Marin Headlands at Night

Marin Headlands are a unique wilderness. A wild land of cliffs, valleys, and rugged coast, this world-class scenery coexists with city and suburb. At night the urban glow is visible over the next hill, or next valley. Within the headlands, the wind whistle through the grass, the coyotes sing, and surf crashes. It is true wilderness night, with the friendly lights of small towns just over the next ridge.

Surf and Stars made four exposures while we sat and chatted. Everything looked dark, so I was surprised to see oodles of color in the LCD screen after each exposure. No matter how many times this happens, it always surprises me. In an apparently dark and monochrome world, there are transcendentally beautiful colors.... Read more
Gerbode Valley I was standing with Mark on a ridge with the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco on one side and the empty wilds of Marin Headlands on the other. We had hiked the couple of miles up from the parking lot by the bridge in the gathering dusk, and now it was full night. Mostly I photographed the light show created by the bridge, the 101 freeway, and the city. How strange to be alone on a wilderness trail with a view of the Metropolis. As the coyotes started to sing, I turned to the dark side and, in an act of faith, took a three minute exposure into the wall of blackness represented by Gerbode Valley. I could see the stars in the sky, but not much else. Read more
Pirate's Cove Mark and I left the car where the Miwok Trail crosses Route 1. We climbed the Miwok Trail, glancing at wide vistas of the suburban sprawl of Marin County. From the top, there was a wide and serene view in all directions, with the top of the Golden Gate Bridge popping up through a notch in the hills on the south side of Tennessee Valley. We wandered down Coyote Ridge, and followed the Coastal Fire Road to its southern junction with the Pacific Coastal Trail. From the junction, we turned north on the Coastal Trail, and followed it up, down, and around for a series of spectacular views of ocean and the hills of the Marin Headlands. Read more
Golden Gate at Night This is a two minute time exposure of the Golden Gate and San Francisco, taken at night in cold and foggy conditions, from the rather oddly named Slacker Ridge (one of the high points in the Marin Headlands directly above the Golden Gate Bridge). Read more
Star Light Star Bright This is a 210 second time exposure of the small lake at the bottom of Tennessee Valley. Beyond the lake, you can see the outline of the ocean and Tennessee Beach. (This photo shows Tennessee Beach, with this small lake on the mid-right.) Above the lake, you can see the ridge line descending to the ledge where I took some of the earlier photos in this series. If you look closely at the lake itself, you can see the stars reflected in its extremely still waters. Read more
Dream Sky Coming out from the Steep Ravine trail it was almost night. The car was parked on a curve in the road down to Stinson Beach. I saw the final stages of sunset a couple of hundred feet down the road, walked down, put the camera on tripod and snapped these time exposures. Read more