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This year, the United States of America turned 250 years old. I planned on watching the firework show in San Francisco. Especially because there will also be fireworks from the Golden Gate Bridge. It was the third time in history that fireworks was shot from the Golden Gate Bridge and the first time ever for the 4th of July celebration.
Planning
The days leading up to the 4th of July I started planning on where I would be to shoot the firework. I had multiple options. The main one was the waterfront in San Francisco around Marina Green and Crissy Field all the way down to Fishermen’s Wharf. My preferred option would have been the Marin Headlands as I can see the Golden Gate Bridge and the fireworks from the barge in the bay from here and can frame it together. The third option was Fort Baker, which had a great view of the bridge and a huge parking lot.
But there is always the concern about Karl the Fog, which loves to make an appearance for events like this. Karl did show up and pretty much ruined the amazing show. The day before the firework, I scouted the locations across the bridge and the fog was not too bad that day. However, that doesn’t mean anything.
The only concern from shooting from across the bridge was the road closure on the bridge to get back to the city and the hotel. More how that went later.
Happy 4th of July
So ultimately I decided to shoot from Fort Baker. After breakfast and loading up the car with camera gear, I started the drive to Fort Baker. There was no traffic issues at all, as I was super early. I arrived around 10:30 a.m. and couldn’t believe how packed the parking lot already was. I heard some people talking that they showed up at 6 a.m. to get a spot.
I was hopping 10:00 a.m. would still be early enough to grab one of the limited parking spots right by my viewing area but no luck there. I parked in the grass field, which was turned into a parking lot, down by the museum. While walking out to the photo spot, a car left and I rushed back to my car to get over there and snag it before someone else does it. Success – I got the spot. From here it is only a few feet to my viewing area where I already set up my tripod to save the spot.
The city set up a few extra port-a-potties. At my parking lot were three toilets set up and the main parking area had even more set up. When I used them, the line moved quick and it wasn’t that big of a deal. Of course, throughout the day, the toilets got nastier and nastier. Some people just have no respect.
A few days later I read a storie about the toilet situation along the waterfront. There were 127 toilets, which sounds like a lot, but it came down to 1 toilet per 787 people.
The days before I say interviews on TV that there are extra shuttle buses taking you from Bart stations to Marina Green and Crissy Field. A spokesperson said that they are ready no matter how many people showed up. By watching some videos on social media, the lines were crazy getting there and even worse going back, as everyone left at the same time and all the additional traffic of the people who drove there.
Overall it wasn’t too bad. Throughout the day more people showed up and the lots filled up and ultimately got shut down as they were full. It was a long time of waiting and even more time to hope for Karl to go home. It started to clear up a little bit early afternoon, when you were almost able to see both towers of the bridge completely but Karl came back just before the firework.
Another concern for me was the wind. As I will be doing long exposure, I wanted no camera movement for sharp images. So I set myself up on a rock with most of the tripod hiding behind the rock and just the camera peaking over it. My second camera was set up completely behind the rock and facing the city. However, I had to extend the tripod almost all the way to the top, as more people started to come out just before the firework.
The whole day, only another group of photographers were sitting at the tip of the rock outcrop and I was further in from the tip and as mentioned earlier, already had setup my tripod.
The Golden Gate Bridge shut down for traffic at 8 p.m. and the firework was scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. Over the last 30 minutes before the show, everyone showed up and tried to get the best spot in the house. People tried to crawl in front of my camera and trying to climb over it. I already put stuff down to mark my area as I was sitting here for over 11 hours to get this spot. Some people made comments that I behave like I own that place. Yes, I do! I showed up early and set up early. If you want to show up last minute and hope for the best spot in the house, sorry, I have to disappoint you. Especially as there wasn’t even a counter-offer. Which I wouldn’t have cared for anyway after waiting so long.
Many people are just rude and morons if it comes to events like this. Just because there is a free spot in front of my camera, doesn’t mean you can go there. Then people also tried to tell me, I could move my camera. Yes I could, but you can also show up early. Then a lady asked if she could climb the rock and sit on the outside of the other person sitting up on the rock. I told her, no problem, she has to talk to the guy and sit on the outside. She just climbed up and set on the inside and then got angry when I told her to move over so she is out of my frame. It is the same thing every time for big events like this. Firework shows, air shows, all the time. People try to show up last minute and steal my spot.
The firework show started on time and one camera was doing a timelapse of the city while I manually shot the show from the Golden Gate Bridge. The lights of the bridge were turned off. I think, it would have looked better with the lights on, rather than off. Even for firework on a clear day, the lights wont interfere much.
Karl ruined most of the show as you could only see fireworks low but didn’t get to see any of the high explosions. Lot’s of boats from nearby marinas rushed out and sat in the bay to watch the firework. One of the boats shot a few fireworks from their boat. It was low and the only firework I could capture completely. Kind of “saved” the day. 😉
After the show was over, all the boats rushed back to the marina. I am sure they had a little traffic jam with all the boats trying to dock at the same time.
Well, it wasn’t looking much better for me either. I took my time to dismantle my equipment and even went to the restroom again before heading out. Hoping by that time traffic would have died down a bit. Oh boy was I wrong. I think after pulling out of the parking lot and getting in line. I was sitting there for 45 minutes before we even started to move again. It took me 3 hours to get back to the hotel, which is only a 30 minute drive. People were so rude driving as well. Lots of people tried to cut everyone off. Heck, one guy tried to make a right turn from the second, non-turn, lane right in front of me and got mad when I honked at him for being an a##hole. He even got out and tried to start a fight. His wife was the only calm one and tried to deescalate the situation. Their son was not much better either, spewing out slurs and thinking that would do anything to fix the situation or get them home faster. Such idiots. Sorry, no other way of saying it. If everyone would be decent and drive with compassion for others, we would have half as much traffic issues and accidents like with what the people actually do.
Conclusion
Overall it was a great day. Lots of waiting and waiting. But hey, that’s part of the deal. I am so glad I picked the spot on this side of the bridge and was able to enjoy it. Marin Headlands was probably the worst spot as fog was at times engulfing the peaks and people there probably didn’t see anything.
People still annoyed the hell out of me by being so rude and trying to force their way in at the last minute. I already expected that, but their behavior at times and what they think who they are compared to other people, especially waiting all day.
The pictures turned out as good as they can be with all the fog. I am still happy I got to see fireworks going off of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Gallery
Peter is an award-winning photographer who travels all over the world to capture the beauty of our planet as well as the achievements of humanity. Follow Peter on his travel blog Gate to Adventures for more amazing places to go and explore.
