Photo Essay: San Francisco in the Early Morning Hours

Very few people bother getting up early in the morning to really enjoy and take in the city. As a teenager growing up in Europe, I remember walking through the streets of my city early in the morning heading for my rowing practice. Sun was slowly rising on the horizon and all I could smell in that cold, fresh morning air was the unmistakable smell of baking bread from my neighbourhood bakery. Unfortunately I did not find this in San Francisco. However, we did find plenty of empty and peaceful streets. This peace was sporadically interrupted by a delivery truck, cyclist going to work or a homeless person waking from their sleep.
I have always wondered when they managed to shoot those picturesque car commercials where drivers speed through downtown streets without any other cars in sight. This trip really provided me with an answer. Needless to say, when we left Los Angeles the previous evening at 11:30 pm, we didn’t think we would make it to SF by 4:30 am. All we really hoped for was to arrive in time to see the sun rise over the Golden Gate Bridge. Somehow we managed to get there a few hours before our planned arrival. Having said that, I have always strayed from just passing through a city without exploring it. Unfortunately, this time around we only had about four hours to explore SF… and we learned more than I ever expected. We definitely couldn’t find a decent diner open at 5 am to grab some breakfast, but that gave us more time to shoot amazing photos of the Ferry Building and make our way up to the lookout above the Golden Gate Bridge. And what an experience that was…
Standing on the hill high above the Golden Gate Bridge at 5:30 in the morning was the most memorable part of our road trip. Sebastian had driven over 2000 miles by that point and were heading back to Canada. We saw amazing beaches, cliffs, lighthouses, seals, and Big Sur on our drive down the 101. However, standing in the cold wind and thick fog, waiting for the sunrise takes the top spot. There were only two or three rabbits popping in and out of bushes to check up on us. No one else.
Standing there, looking at the thick fog engulphing Golden Gate Bridge, I came to understand why photographers spent weeks and in some cases months simply waiting for that perfect shot. In the end, I think I got mine.