Pedestrian Entrance, Golden Gate Bridge
I usually wouldn’t take a photo like this with all the cluttered signs, fences, etc. in the way, but in this case I’m glad I did! This is the pedestrian/bike entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge on the San Francisco side. The bridge walkways are closed at 9pm each night and are patrolled by police officers on bicycles. The bridge apparently has a terrible record for suicides – people jumping off the bridge – can you imagine?!?
I used HDR to create this image from 3 different exposure shots. It allowed me to capture both the glow of the bridge in the background, and the soft lighting in the background hills of Sausalito and the foreground signs without the traffic sign (“2 Lanes”) being completely overexposed.
I like how it turned out, do you? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Hi Jamie,
Came here via Flickr. This is a great shot and stands out from all the thousands of GG Bridge pics you see.
I’d actually watched a documentary on the bridge some months ago; about people who jump off the bridge. Depressing documentary to watch, but there was an interview with a young man who survived the fall and gave the best interview in the film.
I live a few blocks from George Washington Bridge in NYC and it too has a reputation for suicide jumps.
Hey thanks for visiting! Do you know the name of that film? I’d like to look it up.
Good work. The cluster of signs does not overpower the rest of the picture. I find them balanced with the soft lighting of the background hills, in fact the lower of the lighting plays as if a reflection in line with the “2 Lanes” sign. At the same time I’m still aware of the feeling of a spacious sky area in the frame with the span of bridge lights drawing me in. The tan/brown tones tie it all together. Excellent on black.