Fog Allows for ‘Impossible’ Photo of Milky Way Over Golden Gate Bridge



Photographer Michael Shainblum captured what was previously thought to be impossible due to heavy light pollution: a photo of both the Golden Gate Bridge and the Milky Way together.

It takes great determination to head out in the night and patiently wait hours to photograph a landscape scene that may or may not work out in the end. Shainblum wanted to combine some iconic elements together into a photo, but getting everything to fall into place perfectly was a gamble and the idea of seeing stars and the bridge together was, to this point, a pipe dream.

But he got extremely lucky thanks to perfect conditions.

Although he has captured fog numerous times before, such as in a forest and high up in mountains, he was able to join the brightly lit Golden Gate Bridge with the normally invisible Milky Way galaxy in one photo.

Normally, the San Francisco Bay is a terrible spot to try and photograph any stars and being able to capture the Milky Way at all in this location is incredibly uncommon. Shainblum tells PetaPixel that he has visited the site countless times but always had little to no stars visible due to heavy light pollution in the area.

"I think this was the perfect balance of a few different things," he explains. "The fog was thick and low enough to really block out most of the light pollution from the city, but the fog had also traveled so far inland that it covered most of the eastern bay as well. The clouds above just the eastern side around the cities may have also helped. The last thing is the time of evening and time of the season. I was photographing the Milky Way late at night as it started to glide across the western sky, away from the city."

To make the photo, Shainblum took two rows of horizontal shots that he later stitched together in post-processing. Although at the time of capture he had no idea if it would result in a successful shot, he was pleased with what he made, especially considering the rarity of the circumstances. With the warmly lit bridge tower slightly pointing out of the thick fog on the left, the blue Milky Way delivers a contrast on the other side of the image.

The one photo wasn't the only image he captured that night. Shainblum also took a "classic view" of the iconic bridge that many enjoy photographing. In the composition, he included both bridge towers, poking out of the soft fog that completely covered the scene, and the light trails of cars driving on the road.

To get different patterns of fog and variations of car light trails, Shainblum took multiple exposures and created a photo with colorful contrasts between the warm and cool tones.

The Milky Way overlooking the hill deserved an image of its own, too. Unprepared to encounter a photo opportunity like this, Shainblum notes that photographers should take the chances when they present themselves, even if it means steering off the initial plan.

Just before calling it a day, Shainblum took the few last long exposures of the bridge tower and the fog flowing past and through the gate for a simple, minimalist scene.

For photographers who are considering capturing the Milky Way, Shainblum recommends checking the weather first, such as on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website, noting the phase of the moon, which can be tracked using the PhotoPills app, and checking the light pollution.

When it comes to equipment, Shainblum recommends bringing a tripod and a wide lens, such as a 14mm-24mm full-frame lens, with an aperture f/2.8 or lower. In addition, a headlamp comes in handy, especially if the phone runs out of battery.

More of Shainblum’s educational and inspirational videos can be viewed on his YouTube and his photographic and video work can be found on his website and Instagram.

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Image credits: Photos by Michael Shainblum.

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Photographing Fog on Both Film and Digital

For photographers curious about using either film or digital to capture foggy landscape, Michael Shainblum has put together a video showing the behind-the-scenes of using both mediums with a telephoto lens.

Shainblum, a passionate landscape photographer and filmmaker, often switches between a wide-angle and a telephoto lens, depending on the subject at hand. He has shared in the past the different ways to use a telephoto lens for landscape work, such as when shooting minimalist scenes of sand dunes or when looking for compelling and unique shots in areas that have been photographed by many, such as Yosemite National Park.

This time, when Shainblum headed up the mountains to photograph the scenic views filled with fog, he took his Sony Alpha 1 with a Sigma 100-400mm zoom lens alongside a 35mm Nikon FE camera body loaded with a roll of Portra 400 film and also equipped with a telephoto lens.

The beauty (and the challenge) of photographing fog is that the scene in front of the camera continuously changes, revealing new opportunities for compositions. As the fog passes through the trees and as the light changes, no one frame will be the same as the previous one.

Similarly, a telephoto lens, if used from a good vantage point, gives numerous ways to capture the landscape, for example by zooming in on a pattern or a particular detail that a wide lens wouldn't reach.

Long exposure creates soft blur in the fog

When photographing in foggy conditions, photographers have the choice of shooting shorter exposures to capture the texture of the fog or opting for a longer one that blurs out and softens its movement. During his trip, Shainblum experimented with both and also added his film camera to the mix to capture the exact same scene with both cameras.

Taken with Nikon FE Taken with Sony Alpha 1

Although the results delivered from both digital and film are different, the subjective preference of the medium is down to the photographer themselves. All in all, for Shainblum, the experience of photographing fog can be therapeutic, whether it is shot with a film or digital camera.

Taken with Nikon FE Taken with Sony Alpha 1

In fact, although Shainblum usually has his camera with him, there are plenty of times where the soothing experience of simply watching the changing landscape can be more than enough.

More of Shainblum’s educational and inspirational videos can be viewed on his YouTube and his photographic and video work can be found on his website and Instagram.

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Image credits: All images by Michael Shainblum and used with permission.

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