"I had used to have an arty black & white framed poster like these photos of the famous steep streets of San Francisco. That's probably why I enjoyed taking so many photos there!"

On a recent family road trip around America, I was very excited to return to San Francisco some 30 years after I first visited . This was to be our final destination after more than two weeks and 1100 miles of travelling from Vegas to LA and up the Californian coast. 

In my (admittedly limited) travels around the US, San Francisco is my favorite American city; it just offers such a diverse range of sights and scenes, from the bridges to the bay, and great bars and restaurant culture. 

It’s the city’s famous steep hills that help it stand out. Of course, these scenes of towering buildings and the beautiful streets and old-fashion ‘cable cars’, and Alcatraz to the Golden Gate Bridge, all add up to a very photogenic place. In a nutshell, San Francisco is a photographer’s dream.

During our stay I was intent on capturing a shot I’d had in my head since I was a young man, when I had a cool (arty, pretentious) black-and-white poster of the steep streets of San Francisco on the wall of the shared house where I lived.

After lots of research and talking to various locals, I worked out California Street was the best location to shoot. Its range of steep, stepped hills and the glimpse of San Francisco to Oakland Bay Bridge framed between the city's tall buildings at the end. 

I headed to Chinatown, and the intersection of California Street with Stockton Street, and wasn’t disappointed with the scene before us, on this fateful, sunny day in San Francisco. 

The trick was to compose to emphasize the steepness of the streets, while including a famous ‘cable car’ in shot. I had to be patient, as well as have eyes in the back of my head for traffic approaching from behind; this is where the family came in handy as they were only too happy to screeen at me to get out of the road! Thankfully the cable cars also aren’t quiet, they clang up and down the lines, and the drivers like to ring their bell at every junction! 

It wasn’t long before a handful of photos I was happy with. I shot these with a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and  my trusty Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM extended to its longest telephoto point of view.

This has helped to compress the scene and bring the skyscrapers closer together, as well as ensure the distant Bay Bridge beyond is still visible in the hazy sky. 

Naturally, these images needed a strong black-and-white conversion. This gave my shots a timeless feel, and also removed any colourful things like distracting cars, and the red and yellow markings on the road.

I only wish I’d had more time to shoot there at different times of day, at sunrise perhaps, to get slightly more atmospheric lighting. I guess I have the perfect excuse for another visit some day!