Shall I take my 4x5 to San Francisco?

[jetcode]

Hi all,

I'mg travelling to San Francisco on vacation for 10 days from Sept. 8 and need some general advice as this will be my first time to this city (and only my second time to the US (I'm from Australia)).

I was planning on shooting some street photography with my Mamiya 7 but just wondered what 4x5 opportunities there might be in and around the city. I may not be hiring a car (driving on the other side of the road is not something I need to learn in 10 days!!) but I hear the city itself is very user friendly in terms of public transport.

In addition, Yosemite valley is not that far (well, not in Aussie distances, anyway!!) ...I hear that coaches can take you there in the morning and will pickup in the evening. Would a day trip be worthwhile? Probably too early for the autumn colours?

Any advice re: photography in and around the city? (Please note I am extremely 'green' re: 4x5 photography. I have had my camera for less than a week!).

Thanks in advance.

Pick anywhere S.F. and you will find something to photograph. The headlands, GG Park, the coast are all great locations. Yosemite is a 4-5 hour drive by car and the best light is early and late (like usual). Better spent as an over-nighter. Stay in Camp Curry for under $75. If I were coming to this area for 10 days I would consider a drive up 101 to say Garberville then back over the Mendocino coast to S.F. Lots of great things to experience and you will have access to redwoods and coast. The Napa and Sonoma wine regions are a nice day trip from S.F. Heading south there's nothing quite like Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Big Sur. I could easily spend 10 days shooting in S.F. and as I live 45 minutes to the G.G. in West Marin I plan on fulfilling that plan.

If you are in the city "Calumet" for photo supplies is in the west side of Portrero Hill, "New Lab" for E6 and "Gamma", B/W. You can have your film processed while you are there which is handy.

[jetcode]

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!

Send an email when you get here and I will take you around S.F. I enjoy going to the city to shoot and I can drive on both sides of the road and sometimes I have to.

So I will try to organise 3 days accommodation for the latter part of my trip..hopefully it will be slightly less busy then.

Yosemite is never less busy, it's just not Tokyo in the winter.

[jetcode]

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

You can rent it all at Calumet in Portrero Hill.

[jetcode]

Niubi,
If your available time is short, you might enjoy a side trip to the Carmel area more than trying to do Yosemite. Point Lobos is Edward Weston's arena, and is as challenging today for photography as it was in Edwards time. When I photograph down in that area, I stay at the "Carmel River Inn" which has reasonably price cottages for rent, many with kitchenettes which cut down the feeding bill. Point Lobos opens at 8:00 am and is just down the road from Carmel. Traffic here will not be as intimidating as in San Francisco.

We welcome your visit with us in the Bay Area.

I believe Clint Eastwood owns the Carmel River Inn. I didn't know they had cottages.

[jetcode]

Driving in the city is a nightmare.

It's not that bad, I do it with my Tuna Boat at least once a week. Now parking sucks for sure. I've seen a day's wages lost on a weeks worth of garage expenses.

[drew.saunders]

First thing to note: Wearing flowers in your hair is now considered optional*

In your shoes, I'd bring the Mamiya 7 and lots and lots of film (or buy it here). Film is cheaper than airfare! On a trip like that, I'd choose a camera with which you're very comfortable, and not have to worry about learning your relatively new 4x5. You can always rent a 4x5 at Calumet if you decide that you're missing the LF experience, but you should probably email or call first to see what they have in stock. If you don't have a 43 for your Mamiya 7, you might want to rent one from Calumet as well. http://webres.calumetphoto.com/webres/pdfs/SanFran.pdf

Some of SF's streets are so steep that there are steps in the sidewalks. If you're using your camera hand held, it's very hard for your brain not to line up the street with the bottom of the frame, making all the buildings lean. I was fairly bad at that for some of my shots of one of the bike races in SF a few years ago: http://www.stanford.edu/~dru/sf_gp/sfgp.html. Those particular nasty hills are Fillmore and Taylor streets.

San Francisco is a great city to see on foot, so the Mamiya is a perfect camera to carry with you.

Within the city, you can do just fine with public transit, then rent the car for your trip out, rather than renting the car at the airport. San Francisco International isn't actually in San Francisco, so don't bother going back to rent your car, most of the major companies have offices in the city too. You can probably return the car to the airport even if you don't rent it there, depending on your company.

If you want to head south to Carmel, Point Lobos etc. on your trip out, stop by the Monterey Aquarium. They just got another great white shark on exhibit, which is a rare sight. http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/whiteshark/

*Famous (and now 40-year-old!) hippie song "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair" that you'll probably hear at least once on the radio during your trip. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Fra...s_in_Your_Hair)

[Louie Powell]

If your available time is short, you might enjoy a side trip to the Carmel area more than trying to do Yosemite. Point Lobos is Edward Weston's arena, and is as challenging today for photography as it was in Edwards time. When I photograph down in that area, I stay at the "Carmel River Inn" which has reasonably price cottages for rent, many with kitchenettes which cut down the feeding bill. Point Lobos opens at 8:00 am and is just down the road from Carmel.

Based on the rates quoted on their web site, I would not describe the Carmel River Inn cottages as "reasonable".

Back in February, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Marina (just east of Monterrey) that was less than $100 per night.

Also, we found that we had to wait until 9am for them to open the gate at Point Lobos State Park. Worth the wait!

[Lazybones]

Don't take your 4x5, take me with you.

[John Kasaian]

If you plan to go to Pt Lobos, check to see that there aren't any temporary closures for elephant seal mate-ing rituals or anything.

Another very scenic area close to SF is the Muir Redwoods. If crumbling industrial stuff floats your boat, check out Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

[Wilbur Wong]

Regarding the Carmel River Inn, my wife and I have stayed here many times over the years. (Clint Eastwood doesn't own it, in fact it was purchased by a small group a couple of years ago, much to my chagrin.)

It is still however small and quaint, not to be compared with a room on a hallway. They do have a two story "hotel" portion at the front of the property. However we always enjoy using one of the cottages which are all stand alone and we can park right outside the door. Reasonably priced for me may not mean the same for all people. I think the current smallest cottages are under $120 per night. Last Christmas, I rented two cottages for an extended family holiday which included 4 generations. The rates totaled $454 per night, this total included 2 cottages which collectively had 4 bedrooms, a full kitchen, and a 15 x 24' living room with fireplace where we could all congregate. If you compare Carmel rates, this is more than a bargain.

A major compensation for having a kitchen or kitchenette is being able to avoid expensive (or even "inexpensive") meals out.