the skyline and a must-see if you visit the city.
3 km from Alcatraz Island
Staying in Sausalito recently, I took this picture while riding the ferry into San Francisco. Even though I lived in SF for years, I never took the ferry and was awestruck by this morning view. I’m sad I missed out on this beautiful commute for so many years.
4 km from Alcatraz Island
This shot encapsulates the beauty of a sunrise hitting the city and the bridge, while people crawl their way into the city to begin their Friday evenings in style.
4 km from Alcatraz Island
This is one of my favorite spots, not just to capture photos, but also to relax and admire the amazing architecture and incredible grounds. It is often very quiet during the mornings, which is my favorite time to get out and about. There is no shortage of amazing places to photograph in San Francisco.
4 km from Alcatraz Island
Another amazing vantage on offer in San Francisco is the view down market street from above the Ferry Building. This spot can offer great light for both sunrise and sunset… but my favourite is watching the sky light up in the background while looking directly down Market Street. What a city 👌
5 km from Alcatraz Island
It’s cool to think of the Golden Gate Bridge as the Statue of Liberty of the West Coast, seeing this for the first time defines the word freedom.
5 km from Alcatraz Island
We did the full tourist experience when we visited Northern California and when we went on the boat tour of the Golden Gate Bridge the tour guide told us the paint color of the bridge was called “international orange”. The architects had to choose one color to paint the entire bridge and it was no coincidence that they chose a color that was inclusive and named it international as San Fran is the home to people from all over the world.
5 km from Alcatraz Island
I was over the moon to finally get out and fly the drone on a night with very little wind. I’d been waiting weeks for this shot to finally have some potential… and I was over the moon at the resulting trails. Initially I thought it may have been inevitable that the bridge was slightly out of focus… however the focus point stayed tack sharp throughout the 8 second exposure.
5 km from Alcatraz Island
Taken on my only visit to the US, when visiting Microsoft. I did not bring my camera but the kind people their loaned me a camera and took me out to see the sights.
Experienced by Jason Polychronopulos
5 km from Alcatraz Island
I was chasing the sunset through San Francisco buildings trying to find a clear shot. After randomly driving around I didn’t find any so I gave up. On the drive home I randomly ran into this view. I pulled over in the emergency lane (nothing like adding some thrill into the chase) and took this shot. Life lesson: just in case you give up, keep your head up because you don’t know what’s around the corner.
Experienced by Bobak Emamian
5 km from Alcatraz Island
How lucky I am. This shot was taken from the Car, when I was on the bridge. Luckily the traffic was slow moving due to a busy day. While most of the days are foggy near the bridge, somehow this Seagull added an extra layer beauty to this man made marvel. I strongly believe in the composition, probably that adds more creativity than rest of the photography technics. I don’t mind, passing the same bridge 1000 times, to get different compositions and dimension to experience the world in multiple bliss.
Experienced by Dilip Kumar
5 km from Alcatraz Island
Some friends and I visited San Francisco this past spring and came to Lands End to enjoy the waves and the sand. It was pretty windy/cold but we had tons of fun walking/jumping around. We sat on some nearby logs for a rest and took photos of what were seeing. I snapped a bunch of photos of everyone, caught this one of my friend gazing off at the bridge into the distance. This reminds me of fun times surrounded with friends in a new place, wondering about the future (which actually ended up being right back in SF!)
Experienced by Nathalyn Nunoo
5 km from Alcatraz Island
Taken on a recent trip to Treasure Island… I didn’t realize that so much construction was taking place on Yerba Buena Island so my typically shooting spots weren’t accessible. It turned out to be a good thing and forced me to look for new perspectives… I found this frame near one of the old carparks on the road between Treasure and Yerba Buena Islands.
5 km from Alcatraz Island
I took this picture as I walked across the bridge near sunset while chaperoning a group high school computer science students from Alabama. The view was spectacular.
Experienced by Melanie Haynes
6 km from Alcatraz Island
I headed down to Golden Gate overlook, San Francisco to catch the sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge. While I was grabbing some shots of the bridge I looked down over the cliffs and the light coming in over the pacific onto the beach looked amazing. It could almost be a drone shot!
6 km from Alcatraz Island
I got up and drove to the Golden Gate before the crowds. My favorite time of the day. It was around 7AM when I was crossing and capturing the fog over it. I made it to the beach right before sunrise. It was quite, moody, but beautiful. I was not able to see the sun but the sound of the ocean splashing and crashing on the rocks was extraordinary. Waves were not big but felt smooth. It is at that point when I felt the urge to capture that feeling. I put my filters on my camera and took a long exposure shot. The time before the shot, it is the time I treasure and sharing it makes me happy
Experienced by Raquel Stanton
6 km from Alcatraz Island
Visiting San Francisco only for half a day we tried to find out what was the best spot to take a picture form this landmark. Finally we decided to go to Marshall Beach. That day it was al little bit cloudy, but the moment we came at the beach the sun was already shining again.
7 km from Alcatraz Island
Photo taken by Nadya Vysotskaya during Amanda and Kevin Lanceplaine’s wedding in San Francisco. http://nvysotskaya.com This photo has been authorized by Nadya Vysotskaya to be published on Unsplash under the CC0 license.
8 km from Alcatraz Island
Was staying at an airbnb on twin peaks. I thought the view from my room was fantastic, but then I happened to walk to this place called Christmas Tree point and was just mesmerised. Ended up trekking there again the next day and even record a full sunrise video . This perhaps is one of the most underrated places in SF. I am not really a photographer and have relied on unsplash community for great photographs…I thought this might be my chance to give back and share this beauty with the larger community.
Experienced by Madhur Chadha