The Commute, as seen from Battery Spencer

[Adsos Letter]

Still trying to learn the manual functions on the SX200 IS; fixing the tripod was a definite help.

Battery Spencer, now abandoned, was a gun emplacement completed in 1897, and designed to guard the entrance to San Francisco Bay (no bridge there until the 1930's).
http://www.militarymuseum.org/BtySpencer.html

There is a lot of distortion in the bridge cables, but I included this shot to give some context; looking toward The City.

It Begins: The Golden Gate from Battery Spencer on the Marin Headlands



Experimenting with the zoom on this one:















Sunset, with the fog staying offshore



Edit: It was COLD up there; wind coming off the Pacific at about 20 mph...chill us California boys to the bone, I tells ya'...

:D

[Adsos Letter]

1. Also meant to add that, although the sx200 IS has a fair array of preset and manual settings

the user interface is poor, and difficult to maneuver through...especially for someone with large hands and frozen fingers.

[Celebration]

2. How long were you there?

And how did you get in/on if it is abandoned? I really like some of these! But I am responding to the wrong post to look at them and comment.

Definitely it makes me want to go to San Francisco.

I have tried some of the different settings on my camera, and some of them I just don't get at all. I try them and nothing happens. I'm not all that convinced that they all actually work. I can do macros but I am seriously challenged other than that.

[Adsos Letter]

3. I was there from about 3:30 pm until 6:30 pm, which pretty much covers the heavy commute hours

Battery Spencer is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, part of which runs along the Marin Headlands, and it is open to the public.

I'm still experimenting with the manual settings; the small light sensor on this point-and-shoot makes low-light shooting somewhat of a challenge until I learn more. I am trying to avoid the temptation to trade this one in and upgrade to a G11; instead, I hope to shoot enough to learn to wring every bit of potential out of this one, since I bought it only 2 months ago.

My lack of experience shooting on manual settings shows up in the different shots. I had a 15 second exposure on some, though I'm not sure if it was in any I posted.

Merry Christmas! :toast:

[JeffR]

6. Don't make that upgrade!

If anything, wait a while and bolster your arsenal with a G11 later. From what you've shown, I'd say this camera is a keeper.

[Adsos Letter]

7. I'll take that advice, Jeff. Upgrading to a G11 probably wouldn't do me much good

until I learn to use the manual functions of any camera; point-and-shoot or otherwise, the theory is the same. I don't expect my skill level will get beyond this camera's capabilities anytime soon. :)

I have accepted the personal challenge of mastering this camera. My only real complaint is with the user interface for the manual settings; the dial is wobbly and spins too freely, rather than clicking its way around. Makes it too easy to pass back and forth across the setting I'm looking for. The same holds true for the menu displays.

None of it was helped by frozen fingers... :D

[JeffR]

10. Never ceases to amaze that interface design, mechanical & digital,

still remains so hit-and-miss, even from prestigious brands. From Tom Swift to Wired, we were promised such a nifty, trouble-free hi-tech future, and I feel a little ripped off sometimes.

If it's still under warranty, it might be worth having the dial checked.

And no, numb hands don't help. I have yet to get out with a camera since winter finally strolled into the city, and I swore I was going to take a lot of photos all through the season. But man, do I dislike the cold weather. I think I'm at an age where I just want to curl up in the sun like a lizard on a hot rock.

[NV Whino]

4. I love to shoot out there

Very spooky, as if time stood still at those battlements.

March is a good time to go out there. Lots of hawks.

[Adsos Letter]

8. I'm going to try putting something together in B & W of the batteries scattered around that area

and the interior of the fort at Ft. Point also. It certainly is beautiful out there.

Absolutely exposed to that December "breeze" off the Pacific, though... :scared:

Merry Christmas, NV Whino!

[JeffR]

5. #3

muy caliente! The exposure is perfect, the detail in the skyline is very fine, the composition is neatly balanced. Just a wee bit of color saturation boost wouldn't hurt it, but it really doesn't need any more TLC. It's just fine as it is. Very fine.

[Adsos Letter]

9. Thanks Jeff! I hope to get consistently better shots as I learn what works

Gotta' wean meself off those auto settings, convenient though they are. Even the "night scene" doesn't give me what I'm looing for in low light.

Merry Christmas to you and Nance! Hope it is a great holiday season for you. :toast:

[JeffR]

11. Thanks! And the same to you.

:toast: