The Streets of San Francisco
Before I get onto today’s post I would be remise if I didn’t give a shout out to Mark Gvazdinskas of Silent G Photography who gave me some great tips and shooting locations prior to my California trip and to Jim Nix of Nomadic Pursuits who’s created some terrific travel guides that you can find on his site (and they’re free). If you haven’t checked out these 2 talented photographers I highly recommend that you do.
There are times when I really enjoy just playing tourist. It doesn’t always have to be about getting the shot. My husband and I were exploring the city and as I looked down the street I loved the sights and sounds of the busy street. I decided to grab a shot. It was busy, there were cars in front of me, the composition wasn’t great but this was just going to be a grab shot for my own person record.
Here’s the image right out of the camera. I haven’t done anything to it.
I loved the cable car, the buildings, the view to the water. So I decided to try create a more stylized, “funky” version of this scene. I used Topaz Clarity to bring out a bit of detail in the image and then I used LucisArt to create the final stylized version. Let me know what you think?
Click on the images to enlarge (they really do look better) or to Purchase a Print.
I processed this image the same way. I loved the busyness of the street and that you could see the Bay Bridge.
The top one is really a classic. I like the second one too.
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July 22, 2013 at 7:29 am
Thank you so much Shimon.
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July 22, 2013 at 2:35 pm
Cool images and processing Edth! The title reminded me of one of my favorite TV shows from wayyyyy back when! 🙂
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July 22, 2013 at 7:29 am
Thanks Rachel. LOL…that’s how I got the title. I loved that show too.
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July 22, 2013 at 2:35 pm
Wonderful shots, Edith. Love the cable car image, both versions.
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July 22, 2013 at 8:00 am
Thank you so much Jimi.
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July 22, 2013 at 2:35 pm
Wonderful photos, very well captured… 🙂
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July 22, 2013 at 8:04 am
Thank you Nils.
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July 22, 2013 at 2:36 pm
I love the stylized versions – they look so dimensional. Kind of like a painting or drawing merged with a photo.
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July 22, 2013 at 9:04 am
Thanks so much Heather. I appreciate it.
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July 22, 2013 at 2:37 pm
Lov…lov..lov…San Fran…and what you have done with these…I do b&w and you are making me want to do others…fantastic!!!
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July 22, 2013 at 10:33 am
Thank you so much for that. I’m never sure how people will react to certain techniques but I really felt it worked for these images.
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July 22, 2013 at 2:39 pm
thanks for the mention Edith, I appreciate that! glad you enjoyed SFO, it’s a great town, and love the images you captured there!
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July 22, 2013 at 11:08 am
Thanks so much Jim for your comments. My pleasure re the shout out. Your site and travel guides are amazing.
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July 22, 2013 at 2:50 pm
This is probably one of my very favorite cities of all times…just can’t get enough. Thanks for taking us to San Fran♥
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July 22, 2013 at 11:32 am
Thank you laurie and my pleasure.
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July 22, 2013 at 2:54 pm
Terrific images of a great location!
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July 22, 2013 at 12:12 pm
Thanks Phil.
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July 22, 2013 at 2:56 pm
Its amazing what you can pull out of a RAW file. Back in the old days you would have been stuck with the deep shadows on a film capture. Now, though, so much more is possible. These two images work really well in capturing the busy city streets.
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July 22, 2013 at 1:35 pm
Thanks so much Mark.
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July 22, 2013 at 2:56 pm
Its amazing what you can pull out of a RAW file. Back in the old days you would have been stuck with the deep shadows on a film capture. Now, though, so much more is possible. These two images work really well in capturing the busy city streets.
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July 22, 2013 at 1:35 pm
Wonderful images and superb processing. Makes me want to go there.
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July 22, 2013 at 3:45 pm
Thank you so much David. I appreciate it.
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July 22, 2013 at 4:48 pm
I love your “funky” edits! The street car is fabulous! Robyn
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July 22, 2013 at 3:50 pm
Thanks so much Robyn.
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July 22, 2013 at 4:49 pm
Whenever I see images of these streets I am right back watching the car chase in the film Bullitt with Steve McQueen. Great film – and these are very evocative images. Nice processing too, Edith.
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July 22, 2013 at 5:04 pm
Thank you Andy.
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July 22, 2013 at 9:40 pm
The first shot changed with Topaz Clarity looks fantastic.
There’s plenty of light and shade, but I’m not keen on the second edited photo – it’s just too busy and not enough ‘contrast’ (that’s just my personal opinion).
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July 22, 2013 at 9:03 pm
Thanks Vicki I appreciate your comments.
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July 22, 2013 at 9:41 pm
The shots are terrific Edith! Love your processing on them!
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July 22, 2013 at 9:56 pm
Thanks so much Rich.
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July 23, 2013 at 12:18 am
Terrific process, I love the first image. If you allow me a suggestion, I would cut the photo at the bottom.To eliminate the cars that distracting. I would crop just underneath the little white car on the right and the scene would gain space.
What do you think?
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July 22, 2013 at 10:08 pm
You know Anne I was really debating whether I should crop the cars out of the image but felt it would compress the scene too much so I didn’t. I’ll play with it and see how it comes out. Thanks so much for the suggestion.
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July 23, 2013 at 12:20 am
No problem, Edith. It’s always a matter of personal taste. I think both scene would work, one will be more modern and the other one more classic.
Have a good my dear friend! 🙂
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July 23, 2013 at 6:58 am
You’ve captured the essence of my favorite city Edith. Love the processing on the images (the unprocessed one is quite good too).
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July 23, 2013 at 7:52 am
Thank you so much Len.
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July 23, 2013 at 11:59 am
The processing on the first image adds some nice depth and pop. Nicely done.
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July 23, 2013 at 8:57 am
Thanks Steven.
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July 23, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Fantastic perspective, Edith!
The second one is my favorite. Just the right touch on that one.
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July 23, 2013 at 9:29 am
Thanks so much Lisa.
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July 23, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Great Edith, one place I would love to visit.
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July 23, 2013 at 11:03 am
Thank you Mark.
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July 23, 2013 at 12:00 pm
OMG Edith you achieved an astonishing look with the process. To me it is like stepping through a time warp from today into yesteryear!!
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July 23, 2013 at 3:41 pm
Thank you so much for your kind comments.
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July 24, 2013 at 12:25 am
Amazing shoot… Everyone would like to visit there at least once. Really Hot click… 🙂
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July 23, 2013 at 11:53 pm
Thank you Stanley> I appreciate it.
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July 24, 2013 at 12:26 am
Welcome.
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July 24, 2013 at 1:16 am
Great job. They remind me of the old television show!
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July 24, 2013 at 7:45 pm
Thanks so much Phillip. That’s the show I was thinking of when I titled this. Edith Itzcovici-Levy HiTIDE Productions Tribute DVDs & Sign-In Books
http://www.hitideproductions.com http://www.edithlevyphotography.com
________________________________
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July 25, 2013 at 12:16 am
I live close by and used to live in San Francisco, so OF COURSE I like the subject. Your treatment with Topaz is very effective. Nice work!
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July 24, 2013 at 9:37 pm
Thank you very much 🙂
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July 25, 2013 at 12:18 am
I really, really love these both Edith, great shots that really bring out the rich character of this city and it’s immediate surrounding area!
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July 25, 2013 at 6:26 pm
Thank you so much my friend. I truly appreciate your visit and comments.
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July 25, 2013 at 11:13 pm
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San Fran is such a great city. Great shots. Hopefully you were able to grab some good food there as well.
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August 3, 2013 at 11:36 am
Thanks Paul. I did…the food was great.
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August 3, 2013 at 11:54 pm