Blog 21 02 19 San Francisco Bay

There are many beautiful images being made using drones and many heretofore impossible angles of view being discovered, giving us a whole new perspective on both nature and news gathering. It only seems like yesterday that every photo  show I attended started to have enclosed drone pens for flying demonstrations and exhibitor stalls selling “flying” instruction courses. Now I am seeing major contests awarding prizes to drone-derived photographic excellence.

Aerial is Aerial

That said, “there is nothing new under the sun”. Aerial photography has been with us since hot air balloons. The Professional Aerial Photographers Association, cutely known as PAPA, relates that “The first known aerial photograph was taken in 1858 by French photographer and balloonist, Gaspar Felix Tournachon, known as "Nadar"” and the oldest surviving aerial photograph dates back to 1860. See:

https://papa.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=808138&module_id=158950

Followers of my blog know that I am fascinated with the opportunities offered by the window seats in commercial aircraft. I love to gaze at the terrain and try to guess where I am on any plane journey. My joy is complete if the conditions are good enough to also use my camera. It constantly amazes me that this produces fascinating images, no matter how high the plane is flying. I am increasingly anxious nowadays at the prevalence of electronic window dimmers, which make indulging my passion much more difficult than blinds allow me to do, given the annoying intervention of aircraft attendants to allow fellow passengers to sleep or watch movies.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

Until Covid times, I have been used to landing or taking off from SFO, up to 6 times a year, passing over the massive salt marshes surrounding the southern section of the estuary. They are particularly prominent at the San Jose end of the bay. Whether in the air or on land, I do know the way to San Jose and habitually whistle the eponymous song while travelling there, much to the aggravation of anyone around me.

The drainage patterns and strange colours create wonderful abstract images. They seem ever-changing, according to the season and the light. I have no understanding of the processes creating these sights, but it is a beautiful, unintended consequence of man’s efforts to control nature. I look forward to it every time that I know we are on the descent to SFO.

Settings

Camera: Nikon D300

Lens: AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5–4.5G IF ED

Drive Mode: Continuous

Focal Length: 44mm

Auto Focus-Area Mode: Single

Aperture: f/4.2

Shutter Speed: 1/1600s

Exposure Mode: Shutter Speed Priority

Exposure Compensation: +0.7 EV

Metering: Pattern

ISO Sensitivity: 1000

Format: Raw

Hand held in aircraft seat

Place : San Francisco Bay

Year: 2014

Copyright Paul Grayson 2021 All Rights Reserved