Tag Archives: fort point

More Fort Point

wpid9537-C59F3270.jpgContinuing my theme of return visits to take Mum to places, Fort Point was on the itinerary. Always a cool place to visit on a nice day and it benefited from the swell resulting in some great waves crashing up against the fort. Also, we saw some guys taking advantage of the swell to do some surfing alongside the fort. Very cool although they had to know what they were doing since, if you rode all the way in, a rocky wall awaited you! (This also meant that choosing your parking space was a big deal unless you wanted the car to be covered in salt water!)

Fort Point

wpid8626-C59F4428.jpgA great place in San Francisco to take people but one that seemingly is ignored by many tourists is Fort Point.  Located at the mouth of Golden Gate, it is a fort designed to protect the bay entrance.  Now it is right underneath one end of the Golden Gate Bridge so it provides a very different vantage point for bridge viewing.

wpid8638-C59F4531.jpgI forget how interesting a place it can be.  We took our visitors there so that they could get the unusual view of the bridge but we ended up spending a lot more time there since the place is very interesting in itself.  Why do I not remember that?

wpid8628-C59F4438.jpgThe fort structure is very cool and it has a number of exhibits including old cannons, rooms configured as they were when it was in use and displays on the building of the bridge above it.  The upper levels provide a great view of the entrance to the bay as well as the bridge and he bay itself.  Being so close to the bridge gives you a chance to play with some angles that provide a more distorted view of things which can be quite fun.

wpid8634-C59F4500-Edit.jpgAlso, you are under some of the ironwork which has great colors and textures.  A little HDR can help here to cover the well shaded structures as well as the views beyond that are in full light.  Whether you want to see the context or go a little abstract, you can find something to play with.  Meanwhile, some panorama options are there to be played with given the shape of the fort and the bridge beyond.