The Low Score Task by Lank
July 10th, 2007 5:22 PM / Location: 37.755377,-122.4521I had always thought Sutro Tower was kinda cool... until I got close up. It's more than cool. It's simply grand. It's majestic. And it's GIANT - almost 1000 feet tall and the tallest structure in SF (for the benefit of those who haven't Wiki'd it yet). And I don't truck with the slander that Wikipedia has to offer about it. I think the tower is an artful, graceful testament to beauty in functionality.
So you may say, "Hey Lank, you're supposed to take a picture of the Tower from YOUR neck of the woods, which is L.A., right?" Well, friends, I'm in the process of completing this task very soon, and I already consider San Francisco home. I just don't know exactly where in the city I'm going to end up. So yesterday, as part of my exploration of the city that is my new home, I went up La Avanzada Drive.
On the way up, I saw this and was thought it pic-worthy, since this guy is the tower's namesake:
I made a 360-degree tour of the tower, mostly on the surrounding residential streets. I envied the people who get to see it every day out their living room windows. As I got closer to it, I felt more and more quixotic. Although I was trying to get a shot that captured the grandeur and immensity of this marvel, I don't quite think I managed it.
I went as the sun was descending in the sky, hoping to finish off my shoot in the dark, catching just the tower's blinking lights. But the cloud cover was proving to be just too thick to see said lights. As the last rays of sun hit the tower, though, I got some great shots of it casting shadows on the clouds. And I got a quick series of shots with the clouds moving over the tower which anna one was kind enough to animate for me.
Did you know that there's a path through the woods that surround the tower? It's a really cool little trail through some seriously old native trees and such - very pretty. So with the last of the light, I got a close-up shot and a shot of the base of the tower through the trees.
(I really need to get a better camera, I know.)
Enjoy!
Close-Up
1000 feet, folks
From the West
From the South
The Disappearing Tower
Best magic act in San Francisco!
Tower Shadows 1
Tower Shadows 2
Tower Shadows 3
Tower Shadows 4
From the Woods
This isn't a great shot, but I included it because it reminds me of Return of the Jedi.
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That is why someone needs to unretire this!!!
Unfortunetly I lack the ability to grow facial amazements!!!
Curses!
I believe that style of facial hair is called the Franz-Josef, after the Austrian Emperor.
I love (and have sported) that style!
...those had better not be evil eucalyptus I see on that trail of native trees...
I'm afraid there be some evil eucalypts among the otherwise very old and lovely native trees...
What else would the kualas who are native to the Sutro Tower eat?
"My apartment is infested with koala bears. It's the cutest infestation ever. Way better than cockroaches. When I turn on the light, a bunch of koala bears scatter, but I don't want them too. I'm like, "Hey... Hold on fellows... Let me hold one of you, and feed you a leaf." Koala bears are so cute, why do they have to be so far away from me. We need to ship a few over, so I can hold one, and pat it on its head."
-Mitch Hedberg
"Then I could keep it in a mason jar... with a twig and a leaf.... to approximate what he's accustomed to... 'cause he sure as hell is accustomed to air."
I did the same walk yesterday and noticed the Adolph Sutro Street on the way. It's terrifyingly huge and it appears to be surrounded by what looks like Gavin Newsom's secret SutroBase.
Best take on this task yet, methinks.