Skip Kuebel Photography

This is one of the many photographs I've taken at Fort Point, and the Fort Point Light underneath the Gate Bridge. It's an old Civil War army fort that guarded the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Beginning in 1852, the US government funded the construction of a chain of 59 lighthouses along the California Coast. The Fort Point light was one of 13 serving the San Francisco Bay. In 1934, The US Lighthouse Service keepers extinguished the Fort Point light for the last time due to the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. For awhile it looked like they may tear down the fort and the light to build the bridge but in the end they just built the bridge right over the top of the fort. This is a must see stop when in San Francisco. I removed the sky with OnOne tools and then added in the dramatic sky and then color corrected all so that it would look like it belonged. The tool work really well, even over the top rail and the circular staircase grill pattern. See more at:  http...

The San Francisco Embarcadero with all the interesting buildings that create the city skyline. I like to walk around the city and take photos of the people and points of interest. Then bring it back home and process it to make it into art. This time, I added in the storm clouds to make the scene more dramatic and also to practice my outline and masking skills. You can see more of this shoot on my Flickr site:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/sets/72157646904166206/ Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Golden Gate Bridge , a photo by skip.kuebel on Flickr. Here is the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge shot from the west side above Baker Beach on the hiking trail. Had to go underneath the toll plaza and hike past  WWII Godfrey Battery to get this view. I shot this with my Canon 40D and the post-processed it using Lightroom for basic color balancing, cropping and so on, then a quick trip to the Nik software plug-in to cross-process the color, then a touch of glamour glow and finished off with lighten/darken center. Then into Photoshop to do some minor touch-ups and then used the tilt-shift blur filter. Back to Nik to use the auto noise reduction and then sharpened up the middle portion a tad. Check out more of my GG Bridge pictures at my Flickr site to see the pictures at full size and resolution. Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Container Ship vs. Alcatraz , a photo by skip.kuebel on Flickr. Like King Kong vs Godzilla, this giant container ship passes just in front of Alcatraz island in the San Francisco Bay. The ship is almost the same size as the old prison island. I shot this near the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

Yerba Buena Lighthouse is a US Coast Guard light station on the old Goat Island which was re-named Yerba Buena later, near the Bay Bridge on the San Francisco bay. I shot this by boat and would love to know how I could get permission to shoot it on land from the Coast Guard. If anyone knows send me a note. Here are more shots from that day:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/sets/72157635253362550/ Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

The Point Bonita Lighthouse is at the very tip of the Marin Headlands leading to the mouth of the Golden Gate. This is a sight not to miss. You park and need to walk about a mile down a path and through a tunnel and then across a very shaky wooden suspension bridge, braving the wind and sea sprat to arrive at the Point Bonita Lighthouse. It's not for the weak of heart, but well worth the view. See more at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/97777205@N03/sets/72157634474053938/ Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net

This is one of my favorite places. The Fort Point Lighthouse which as you can see lives underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. This is a brick, Civil War era fort with a lighthouse on top. While the dream of the Golden Gate Bridge was coming alive, Fort Point’s future was looking bleak: the bridge’s construction plans called for the demolition of the fort. Fortunately, Chief Engineer Joseph Strauss appreciated the history and architecture of Fort Point and redesigned the bridge to arch over it. Some great views of the bridge, the bay and the city. You can even walk from this point under the roadbed by the toll plaza and get to the other side of the bridge and even hike down to Baker Beach from there. See more photos from this shoot at:   http://skiptown.smugmug.com/Lighthouses/Fort-Point-Lighthouse Skip Kuebel, Photographer skiptown@comcast.net