Ladies in the spotlight, a photo from California, West

Photographer's Note

I have already presented a photo of the famous Painted Ladies from Alamo Square in San Francisco at the blue hour (see here), but I have one more shot from the same place which was taken at a very different light conditions and which I also wanted to share here. This one was taken in the late evening light, hence the long strong shadows.

Painted ladies is a term used for Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings painted in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details. The term was first used for San Francisco Victorian houses by writers Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book Painted Ladies - San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians. Since then the term has also been used to describe groups of colorful Victorian houses in other American cities, such as the Charles Village neighborhood in Baltimore City, Lafayette Square in St. Louis, Missouri, the greater San Francisco and New Orleans areas, Columbia-Tusculum in Cincinnati and the city of Cape May, New Jersey.

Alamo Square is a residential neighborhood and park in San Francisco, California. A row of Victorian houses facing the park on Steiner Street, known as the "Painted Ladies", are often shown in the foreground of panoramic pictures of the city's downtown area. A number of movies, television shows and commercials have been filmed in or around Alamo Square. The opening sequence of the American sitcom Full House (1987-1995) features a romp in Alamo Square Park with the famous row of Victorians in the background.

Kofman, SnapRJW, Sonata11, timecapturer, delpeoples, geoant68, paololg, bukitgolfb301, vasilpro, josepmarin, rodgerg, adramad, macjake, jafadabret, janusz2054, jhm, jlbrthnn, adores, Hansaphotos, siolaw, danos, fritzi007, ikeharel, COSTANTINO ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

mauro61 (53429) 2011-08-11 1:34

ciao Mariusz,
una immagine che si guarda sempre con piacere per la pulizia delle linee e per il bel contrasto tra le case in FG e i grattacieli sullo sfondo.
Luce utilizzata benissimo con un bel cielo con nuvole.
saluti
maurizio

sandpiper (6788) 2011-08-11 1:36

Hi Mariusz

Great shot of these famous buildings. I especially like teh inclusion of the city skyline in the background and lovely sky.

Chris

SnapRJW (31631) 2011-08-11 2:40

Hello Mariusz - I love these genteel old homes with their pastel colours and crisp white trims and in this clever composition they are projected against a more modern Californian skyline. The architectural comparison is interesting. Nicely managed image, I love the way the sunlight id highlighting these grand old ladies and some of the 'down-town' buildings too. Best regards Rosemary

holmertz (103642) 2011-08-11 3:12

Hello Mariusz,
This is a very nicely structured composition. Shady lawns and neatly kept trees in the foreground, the elegant ladies behind and further back the modern city. On top some quite attractive clouds. The light is excellent and the colours mild and pleasant.
Kind regards,
Gert

Sonata11 (34119) 2011-08-11 4:38

Witaj Mariusz,
z przyjenoscia mozna patrzec na takie zdjecia. Sliczne miejsce i slicznie wykonane jakosciowo. Fajna gra swiatla i cienia. Bardzo ladnie wyeksponowane poza cieniem te piekne domki w rzedzie. Bardzo mi sie podoba wykonanie tego zdjecia z bardzo dobrym POV i super DOF. Super zdjecie.
Serdecznie pozdrawiam,
Barbara

timecapturer (49288) 2011-08-11 4:51

Hi Mariusz
a classic view of SF, such beautiful detail and light here in this amazing view. Perfect clarity, light and shade make it a stand out image. Real quality photography. Well done!

Regards - Brian.

delpeoples (60342) 2011-08-11 5:05

Hi Mariusz

I never knew of these Painted Ladies, so you have taught me something new. They're really really beautiful and you have captured them in exquisite light conditions. Good POV, good sharpness and chromatic rendering.

Thanks for sharing, have a good day
Lisa

lakshmip1949 (19081) 2011-08-11 5:14

Hello Mariusz,

I like these painted ladies. They look charming with the backdrop of the skyscrapers. The colors are warm and tone is excellent.

Lakshmi

Sergiom (117241) 2011-08-11 5:29

Bonjour Mariusz

Une rue très photographiée . Et sous ce ciel parfait avec un tel arrière plan très net la photo devient impeccable et caractéristique de cette très belle ville.

Amicalement

Serge

geoant68 (331) 2011-08-11 7:15

Hi Mariusz,
in the past i had seen the same image from an other trekker but here we have a greater one,especially with the sharpness, as bringing out the details of the houses as general of the whole scene.Excellent the light and the colour management as the presentation too.

Peter

jurek1951 (42198) 2011-08-11 13:13

Witaj Mariusz,
piekna zabudowa,stara i nowa architektura,piekne porownanie,pozdrawiam
Jurek

paololg (31448) 2011-08-11 13:39

Ciao dear Mariusz,
to the beauty of this scene, must add the amazing photo quality, absolutely perfect. It's really amazing to note that a photo reduced to 300 Kb could to have this sharpness and this depth. I am always convinced that you are one of the best photographers of TE. Sincere congratulations!
Ciao, have a nice Friday!
Paolo

Fis2 (171961) 2011-08-11 13:42

Witaj Mariusz!
Niesamowity kontrast architektury.
Budynki na pierwszym planie sa czarujace (juz je chyba widzialem).
Super swiatlo i ostrosc kadru.
Pozdrawiam
Krzysztof

ifege (49465) 2011-08-11 15:18

A good late afternoon photo Mariusz that provides a good effect on this classic row of SA houses and also on the city sky line behind. Great composition.
cheers
Ian

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2011-08-11 16:55

Hi bonjour my dear Mariusz

This is another marvelous and significant shot.
Well considered framework you have captured! So clear and sharp image, reflecting with your keen sense and high skill as usual. Thanks for your sharing nice work and have a good day!
Best regards,

Takero from heat island Tokyo

vasilpro (41801) 2011-08-11 22:55

Hello Mariusz,
Wonderful cityscape composition, beautiful ladies with interesting architecture, lovely light and atmosphere, excellent colors, very good clarity and contrast.
Warm regards, Vasilis.

josepmarin (59385) 2011-08-11 23:58

Hi Mariusz,
I remember perfectly your photo of these houses at the blue hour, and is very pleasant for me this new vision under the light of the late evening, in a very elegant composition that emphasizes the harmonic beauty of these Victorian houses in SF.
There is a nice overlapping of styles and architectural typologies. I like it.
A nice work, my friend.
Best regards,
Josep

rodgerg (55767) 2011-08-12 2:31

Witaj Mariusz,

Excellent presentation of this famous houses under a beautiful cloudy sky well collected. I like the composition with the Fg which give depht and the modern buildings in the BG which give a contrast with the "Ladies".
Best regards,
Roger

wolf38 (30) 2011-08-12 5:51

Hello Marius. Old and new. Truly a world-famous picture taking. You have to see these houses, when you're in San Francisco. The view from the top of the row of houses and the skyscrapers behind it is really nice. Well seen and presented. Rgds, Wolfgang.
Have a nice WE

adramad (73452) 2011-08-12 9:04

Hi Mariusz.
A wonderful picture, I love this succession of detached houses are like a dream in the big city, its architecture is beautiful and elegant and good brightness and sharpness of the image shows us the perfection, as well as behind the skyscrapers emerging of them, so they are equally superb.
A fantastic composition for recreation in this beautiful part of the city.
Have a nice weekend.
Best regards.
Luis.

macjake (98544) 2011-08-12 9:47

Hey Mariusz
its so funny now seeing these photos being posted after visiting the area.
In my opinion, what makes this shot so great are 2 things...yes, the lighting you mentioned striking the painted ladies...
but for me, its the cloud coverage. Clouds make a very good photo a great one. it just adds that extra dimension and depth.
Love the city scape in the bg, very sharp all the way to the end.
nice one again.
have a great w/e
Craig

SWEETFREEDOM (24623) 2011-08-12 10:08

Hi Mariusz,
i prefer this one the light and the colors are beautiful
regards
Alessandro

jafadabret (56501) 2011-08-12 10:30

Bonjour Mariusz,
Je me souviens bien de ta première photo sur ces Painted Ladies. Cette composition est encore remarquable avec une bonne lumière sur ces précieuses dames.
Amicalement
Jacques

JFS (32459) 2011-08-12 11:20

Hi Maiursz,
BEAUTIFUL scenery masterly captured, lovely contrast of architectures and admirable clearness of image. Great work!

Kind regards,
Juan

janusz2054 (2) 2011-08-12 13:25

Witaj Mariusz,
Rewelacyjny widok na nowoczesna architekture centrum i sliczne domki w pierwszym planie.Wspaniala kompozycja poloczenia starego z nowym.
Pozdrawiam
Janusz

emka (158860) 2011-08-12 17:08

Witaj, ty lubisz te swoje malowane lale. Ale rzeczywiscie te domki świetnie wygladają. I fantastyczny background. Musze ja zajrzeć do swoich zdjęć z SF. Doskonały kadr, a ostrość i kolorki - u Ciebie normalka :).

Pozdrawiam, słoncznego weekendu

Małgorzata

jhm (211738) 2011-08-13 0:46

Hello Mariusz,

What a splendid image in foreground all these different facades with different colors.
These houses are a wonderful contrast against the skyscrapers in background.
Excellent captured, nice presentation too, lovely one.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

jlbrthnn (76043) 2011-08-13 3:03

Hello Mariusz,
This respectable Painted Ladies is absolutely magnificent in the light. The neatness of details is remarkable. It is a high-quality photo, and very interesting. Bravo.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

Graal (103040) 2011-08-13 23:37

Czesc,
ladna zabudowa, domy prawie blizniacze. Fajnie oswietlone miales. Dobre ujecie, notka i jakosc zdjecia.
Milego dnia.
Aleksander

jemaflor (148260) 2011-08-14 7:33

Hi M,
Always interesting this famous pov, nice sharpness and ight, the contrast with buildings in the bg is impressive, tfs.

adores (46979) 2011-08-15 17:58

Hi Mariusz!
This is always a great view! I just love the contrast of this architecture with the modern one in background. I still keep in mind the other one you have posted before,but the light really makes them stand out here.Colours and sharpness are just great!

Hansaphotos (11381) 2011-08-17 10:17

Hello Mariusz

This is a very nice portrait of the famous row of houses. Very good presentation. Nice colours and light. Even though it`s a classic photo from this city, it pleases my eyes. Amazing skyline in the bg. Great work! TFS. Have a nice week.

Best regards, Erling

siolaw (38294) 2011-08-19 8:10

Hi Mariusz
Nice sunny view on the old "Ladies", with also a good view at the "younger ones" in the background.
I like the soft colours and the good general quality!
Greetings
Laurent

sacimar (38173) 2011-09-01 11:37

Hello Mariusz,

this is a beautiful postcard of San Francisco, I like the image, beautiful colors and excellent point of view with the rest of the city in the back, well done,

Best regards,

Sergio

danos (110407) 2011-10-29 0:30

Hello Mariusz,
Oh yes this shot is much better from the other one in my mind.Lovely shot with the Painted Ladies to share this part of Alamo square,with the lot of skyscrapers to complete perfectly the backdrop.I like the clarity and the sharpness of the image as the beauty of this residential neighbourhood of San Francisco.

Regards,Danos

fritzi007 (14698) 2012-03-12 15:29

Hallo Mariusz,
ungewöhnlich für USA, hätte ich nicht gedacht, das sie so schöne Plätze haben, sehr gut fotografiert, gratuliere!
Viele Grüße
Wolfgang

ikeharel (114629) 2012-12-07 1:33

The famous street in SFO, well taken from this perspective, Mariusz.
Fine clear shot, colors and backdrop's with the city scrapers and unique shaped cone-tower.
Best regards,
Ike

serp2000 (47063) 2016-01-19 22:13

Hi, Mariusz, Oh, yep! I do remember these picturesque and so cute houses. Good contrast with the skyscrapers of downtown on the background. Clever composition and excellent choice of the point of view. best wishes, Serghei

COSTANTINO (117814) 2021-05-06 23:25

Hello dear friend and have a nice day
and a happy weekend
I like this chosen point of view
presenting the facades of thes
buildings...with the Painted
Ladies from aLAMO square
regards
Costantino