Creativity tip #1 – Shoot close to home

Turning orange and yellow at sunset, clouds are reflected in the still waters of the San Francisco Bay. The sky has been cleansed by a passing storm. Foster City, California.

Don’t wait for the weekend or vacations to get out the camera. Take one along with you as you go about your every day life. You never know when you might have an opportunity to capture something unexpected.

Even when I don’t have my camera with me (which isn’t TOO often!), I’m constantly on the lookout for interesting ideas for photographs. I get especially excited when I see opportunities for shots that are outside of the subject I normally shoot (nature, landscape, wildlife, etc). This helps keep my creativity going, especially when I’m stuck close to home for long stretches of time.

The moon rises over the San Francisco Bay at sunset.

While working one afternoon last week I could see out my window that there were some pretty interesting looking clouds lining up over the bay after a particularly wet winter storm had passed through. I quickly checked my tide chart and saw that it would be low tide right around sunset. It was a quick 5 minute drive out to the edge of the bay, and only 30-40 minutes out of my day. By being on the lookout for something that caught my eye during my day-to-day life, I was able to capture some beautiful colors in the heart of an urban environment of over six million people.

Blue Angels Buzz Alcatraz (Photo of the week)

The Blue Angels fly in formation in front of Alcatraz
The Blue Angels fly in formation in front of Alcatraz

This week’s photo is actually a collection of photos from last month’s San Francisco Fleet Week airshow. A friend of mine lives in North Beach and had a get together on the roof of her building, offering a fantastic view of the bay and all the action.

Although the Blue Angels ended up canceling their portion of the show due to fog, they managed to do one flyby before doing so. I was ready for it, and managed to get the shot I was looking for – six Blue Angels in tight formation, streaking by directly in front of Alcatraz. Below are several more from the day.

A Blue Angel jet flies overhead at the San Francisco Fleet Week airshow
A Blue Angel jet flies overhead at the San Francisco Fleet Week airshow

Patriot jets fly in tight formation
Patriot jets fly in tight formation

Patriot jets show their red white and blue
Patriot jets show their red white and blue

Prop planes perform aerobatics during the San Francisco Fleet Week airshow
Prop planes perform aerobatics during the San Francisco Fleet Week airshow

Copyright 2017 Hank Christensen