I decided to walk through San Francisco on Saturday. I started the ramble in the Sunset District and headed north along Ocean Beach. Then it was up to Sutro Heights to visit the site of Adolph Sutro's Mansion. After which, I headed east on Geary Boulevard and California Street to Montgomery Street, where I concluded the ramble. The weather was perfect.
Click on an image to view the full-size photograph
 |
| A map of the route. The approximate distance traveled was 9.6 miles (15.4 kilometers). The approximate cumulative elevation gain was 777 feet (237 meters). Mile markers are displayed on the GPS-generated track. |
 |
| This graph shows the elevation changes encountered during the hike. Click on the image to see the full-size chart. |
 |
| An apartment building on Irving Street. |
 |
| A view of the Cliff House and Seal Rocks. This picture was taken from the Ocean Beach pedestrian walkway. The glorious Marin Headlands are in the background. The view is looking north. |
 |
A picture of the third of five Cliff Houses built on the same site. This photo was taken in 1896, the year the third Cliff House has been constructed. Interestingly, the photograph was taken by a camera held in the air by a giant kite. After the kite was at an appropriate height and the camera was facing the preferred direction, the camera's shutter was activated by a person on the ground. He or she pulled a wire which was connected to the kite and attached to the camera.
You had only one opportunity to take a picture. After the photo had been taken, the kite was reeled in; the camera was removed from the kite. The camera was then taken to a 'dark room' where the exposed image became visible after the film was submerged in three different liquid chemical baths.
Taking airborne pictures of terrain and manmade objects in the late 1800s and early 1900s was very popular.
|
 |
| A game of volleyball on Ocean Beach. |
 |
| Looking south, towards Ocean Beach. Montara Mountain is visible. The photo was taken from Sutro Heights Park. You will not see anyone swimming in the ocean and very few people wading in the water. There is a good reason for that. Ocean Beach and most beaches in Northern California can be deadly to humans if people venture into the water or are too close to the water and a rogue wave pulls them in. The ocean's violent and powerful rip currents have pulled many thousands of people out to the ocean from Ocean Beach. The frigid temperature of the water can disable a person within a few minutes. Most of the people pulled out into the ocean have drowned, unfortunately. |
 |
| Another photo of the Cliff House and Seal Rocks. The Marin Headlands are in the distance; the view is looking north. |
 |
| A picture of the Diana the Huntress statue was taken in 1886 at the same location. One of the many gardeners who maintained the gardens looks at the camera. |
 |
| A photograph of Diana the Huntress is seen from the rear. |
 |
| This San Francisco firehouse was built in 1928 and is located on 41st Avenue at Geary Boulevard in the Outer Richmond District. It is Firehouse #34, whose primary function is to serve as one of two San Francisco Coastal Rescue Units. The firehouse is not far from Lands End, and there are many locations in Lands End from which a careless or foolish person can lose their footing and fall off a cliff. |
 |
| A four image panoramic photo looking east towards downtown San Francisco. The photograph was taken from Masonic Avenue. |
"A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” Dorothea Lange
"Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not important." Henri Carter-Bresson "There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." Ansel Adams
The first volume of the San Francisco Bay Area Photo Blog contains galleries of photographs posted on the Internet between 2002 and 2011. Click Here to view those photos.
These photographs were taken with a Sony camera.
