The Crookedest Street In The World

dkapp

From what I've been told, Lombard St. in San Francisco is the crookedest street in the world. I don't have any data to back this up, but it sure sounds cool. Besides being very crooked, its also very steep and lined with very expensive homes. There is a steady stream of tourists at all hours of the day.

I've been wanting to do this shot since I moved out here over a year ago, but never got around to it. Tonight I was bored, so I set my sites on the landmark.

This is my best image from tonight, but I'm not happy with the white Lexus in the driveway. I guess I'll have to keep this spot on my list and try again another day.



Any comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Thanks for looking,
Dave

gus

Very cool.........

Nir

Fanatastic!

Andy

i've tried this shot 4x and have not been nearly as successful. bring mr. white lexus a six pack of pilsener urquell, and ask him to drive around the block for 15 minutes

ian408

Nice one!

I have often thought about that shot from the bottom looking up the
street. But during the day. Night would be good too.

Ian

CMaster

I hope one day I'll be that picky about a picture I take


Seriously, excellent shot!

wxwax

Great streaks and exposure, kappster. I don't like how the curves are kinda flattened and squashed - sorta takes away from the "crookedest" thing. Dunno what the best vantage point would be - from someone's overlooking window?

They must get awfully sick and tired of the traffic.

Dee

There's a another crooked street in SF
We stumbled on it accidently several years ago. I've been meaning to go back and photograph Vermont Street, but it's not nearly as well groomed or photogenic.

I like the lighting you have here, and agree about that white car in the driveway! Probably a real bother to clone out, though you could consider doing that.

What does it look like at night from the bottom?

Here's a quote from a website: http://www.mistersf.com/high/index.html?highvermont09.htm

"While tourists and postcard photographers prefer the centrally located Lombard Street, there's another crooked road in the City that's actually crookeder, if you want to get into an argument about bends per yard divided by percentage of grade times angle. Mister SF prefers to avoid arguments altogether and calls both Lombard Street and Vermont Street (between 20th and 22nd in Potrero Hill) San Francisco's crookedest streets. Vermont Street and adjacent McKinley Park have even better views than Lombard, if you can believe it. Though Vermont is without the formal gardens of Lombard, it boasts amazing crooked trees! To find the so-called real crookedest street by car, drive south on Van Ness Avenue, which becomes South Van Ness. Turn left on 16th Street, right on Rhode Island and climb the hill. Turn right on 20th Street, then left on Vermont. Enjoy!"

There are several photos posted so you can see what it looks like. As I said, not nearly as photogenic as Lombard...

dkapp

andy wrote:

i've tried this shot 4x and have not been nearly as successful. bring mr. white lexus a six pack of pilsener urquell, and ask him to drive around the block for 15 minutes

Thats a great idea. Last night I was trying to think of a good way to ask the guy to move his car....I should have thought of beer. Beer always works.

dkapp

ian408 wrote:

Nice one!

I have often thought about that shot from the bottom looking up the
street. But during the day. Night would be good too.

Ian

I tried shooting from the bottom last night, but the headlights were just too much. I didn't like the image at all. I think the bottom shooting up would be best during the day. You just to clone out some power lines.

Just a warning to anyone that tries this. If you've got all your gear & start at the top, DRIVE to the bottom because walking back up is no fun. I had to sherpa my gear all the way up the hill. I must have looked like a pack mule going up the hill.

Dave

dkapp

Dee wrote:

We stumbled on it accidently several years ago. I've been meaning to go back and photograph Vermont Street, but it's not nearly as well groomed or photogenic.

I like the lighting you have here, and agree about that white car in the driveway! Probably a real bother to clone out, though you could consider doing that.

What does it look like at night from the bottom?

Here's a quote from a website: http://www.mistersf.com/high/index.html?highvermont09.htm

"While tourists and postcard photographers prefer the centrally located Lombard Street, there's another crooked road in the City that's actually crookeder, if you want to get into an argument about bends per yard divided by percentage of grade times angle. Mister SF prefers to avoid arguments altogether and calls both Lombard Street and Vermont Street (between 20th and 22nd in Potrero Hill) San Francisco's crookedest streets. Vermont Street and adjacent McKinley Park have even better views than Lombard, if you can believe it. Though Vermont is without the formal gardens of Lombard, it boasts amazing crooked trees! To find the so-called real crookedest street by car, drive south on Van Ness Avenue, which becomes South Van Ness. Turn left on 16th Street, right on Rhode Island and climb the hill. Turn right on 20th Street, then left on Vermont. Enjoy!"

There are several photos posted so you can see what it looks like. As I said, not nearly as photogenic as Lombard...

Thanks for the link Dee. Your right tho, that place is not quite as finished as Lombard. You can see nice asphalt patches on the vermont pictures while Lombard is brick

I will have to go check it out just to say I've been there.

Dave