Shall I take my 4x5 to San Francisco?

[Turner Reich]

Yes take the 5x4, if you don't you will be very disappointed with yourself. If you don't go to Yosemite you will miss one of the most impressive and fantastic places on the the Earth. It's really that great. There is a lot of transporation in SF, where do you plan to stay? If it's close to the water then you will have a lot to photograph and you can walk to China town or take a cable car. If you are going to go to Alcatraz then get the tickets soon, you can take your cameras there too for large format photography. It's a walking tour inside with headphones but your are free to go anywhere and stay as long as you want and photograph. Many great photographs are possible there. I was just down there a couple of months ago and had a great time. It was the 2nd time this year. Good luck and have fun.

[niubi]

Wow! If you people are an indication of the hospitality I'm going to experience in SF, then I'm in for a great holiday!

Thanks heaps for your advice. Not sure where I'm staying as this is a spare of the moment decision but a few decent (well.. semi-decent!) hotels still have vacancies so I will finalise this tonight.

I can't be so close to Yosemite and not go there! My brother visited last year and he still raves about it...and he is not even interested in photography!! So I will try to organise 3 days accommodation for the latter part of my trip..hopefully it will be slightly less busy then. If anyone is going up there at that time and sees some lunatic driving on the other side of the road, just wave or honk your horn...it will surely be me!

Feel free to add any other comments.

But thanks again!

[Capocheny]

Easiest solution to all your questions?

Tee up with one of the locals and go shooting together... :>0

Makes good sense to me!

Cheers

[John Kasaian]

For cheap(er) accomodations in Yosemite Valley check out the tent cabins at Curry Village and the Housekeeping Camp (aka Camp 16) A sleeping bag and flashlight is all you'll really need to camp here unless you want to cook, and you can rent campstoves for that.The Housekeping Camp is on the Merced River and allows campfires. The tent cabins at Curry are closer to the pizzaria and cappuccino bar (take your pick!) A low stress hike might be to take the tram to Glacier Point and hike down. EZ and scenic! Do try to get up to Tioga Pass and Tuolemne Meadows--there are similar tent cabin accomodations available waaaay up there. After the Labor Day weekend the Valley gets downright tolerable!

Reasonable rooms in S.F. can be a challenge. Check The Columbus Motor Lodge (nice location with lots of night life) The Radisson at Fisherman's Wharf (tourist hell but graet for catching public transportation. Sometimes they run special deals on pricing) and the Ramada on Market Street (crappy area but a nice hotel and good for catching public transportation--usually lower rates for rooms than in similar hotels) If you're going to rent a car for your stay look for places further down the penninsula and drive into town (but not too far---dealing with bay area rush hour traffic is no vacation!---especially if you're used to driving on the other side of the road.) Also there are nieghborhoods that are far from safe, so get a local's opinion if possible. The VCB sure won't tell you!
Have a great trip!

[davidb]

Definitely take the camera. If you don't you'll surely want it.

[Dean Cookson]

Oh, and make some noise when you get here. Maybe you could scare a few of us out of hiding and into a brewpub...

[Bill_1856]

"Shall I take my 4x5 to San Francisco?"
NO. Not if you're only going to be there for 10 days.
Your Mamiya 7 is probably the best substitute you could possibly make.
Whether you go to Yosemite or Carmel/Point Lobos, you should allow two days(one night), including travel. Both are absoutely fabulous places, but don't try to do both of them. Only do Yosemite if you think that you're never going to have another chance.
Public transportation is probably as good as you're going to get anywhere, but watch your stuff carefully -- I've had a Nikon lifted out of my backpack on a crowded streetcar.
I thought that OZ had one special day a few years ago, when no one drove anywhere, so everyone could switch to driving on the right (correct) side of the road. No?

[niubi]

I thought that OZ had one special day a few years ago, when no one drove anywhere, so everyone could switch to driving on the right (correct) side of the road. No?

LOL! I am trying to imagine this happening in Sydney...it would be as crazy as everyone in SF driving on the other side for a day..

Sydney is a very hectic city these days......BTW, for anyone who has made plans to be here in the next couple of weeks, try to leave your 4x5 at home...with George Bush coming for the APEC meeting, let's just say I could get arrested for carrying my Mamiya, let alone a 4x5...the security is absolutely ludicrous!!!!!! They've closed off the whole damn city!...
...probably good timing for me to escape to SF.

[Vaughn]

"I thought that OZ had one special day a few years ago, when no one drove anywhere, so everyone could switch to driving on the right (correct) side of the road. No?

No, that was New Zealand -- they were going to have the first week of the new year as a test and have all the cars drive on the righ hand side of the road. If it worked out, then they would add the lorries and buses to the test for the second week.

My suggestion is to bring the 4x5 -- and get a roll back (perhaps 6x8 or 6x9 since you already have 6x7) for the 4x5 so that you can shoot some 120 film -- great way to practise movements and perspective adjustments while using film you are already use to...and you can always slip in a 4x5 film holder if the scene calls for it.

It might increase you productivity and improve your learning of the view camera -- you can try all sorts of shots you might not otherwise take, having a limited amount of 4x5 film/holders.

Have fun!

Vaughn

[KenM]

I would also try to get over to the Marin headlands - there are all sorts of military installations that are well worth exploring. It can get busy on the weekend, tho, with cyclists and people out hiking.

There are some nice views of SF and the GG Bridge as well.