CALIFORNIA: SAN FRANCISCO'S GOLDEN 

GATE BRIDGE, HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH IT

by Lee Foster

San Francisco celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge in colorful festivities in May 1987. Each day, thousands of travelers engage in a parallel, private ceremony of affection for the Bridge.

Let's consider the Bridge's history and beauty before plunging into the details of photographing or visualizing it today.

Echoing the national attention surrounding the Statue of Liberty unveiling, a TV presentation in 1987 shared the fireworks and pageantry of the Golden Gate with Americans nationwide.

(To see 120 photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, search for Golden Gate Bridge at http://stockphotos.fostertravel.com.)

On that night, for the first time, lights shone on the two 746-foot orange-vermilion towers of the bridge. Permanent lighting was envisioned in the bridge's original plans, but the expense proved too great until 1987.

For those fortunate enough to be in the San Francisco area, the planned weekend festivities were elaborate. A Saturday morning Bridgefest showcased the culture, music, and foods of the Bay Area's many ethnic groups, especially those of the Pacific Rim. A Saturday night concert, managed partly by rock impresario Bill Graham, featured some of the country's leading entertainers, with proceeds going to the bridge lighting fund.

On Sunday morning the bridge closed to traffic from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. as people walked across it, re-enacting the opening in 1937, when 200,000 people crossed the bridge on foot. It was always possible to walk or bicycle across the bridge on the sidewalks along the edge, but for this occasion the entire roadway became a pedestrian lane. After the Bridgewalk, a Golden Mile Race across the bridge attracted world-class milers. Sunday afternoon's Golden Age of Transportation theme saw antique cars, parades of ships, and flybys of historic aircraft.

The object of all this adulation is one of America's best-loved landmarks. Whether seen from the south and north end visitor viewpoints or from special vantage points, such as the deck of a Blue and Gold Fleet excursion boat, the Golden Gate Bridge is a pleasing sight. The gracefulness of its suspension construction, the bridge's proportion alongside the green hills of Marin County to the north, and the orange-vermilion color of the bridge against the blue sky and sea add to the effect. The shiplane below the Golden Gate has become its own bridge to the orient, adding to the mystique of the site.

Building the bridge required both political vision and technical imagination. A San Francisco character of the 1860s, named Emperor Norton, is credited with the first public proposals for a bridge. In the 1870s railroad magnate Charles Crocker presented plans for a bridge. However, the task was enormous and public interest dwindled until 1916, when newspaperman James Wilkins launched an editorial campaign favoring a bridge. The idea appealed to North Bay residents who were transporting their cars across on time-consuming ferries. Spanning the Golden Gate, however, seemed more like a dream than a possibility. In 1917, San Francisco's chief engineer, M. M. O'Shaughnessy, enlisted the aid of a Chicago engineer, Joseph B. Strauss, to design and build the bridge.

Strauss followed the project attentively for the next two decades. A distinguished bridge builder, Strauss engineered over 400 bridges from Leningrad to New Jersey in his lifelong record. A statue at the south end of the bridge acknowledges his role as "The Man Who Built The Bridge."

The political hurdles required to build the bridge were considerable. In 1930 voters in the six counties making up the Bridge District approved issuing the bonds to finance it. This act required some vision as the nation waded through the Depression. In January 1933 Strauss broke ground for construction of the towers. Admirably, the bridge was built on time and under its $35 million budget, with the last bridge bond paid off in 1971. Today's toll goes entirely to maintaining the bridge, including its never-ending schedule of painting.

The first technical challenge in the 1930s construction involved the 4,200-foot length of the span, which many said could not be bridged successfully. Strauss weighed plans for a suspension bridge, which risked being too flimsy, and a cantilever bridge, which might be too heavy for the site. His original plans called for a design incorporating both ideas. From an aesthetic point of view, his later decision to focus just on the suspension approach proved far superior. At that time, a suspension bridge of this length had not yet been built.

The location of the bridge, bearing the full brunt of the ocean elements, exacerbated potential problems of design. Winds of 20-60 miles per hour are commonplace. A broadside wind at 100 miles per hour produces a midspan sway of 21 feet, which had to be allowed for. Heat and cold expansion and contraction of the bridge means a movement of 10 feet up and 10 feet down. The depth of the water underneath the bridge and the speed of the current were major technical challenges. Pacific tidal pressures are enormous in the narrow outlet, especially when the 7-1/2 knot tidal outrush combines with the swift-flowing waters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers emptying through this gap into the ocean. Strauss decided to anchor one of the 65-story towers right in the waterway, 1,215 feet from shore.

The 36-1/2 inch cables manufactured for the bridge were the largest bridge cables ever made, incorporating 80,000 miles of wire about the thickness of a pencil. Each of the two cables has a tensile strength of 200 million pounds. During construction, Strauss paid particular attention to worker safety. It was assumed in bridge building that a worker would die for every million dollars worth of construction. The safety record was excellent until near the end of the project. A special net saved 19 men who fell at various times.

Pete Williamson, one of the bridge workers, recalled what it was like.

"I had to walk along those girders with nothing to hold onto," said Williamson, "balancing myself on 8-inch I-beams with only net and water underneath. The thought of walking the flanges scared the hell out of me. But I did it. I learned quickly that when the wind was blowing, which was all the time out there, you had to carry lumber on the side away from it. If you didn't, it could get hold of you and blow you into the drink."

The safety record remained excellent until 1936 when a falling beam crushed an iron worker. Unfortunately, another tragic incident, in February 1937, took 10 lives when a scaffolding with workers broke off. The weight of the scaffolding tore through the net, carrying the workers to their deaths below.

Over the years the bridge has set some remarkable and gruesome records. Over 100,000 cars a day cross it, joining San Francisco to Marin County and the redwood country to the north. By February 1986 the billionth car had driven across. More than 1,200 people have jumped suicidally to their death from the span.

The 1987 pageant of the Golden Gate Bridge also offered a powerful symbolic contrast with the 1986 festivities around the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty marked emancipation from the nation's European past. The Golden Gate Bridge shifted attention to the country's Pacific Rim future in the 21st Century.

If you want to enjoy and photograph the Golden Gate Bridge today, here are some suggestions.

From mid-afternoon through sunset, choice photos and spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and its setting are available from beaches on the western side of the Golden Gate in San Francisco and from bluffs on the Marin Headlands on the north side of the Bridge. For these outings, you will want to have your own car.

Baker Beach

West of the Bridge, the Baker Beach turnoff from Lincoln Boulevard is well marked. There is ample parking and direct access to the beach. Good shots can be made of the Bridge in the distance with breaking waves in the foreground. The beach is extensive. Many photo strategies can be employed. You can draw in the Bridge with a long lens or use a wide-angle to create vertical photos of the Bridge and the surf. If the sky is clear, the afternoon light can be golden. If the sky is cloudy or foggy, the interplay of the setting sun on the clouds/fog can be dramatic.

My cover photo for my new guidebooks, The Photographer's Guide to San Francisco (Countryman/Norton), is from Baker Beach, and you can replicate the image. Get to Baker Beach at about 3 p.m. on a gorgeous, sunny day and prepare to meditate on the scene for an hour. Walk from the parking lot area toward the Bridge until you see the image that pleases you. It is helpful to have a tripod and rubber boots that allow you to stand in the surf. The singular beauty of the Bridge, the beach, and the surf is appealing. Optional amenities to bring, essential for me, are a bottle of wine, some brie, and a baguette.

One unusual aspect of the scene at Baker Beach will help orient you to the fact that you are in San Francisco. The “family” area of Baker Beach is near the parking lot. Walk toward the Bridge on a warm and sunny day and you will see perhaps a thousand naked people cavorting in this salubrious environment. You will need to be patient as you wait for the Bridge and the surf to appear alone in your frame without naked people running into the surf. A bottle of wine can help. Be litigiously respectful of naked people running through your photos. This is not the proper occasion to whip out your model releases. Though no thefts have been reported, it is best to have a colleague present to watch over your camera equipment if you decide, after getting your fabulous photo, to run naked into the surf yourself.

Marshall’s Beach

Another, closer beach access to the Golden Gate Bridge is also possible, but the trek to it requires some athleticism. That is Marshall’s Beach, but it is less well signed and the walk to the beach is long and steep. The parking spot is one of the first available parking areas, good for only a few cars, as you travel west on Lincoln Boulevard from the Vista Point at the South End of the Bridge. You will know you have the right parking spot if you see a Park Service board path leading toward the water. An extensive set of steps and paths, part of the glorious California Coastal Trail system, leads down to the beach.

The experience is one of an extraordinary wildness. You will wonder if you are still in San Francisco. The vegetation is Californian, with the blue blossom ceanothus bushes especially fragrant in the spring. If you are equal to the physical demands of the steep ascent and descent on the steps, an extraordinary private pocket beach, known as Marshall’s Beach, awaits you at the bottom. Fairly close-up shots of the Bridge from water’s edge in afternoon and sunset light are possible.

Conzelman Road, Marin County

Easily accessible are the grand afternoon and sunset views of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin County side. Drive across the Bridge and take the first turnoff, which is Sausalito, and turn west on Conzelman Road, which snakes along the Marin Headlands bluffs.

The first two turnoffs here are especially recommended.

The first turnoff, immediately above the North Tower of the Bridge, amounts to a walk out to Battery Spencer and a close-up view of the Bridge. A vertical photo of the North Tower is possible. Another visual concept is the military fortification and the Bridge. The Marin Headlands played a critical part in defending the United States following the hysteria of Pearl Harbor. There was substantial fear that Japan would mount a mainland invasion, with San Francisco as the target. The Marin Headlands hillsides were heavily fortified with gun emplacements. Gone today are the guns themselves, but their concrete bunker support systems are a sobering reminder of the World War II era.

The second turnoff, a quarter mile to the west, is the classic view of the Golden Gate Bridge North Tower with The City in the background. This is a vertical image that is seen in every postcard collection about San Francisco. Possibly your photo visit will have extraordinary good light in the hour before sunset. If the sky is clear, the Bridge will have some golden glow on it. If the sky is foggy or cloudy, you may just happen upon a dramatic sky.

Hawk Hill

There is also a third turnoff to a site known as Hawk Hill, which is choice. Continue on the road west, and keep to the left, following the Point Bonita Lighthouse signage. You will come to a famous place called Hawk Hill. Park where the two-lane road ends and a one-way road begins. This view is one of the most amazing promontories for a look at the Golden Gate, which is a Bridge, of course, and is also an entrance to San Francisco Bay. This view calls for a wide-angle horizontal photo encompassing the Golden Gate and The City.

At the parking turnoff at Hawk Hill, there is signage alerting you to the naming of this Golden Gate location. Credit falls to John C. Fremont, who played a decisive role in the critical years of the 1840s, when California could have evolved in any of several directions. Fremont wrote in 1848 how he was a lieutenant in the U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers, and how he came upon this scene, and decided on the name: “Between these points is the strait about 1 mile broad in the narrowest point, and 5 miles long from sea to bay. To this gate I gave the name Chrysopolae, or Golden Gate.” Fremont was making some reference to the fabled Straits of Bosporus and the Greek city, Chrysopolis, which translates as City of Gold.

Hawk Hill is unusual because this is where many migrating raptors on the West Coast cross the Golden Gate, due to the favorable thermals available. An informal count of raptors migrating each year becomes an index of the health of the western U.S. ecosystem. If your photographic passion is birds, especially raptors, this is a place you should visit.

All considered, there is much to celebrate regarding the Golden Gate Bridge, from its history and beauty to today's opportunities for enjoyment and photography of this beloved object. The discussion could continue. Crissy Field along the San Francisco waterfront and the South End Visitor Center could be considered. An excursion Blue & Gold fleet boat shows you the Bridge from the water, including from its west side. The more you meditate on the Golden Gate Bridge, the greater will be your appreciation of the aesthetics and practical value of this world-class icon.

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SAN FRANCISCO: IF YOU GO

The overall San Francisco information source for travelers is the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, 201 Third St., Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, 415/391-2000, www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com.

This article was written by Lee Foster of Foster Travel Publishing. Contact Lee at lee@fostertravel.com. Copyright Lee Foster.

Lee has 200 worldwide travel writing/photography coverages for consumers to enjoy and for content buyers to license at www.fostertravel.com.

Lee's new travel guidebooks are The Photographer's Guide to San Francisco and The Photographer's Guide to Washington DC (Countryman/Norton). For information on Lee's 10 books, look at www.fostertravel.com/book.html.

Lee's photo selling website on Photoshelter has 4,000 digital images for photo buyers to license and for consumers to order as prints, products, and for personal use. See http://stockphotos.fostertravel.com.

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