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Wednesday Photo: Southwest View From Pier 39 (San Francisco, California)

Posted 1 April, 2009 at 9:30am by Michael Chu

Looking southwest from the second floor of the Aquarium of the Bay on Pier 39, you can see the office buildings and residences of San Francisco rising above on its hills.
Pier 39 (San Francisco, California)
Handheld, 1/200 sec at f/11 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

I think this is going to the the last photo in the Photo of the Week/Wednesday Photo series for a while. I'll be packing and moving and unpacking. I'll resume the series once I'm settled again.

Photo of the Week: San Francisco City Hall at Night (San Francisco, California)

Posted 29 March, 2009 at 9:30am by Michael Chu

This photograph was taken from the Parc 55 Hotel (about two blocks from Union Square). The lights were turned off in the room and the tripod with camera was setup between the blackout curtains and the windows of the room to minimize glare and reflections from the window glass.
San Francisco City Hall at Night (San Francisco, California)
Tripod, 10 sec at f/16 on ISO 100, 85mm f/1.8 lens

Wednesday Photo: Bay Bridge (San Francisco, California)

Posted 18 March, 2009 at 9:30am by Michael Chu

Here's another photograph from San Francisco. This one was taken from within my car parked on Bryant Street near where I worked. The photo was taken with the camera braced against my steering wheel and dash. It was the first photo that I took with my Nikon D200.
Bay Bridge (San Francisco, California)
Supported, 1/2 sec at f/3.5 on ISO 100, 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 lens

Photo of the Week: Coit Tower (San Francisco, California)

Posted 15 March, 2009 at 9:30am by Michael Chu

Since I'll be leaving the Bay Area exactly one month from today, I thought I should post another picture of San Francisco. Here's Coit Tower as seen from a rooftop in the south part of the North Beach neighborhood.
Coit Tower (San Francisco, California)
Handheld, 1/1000 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 200, 85mm f/1.8 lens

Photo of the Day: San Francisco Skyline

Posted 13 November, 2008 at 9:30am by Michael Chu

I have a lot of photos of the San Francisco Skyline but this is one of a few that I have taken from within the city capturing both the imposing Transamerica Building and the first span on the Bay Bridge. The shot was taken from a rooftop in just north of Chinatown.
San Francisco Skyline
Handheld, 1/1000 sec at f/4.2 on ISO 200, 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 lens

Collapsing Freeways

Posted 29 April, 2007 at 10:50pm by Michael Chu

Collapsed 580This morning (at 3:42am), a tanker truck carrying 8,600 gallons of gasoline hit a guard rail, rolled-over, and exploded. Somehow the driver crawled out and walked off the freeway and found a taxi fueling up at a nearby Arco gas station at around 4:30am. The driver was taken to a hospital where he was treated for second degree burns. Meanwhile, the big news was unfolding - the gas tank that had exploded was still burning and temperatures had risen beyond 1,000°F, and at points going beyond 2,700°F. The truck happened to be positioned on what is called "The Maze" - a series of overpasses that interconnect the Bay Bridge into San Francisco (I-80), with I-880 and I-580 - and was burning on southbound 880 directly underneath the westbound 80 to 580 overpass. The heat was high enough to soften the giant steel screws holding the 580 in place above the 880 causing them to buckle and releasing a large section of the freeway to fall down onto the lower layer. The burning inferno continued and was able to melt some of the steel. The amazing thing is, no one was killed in this amazing disaster - which is incredible since this interchange is the busiest section of freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. So far, the only injury related to the accident was the driver. (He has second degree burns on his hands, face, and neck, but is expected to live.)
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Collapsing Freeways

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