Santa Clara - what to shoot?

rdlugosz

I'll be in Santa Clara, CA next week for a conference but will have a lot of time for shooting... Anyone have any location suggestions? I realize it's nearby SF, so that's always good as a backup.

Dee

Santa Clara

rdlugosz wrote:

I'll be in Santa Clara, CA next week for a conference but will have a lot of time for shooting... Anyone have any location suggestions? I realize it's nearby SF, so that's always good as a backup.

You haven't said what your interests are

Alviso has some wildlife, deserted buildings and tracks, reeds and grasses and mud -- and trails

There is a mission in Fremont

All kinds of bay trails in the area and of course, the "famous" Duck Pond in Palo Alto Baylands Park.

Santa Clara's police station has some unusual architecture for a police station.

There are several small "lakes" with ducks and geese in Sunnyvale.

I've never been to the mission in Santa Clara.

San Jose has some interesting architecture and some nice museums.

An unusual museum is one with Egyptian items: http://www.egyptianmuseum.org/

If you are into electronics, be sure to visit the Fry's Electronic stores. The largest is in Sunnyvale. The one in Campbell is Egyptian themed. There's one in Fremont and Palo Alto (western theme) also.

Santa Cruz is worth a trip, about a half hour away on the coast.

If you have time, a trip down the coast to Carmel/Monterey and especially any part down Highway One toward Big Sur.

I can't tell you about night life...

A drive to San Francisco to the Presidio area and Crissy Field will give you good sights of the Golden Gate Bridge at night, there's also the marina district, the entire wharf area which should be interesting at night. Pier 39 has a sea lion colony on the boat docks. At treasure island, you have some nice views of the city, and I understand the old base is now open and there's an old swimming pool, an area full of graffiti, etc.

Fioli is open (great flowers on the grounds).

Without knowing more of your interests and available time, it's difficult to be too specific.

As for Santa Clara itself, the area is mainly flat and I don't find too much of interest photographically. There is an amusement park with rides just off highway 101. We have Cal Trains and Light rail if you are into transportation shots/tracks, etc.

rdlugosz

Dee - thanks for the detailed reply; I'll be sure to check some of those suggestions out. I've actually been to SF several times, some I'm pretty familiar with that area. I'm mainly wondering about more local opportunities of things that aren't covered as well as the SF sites.

As for what type of photos I'm looking for... well, short of vampires (who can't be captured on film) I'm happy to shoot it!

rdlugosz

I see on the map that there are several parks nearby: Mission Peak, Sunol Regional Wilderness, Ed Levin, and then tons of these "open space" preserves out to the west. Any in particular worthwhile?

a110p0

Bay Area Parks
The Bay Area is fortunate to have many scenic parks.
Many of the parks are managed by the Mid Peninsula Open Space Regional District.

The spring is the nicest time to visit these parks. The hills are still
green and California poppies are starting to bloom.

Peninsula parks (that I've visited):

• San Antonio Open Space (Mountain View)
• Palo Alto Baylands (Palo Alto, marsh and birds)
• Arastradero (Palo Alto, grassland and poppies)
• Stanford Satellite Dish (Foothill and Page Mill Rd, Palo Alto, grassland and giant satellite dish)
• Windy Hill (Palo Alto, grassland)
• Big Basin State Park (Redwood trees, waterfalls hike)
• Filoli (mentioned by Dee, Woodside, maintained garden)
• Purisma Creek (forest and creek)
• Edgewood Park (San Mateo, grassland and poppies)
• Portola Redwoods State Park (Redwood trees and creek)
• Sweeney Ridge (views of the ocean and Bay + remains of Nike missle site)
• Skyline Ridge (grassland, forest, wildflowers)

On the East Bay, there are numerous parks that are part of the
East Bay Regional Park system. Sunol Regional Park is part of the
EBRP.

East Bay Parks (that I've visited):

• Sunol (Sunol, creek, grassland, oak trees)
• Coyote Hills (Fremont, bay, marsh, birds)
• Ardenwood (Fremont, historical farm)
• Redwood Regional Park (Redwood trees, views of Bay)
• Mission Peak (nice hike, great view from the top of Mission Peak)
• San Francisco Wildlife Refuge (Fremont, shorebirds)

Also drive over to the coast and north to San Francisco. You'll pass
through the seaside towns of Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay and Montara.
Along the way there are parks, lighthouses and rocky coastlines.

Further south towards Morgan Hill is Henry Coe State Park.

Also east of San Jose is the Lick Observatory at Mount Hamilton.

If you visit SF, I enjoy shooting at:

• Fort Point (Civil War era fort)
• Angel Island (Historical buildings, nice views of SF)
• Treasure Island (evening views of SF skyline + Bay Bridge)
• Old WWII military bunkers by the GG Bridge and Marin Headlands

Have a great time in the Bay Area. I've been living here for 8 years and
find that it's a wonderful place to explore and photograph.

Alvin

rdlugosz

Thanks for a very detailed response, Alvin! I'll shoot you an email to see if you might want to meet up out there and shoot. From the looks of your galleries you know some great locations!

I'd be happy to meet up with any other folks out in the area who may want to shoot. Just drop me an email & we'll work out the details.

Sam

rdlugosz wrote:

Thanks for a very detailed response, Alvin! I'll shoot you an email to see if you might want to meet up out there and shoot. From the looks of your galleries you know some great locations!

I'd be happy to meet up with any other folks out in the area who may want to shoot. Just drop me an email & we'll work out the details.

Since you seem to live a distance from the ocean you might want to consider world famous Big Sur, and all the sights along HWY 1 on the drive down.

Sam

ed_h

rdlugosz wrote:

I'll be in Santa Clara, CA next week for a conference but will have a lot of time for shooting... Anyone have any location suggestions? I realize it's nearby SF, so that's always good as a backup.

If you're going to be anywhere near the University of Santa Clara there would be some interesting shots of the old adobe wall from 1770 or so and then of course there is the Mission Santa Clara. I don't know if its still there but the rose garden at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum should be of interest.
ed