Need Photo Tips in San Francisco

My wife and I are going to SF next month, primarily for the purpose of photography. I would like to know if anyone has any tips or suggestions that would help us avoid the normal tourist shots. We will be dependent on public transportation, and are planning on traveling as light as possible. We expect to do a lot of walking, but want to make it worth our while. Any secret spots, shooting angles, places to avoid? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

there are some "tourist" areas that are probably still worth visiting and you can take pics of the area in your own "style"

you might consider the Fisherman's Wharf area (and you can shoot the GG Bridge from there)
Chinatown
Golden Gate Park
Fort Point at the base of GG Bridge

word of advice: becareful not to attract too much attention with your equipment when taking buses, especially at night. and of course the same goes for when walking around at night. like any big city SF has it's share of predators and tourists make good targets.

I hope you enjoy your trip and get lots of great pics

Go to Market St and Powell St. Its the Cable Car turning point. Lots of interesting things happening there. Alot of cops around also so you will be safe. The Embarcadero at the end of Market St. is a big ben looking clock tower. You can see th Bay Bridge which is just as beautiful as the Golden Gate. It connects to Treasure Island and to Oakland! Very Very nice shooting spot. Take the trolleys to Castro Street. Alot of stuff going on there also. Twin Peaks will give you an almost panoramic shot of San Francisco. Not as popular as Coit Tower but it is a secret make out spot for me and wife when we were younger. Kekeee.. Very romantic. You have to go to Twin Peaks at night. Very very nice. Chinatown is always very colorful. Thats about all I can think of so far..

SF is also a great place for candids. There are a lot of very colorful people hanging around, and they're well accustomed to people with cameras.

Thanks Beautifulimpressions..​...... dang, you have a long name. I will take your advice about using the buses and walking around at night. I had heard that there were a lot of street people there, and I will keep that in mind. Thanks for your input. I hope we get lots of good shots, and hopefully I will have something to share here. Just kidding about your name. It's just difficult to type after having a couple (ha ha) glasses of wine.

Candid, It is our anniversary and I do like your Twin Peaks suggestion. Thanks for your other tips too. This is the stuff I was looking for. Thanks so much.

Belmondo,
I was tossing around the idea of just using my 24-70 as a walkaround lens. Now, your talk about candids makes me want to lug my 300mm around as well. Maybe my wife will carry it for me. She is accustomed to being my pack mule. Anyhow, I enjoy shooting candids of people, and am looking forward to the trip. Thanks for the help.

What else could you use a wife for, anyway?

There are lots of street entertainers, 'colorful' locals, indigent people, and pigeons.

I feel that your 70-200 would be better suited for candids that the 300 unless you are timid and want to stay further back. When I do walk around in cities like that looking for candid shots I take two lenses, the 24-70 and the 70-200.

Be very cautious of older gentlemen bearing a halo though

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Hmmmm. . . . I'll have to get back with you on that one. It's pretty late here to have to start thinking. You guys on the west coast still have several hours. It's almost our bed time here in Florida. Do you have an easier question?

ssim wrote:
I feel that your 70-200 would be better suited for candids that the 300 unless you are timid and want to stay further back. When I do walk around in cities like that looking for candid shots I take two lenses, the 24-70 and the 70-200.

Be very cautious of older gentlemen bearing a halo though

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Sheldon, I don't have a 70-200. Actually the 300 F4.0L IS is great for candids. And... I will watch out for older gentlemen bearing halos. My wife does both pack mule and security. You guys are scaring me. . . . I can hardly handle Disney World... ha ha.

Duh... I thought I saw that lens in your sig. My mistake. I guess you'll just have to buy one.

I don't know how long you'll be in SF but the best advice I could give is take a trip to Yosemite. It's the most awe inspiring, breath taking place on earth, alongside the Grand Canyon.(And I'm not biased, I'm from England!)

Martin.

Yeah... Shoot some candids... I love to see others candids of my city. Sometimes we might even picked up the same subject!! There are lots and lots of folks in the streets and no body cares if you are pointing a camera at them so you don't need a hubble telescope 300mm to shoot them. It would be way too crowded for that lens. You will find yourself waiting and waiting for people to pass before you can get a clear shot. I just use the 85mm and its just perfect. No tripod needed and still very crisp shots.

PS..
DRESS WARM!!!

V6GTO,
We will be there for about five days. We had considered renting a car and possibly seeing the wine country or the Grand Canyon. I guess we'll see how it goes. I'm sure the Grand Canyon is awesome, and we will certainly consider the idea of going there. Thanks for your suggestion from the other side of the pond.