Dawn on Beale Street

Posted by Stephen Phillips (San Francisco, United States) on 2 December 2008 in Architecture and Portfolio.

San Francisco - at the west anchorage to the Bay Bridge.

[notebook]: This is taken less than a block from my office at the bottom of Rincon Hill. I was arriving one morning and noticed how sweet the light was becoming. I grabbed my camera and made it to this spot.

© copyright 2009 by Stephen Phillips Photography / San Francisco / www.joyoflight.com
please respect these rights - do not copy or use these images without permission

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Comments (23)

bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada

I really love the angle of the buildings, the reflecting light in the windows. Just beautiful.

2 Dec 2008 5:08am

hugo poon from hong kong, Hong Kong

Can't agree more with Sharon... very beautiful lighting and reflections! Quite a different subject from you but I enjoy it just as much.:-)

2 Dec 2008 5:18am

Michael Skorulski from Cigel, Slovakia

yes, that is excellent light with a really fine composition.

2 Dec 2008 5:21am

Paco Díaz from Palma de Mallorca, Spain

The light is wonderful and the wide angle makes a special view.
A beautiful place to have the office :)

2 Dec 2008 6:16am

Zygene from morlaix, France

Une très belle atmosphère

2 Dec 2008 6:32am

Alun Lambert from cheshire, United Kingdom

great effect with the angles, nice one Stephen

2 Dec 2008 6:43am

Mirko Herzner from Mühlheim am Main, Germany

A really nice work. Works out especially nice for me due to all this geometric 'distortions', I like it!

2 Dec 2008 8:02am

@Mirko Herzner: Thanks so very much, Mirko - hey, navigating through distortions is what life is all about. (oh, that and the hokey-pokey !)

BoB from Italy

great angle and perspective

2 Dec 2008 9:37am

Rui from Leiria, Portugal

Very beautiful light. And an interesting buikding perspective. Excellent composition Stephen.

2 Dec 2008 12:02pm

JJ from Jersey City, United States

The light at this time of the day is superb indeed, love the reflections and light on the windows especially

2 Dec 2008 12:43pm

Veronelle from Lens, France

great architecture capture

2 Dec 2008 1:07pm

MontereyJohn from Salinas, California, United States

Question ... what time do you get to work???!!!! Geezers! I'm still having my first cup of coffee at that time of morning.

Love the cityscape here, and the light IS nice.

BTW, on you "tags," try hyphenating words like "San Francisco" or you will get searched on "San" and "Francisco" rather than "San Francisco." That makes search engines happier I have learned.

2 Dec 2008 1:35pm

@MontereyJohn: For many years - up until recently - I would rise between 4 and 4:30 AM each day. Something shifted and I'm awaking now at a much more pedestrian 6 - 6:30 AM. I actually miss the earlier hours. I keep trying to go back but so far, without any success. One nice thing about running one's own gig - is no alarm clocks. I do miss the pre-dawn hours. Thanks for asking and --- good morning, John!

Eleftheria! from Athens, Greece

Lovely composition!

2 Dec 2008 5:56pm

melodia from ffm, Germany

looks really good in this lightsituation and love the colours.
the perspective is awesome, you feel like falling ...

2 Dec 2008 6:43pm

Marcie from United States

A return to urban life??? Love the shapes formed by the bridge and buildings...and the quality of light.

2 Dec 2008 7:21pm

@Marcie: Yeah - it seems like quite a culture clash going from there back to here. Truth be - I love both realities. I guess if I had complete economic freedom - I'd be up in the Humboldt Bay area. It has been so warm and mild throughout California that this could be muddling my judgment. Thanks for checking in, Marcie - it is always good hearing from you.

Francesc B. from région parisienne, France

Really a beautiful light, Stephen, and perspective effect. I like the tones of the buildings.

2 Dec 2008 7:22pm

willow from Chelsea, United States

The light is beautiful, but it's the angles that catch my eye most - was there another earthquake I missed that left everything leaning?

2 Dec 2008 7:22pm

@willow: Nah, thankfully - no shaking recently (thankfully) - just the gentle bendings of a Canon 16mm image...

Suzanne from Huntington Bch, United States

Very effective POV. Love the effect of the sunlight striking the windows.

2 Dec 2008 9:39pm

gbe from kansas city, United States

very cool shot - the light in the windows is really something.

3 Dec 2008 3:27am

@gbe: Thanks - Grant - it was a magical light morning.

Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada

Building 'eye candy' :)

3 Dec 2008 5:17pm

Magda from Vancouver, Canada

Fantastic shot! Love the perspective. The lighting and clarity are super. What a view!

4 Dec 2008 8:57am

@Magda: It was a beautiful sunrise - thanks.

Anthony Lambert from Germany

I see you like converging verticals as well,I´m a fan of this effect(somedays)

4 Dec 2008 5:49pm

@Anthony Lambert: How will I ever know which days those are, Anthony ?

marc from France

I'm beginning to discover your shots, "chapeau" they are very nice and I didn't imagine california looks like that! I'll come back this week-end to visit your blog slowly and appreciate it, I'm sure!!!

4 Dec 2008 8:50pm

@marc: I appreciate you kind words and interest. Let me know if you get the opportunity to visit this weekend.

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