Golden Gate Sunset, photo by Harold Davis. Click to view this photo larger.

I took this picture this evening from upper Euclid Avenue in the Berekely Hills, not from Indian Rock where I usually go for my Golden Gate sunsets. (Here’s a photo from the slightly lower angle of Indian Rock, which shows the difference in view of the bridge.)

I’m really excited about some of the photos I’ve been taking over the last couple of days (including others from this set), but I’m falling behind on post-processing. I tend to think of this work as a “conversion”: the Raw image in my camera really is raw until I’ve converted it the way I want. By whatever name, more conversions to follow…

What I like most about this photo is the way the bridge approach on the left near the setting sun casts shadows on the water (you may find this easier to see in the larger version of this photo).

Meta information: Nikon D70 Raw capture, AF-S VR-Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED at 170mm (appx 255mm 35mm equivalence); tripod with VR (vibration reduction) turned off.

Exif: ISO 200, 1/800 second, f/11.

Focus: Automatic, at infinity.

Post: The Raw file for the photo was processed twice (once for the Bay and once for the bridge and sky) and combined using a layer mask and a gradient. Once the layers were combined, I added a dark blue gradient to the extreme upper right of ths image and performed routine level adjustments and sharpening.