10.13.24: Karl ruined my shot

Karl is the locals’ name for the fog that rolls across San Francisco Bay, often in the afternoons. It was bright and sunny where I was standing on the pier, but a few miles to the west Karl was eating the bridge.

SF fog arrived as I tried to shoot Golden Gate

Sometimes it seems like I can cause bad weather just by planning a one-time photo opportunity.

Meteor shower? Clouds. Super moon?  Thick clouds. Eclipse? Clouds and rain. Visiting a location I’ll never see again? Rain, fog, clouds.

It’s very predictable. I’m used to it.

But I thought I’d caught a break a few years ago when I was in San Francisco and had time in my schedule to go to Pier 39, usually the home to a group of resting sea lions and a spot with a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge about three and a half miles to the west.

It was a bright, sunshiny afternoon when I walked along the Embarcadero from downtown to the pier. I was carrying a long telephoto lens in my kit to help me get a nice shot of the distant bridge. If I was lucky there would be boats beneath the bridge and birds flying to enhance the composition.

I was stoked! It was going to be great.

As I walked out on the pier I stopped to get a couple of photos of the sea lions. Those photos turned out nice.

But when I reached the end of the pier and looked west toward the bridge, Karl arrived.

Karl is the locals’ name for the fog that rolls across San Francisco Bay, often in the afternoons. It was bright and sunny where I was standing on the pier, but a few miles to the west Karl was eating the bridge.

And it wasn’t the photo-friendly Karl that hangs close to the water but leaves the suspension bridge’s tall, orange towers in bright sunlight. Hey, I’d be fine with that. But no, this was the Karl that comes in high and wipes out everything.

The bridge was gone. All I could see was a wall of white.

But when I looked through my camera’s viewfinder with the long lens in place I could make out some detail of the tower and bridge. It was faint, but it was there. I fired off a bunch of shots, hoping something would be useable.

So here’s my photo of the Golden Gate Bridge. Note how the entire top of it has been eaten by Karl. The buildings visible below the bridge at the right are part of the Lime Point Historic Lighthouse in Sausalito, which would soon be eaten by Karl.

But there’s a sailboat! And flying birds! The birds are the two spots upper right that haven’t been eaten by Karl. Perfect! Now if I could just see the bridge …

Thanks, Karl.

The late afternoon fog rolling across San Francisco Bay obsures the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco's Pier 39.

The late afternoon fog rolling across San Francisco Bay obsures the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco's Pier 39.

Tech specs

  • Date/time: Jun 25, 2009 4:59 PM   
  • Camera: Canon EOS 40D
  • Lens: EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM 
  • Focal length: 400mm
  • Aperture: f/10
  • Shutter: 1/400 second
  • ISO: 200

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