The Ultimate Guide to Catching Bay Area Low Fog
Low fog gliding over the hills and through the trees at Mount Tamalpais. May 2021.
The Bay Area Low Fog Guide
I have been asked over and over again “but how do you know when it’s low enough or high enough to shoot it?” I also have been asked over and over again “how do you even know when there’s low fog?” So to help everyone out, I’ve created this one-stop guide to catching low fog. Included below are locations to shoot, useful webcams for tracking, gear you’ll need for a successful shoot, and tips on how to catch it, not in this particular order. Hope you find it useful! Send me a DM on instagram (@avecnicole) or email (nicolezelkowitz@gmail.com) if there’s other information you think would be useful to add :)
1. Utilizing your local Bay Area Webcams.
Did you know there are multiple webcams located throughout the bay to help you see the weather outside in certain areas without having to even travel there? My favorites to use include all four (4) Salesforce Cams, and all three (3) Mount Tamalpais Cams. However, there are more than just those seven (7) cams available for you to utilize. There’s actually a total of fifteen (15) I consistently use if those seven (7) are unclear for me to tell — and this is because sometimes I like to shoot low fog in places other than by the Golden Gate Bridge and Mount Tamalpais. There’s one (1) Golden Gate Bridge Cam, one (1) Interactive Golden Gate Bridge Cam, one (1) Sutro Tower Fire Cam, one (1) Berkeley Hills Cam, one (1) East Bay Cam, one (1) Bay Bridge Cam, one (1) Tiburon Cam, and one (1) Muir Beach Cam. Something else which I find useful but isn’t a webcam, is the Bay Area Fog Tracker. The webcams are linked at the bottom of this page, and click here to access the Fog Tracker.
*Note: There are other cams located throughout the Bay Area which aren’t listed*
2. Knowing if low fog is low enough to shoot the Golden Gate Bridge.
First things first: all locations to shoot low fog around the Golden Gate Bridge will be located in the Marin Headlands. The most well-known locations for this is Battery Spencer, Getty Hill, Hawk Hill, and Slacker Hill. What this means is that if you’re aiming to shoot the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset, the sun will be opposite of where you’re shooting. These are all sunrise locations, so I personally like to shoot low fog in this area for sunrise. This being said — catching some low fog around the bridge at night or during blue hour will still make for some epic photos! The only time you’ll be able to catch low fog around the Golden Gate Bridge during sunset and have it work in your favor is if you’re shooting from The Overlook (Double Tree) on the San Francisco side, and the low fog is at deck level. It can be that low, but it is a little more rare to catch. Especially at sunset.
So now you have access to the webcams, but you’re still unsure if it’s worth waking up at 0400 to shoot sunrise at the Golden Gate Bridge. I get it. I also hate waking up super early thinking the fog is good but showing up and it’s way too high for my liking. I use all four (4) of the Salesforce Cams to judge if the fog will be low enough to shoot the Golden Gate Bridge. Why, you ask? Just kidding, I know you didn’t. But now you’re curious :) The reason for this is because if you can see the top of the fog from the Salesforce Cams, the fog will be low enough where Golden Gate will be sticking out.
*Two screenshots below are from the Salesforce Cam, posted for explanation of above*
3. Knowing if low fog is high enough to shoot Mount Tamalpais.
Mount Tamalpais is in Mill Valley, and it’s where you want to go if you want those epic shots of the fog rolling through the trees, or the waves of fog rolling through San Francisco or over hills. Unlike shooting low fog at the Golden Gate Bridge, you need the fog higher to shoot successfully at Mount Tam. You need it a lot higher. But be careful it’s not too high, or you’ll be stuck in the fog and won’t get any shot which will, of course, be a bummer. As mentioned earlier and above, there are three (3) Mount Tamalpais webcams for you to use. Use them! To shoot low fog here successfully, you only need to focus on these three webcams.
Much like the Salesforce Cams, you want to be able to see the top of the fog from the Mount Tam cams. With this being said, it’s important to note that you want the fog higher up, and not super low. The fog is better for Tam the higher it is, but not too high for it to be covering the webcams. The screenshots below are perfect examples of what great conditions at Tam will look like. There are three fire cams at Mount Tam. While all are useful, I like to focus on what the cam that points toward San Francisco is looking like. From my experience, I’ve gone to Tam when the other two cams don’t show too much fog while that one does, and my shots have come out incredible.
*Two screenshots below are from the Mount Tam Cams, posted for explanation of above*
4. Picking locations to shoot low fog both at Mount Tam and by the GGB.
There are some pretty epic locations for shooting both of these places while low fog is occurring. To shoot low fog by the Golden Gate Bridge during sunrise, I would recommend shooting in the Marin Headlands. If you’re a photographer from the Bay Area, or already familiar with some locations in the Bay Area, you know this is because anywhere on the SF side viewing the bridge is a sunset location. But more than this — if you’re aiming to shoot low fog, all the higher elevation points for viewing will be in the headlands. Battery Spencer, Getty Hill, Hawk Hill, and Slacker Hill are all pretty solid locations to shoot low fog around the Golden Gate Bridge. If the fog is at deck level, I’d highly recommend shooting from Battery Spencer as your shots will look much more surreal than from Hawk Hill, for example, since Battery allows you to be closest to the bridge. If you’re shooting low fog during sunset by the Golden Gate Bridge and shooting from the Headlands, the sun will be opposite of where you’re shooting. Keeping this in mind, if the fog is at deck level, definitely try to shoot it from the Overlook (Double Tree) and you’ll have an awesome sunset in your shot as well.
To shoot low fog at Mount Tam, I would recommend shooting during sunset. As a heads up: the park is closed before sunrise, and closes at sunset. Park rangers will come around letting you know the gates will be closing, so don’t worry too much about getting locked inside. As far as locations go for shooting at Tam, both the West Peak and East Peak are valid. If you’re looking just to catch the fog rolling through the trees or gliding over the hills creating those cool waves, either peak will suffice. If you’re looking to catch San Francisco in the back, or potentially catch some light trails within your fog shot, the East Peak should be your peak of choice. If you’re looking to catch the sunset as well, definitely head over to the West Peak. Something important to note is that the East Peak gives a higher vantage point. This means if you go to the West Peak and you’re engulfed in fog, drive 10-15minutes over to the East Peak and you’ll likely be above the fog. The cool thing about Mount Tam, is that even if the fog isn’t as high as you were expecting it to be, you still have opportunities for some epic shots of the hills. As a last note on what to do while shooting Tam — don’t forget to just have fun with it. Fog is always changing. It is never the same, no matter how many times you go to the same spot. Don’t be upset or disappointed if you don’t get what you were hoping for. Tam and low fog will always be there for you to try again :)
5. Figuring out what gear to bring and settings to use.
I know, you’ve got all this information and now you’re super excited to go shoot the epic low fog! Did you know Bay Area low fog actually has a name? It’s Karl. But there’s a few things to keep in mind as far as gear goes prior to showing up at a location ready to shoot Karl.
Tripod! Please bring a sturdy tripod. I use the Mefoto Roadtrip Travel S Aluminum tripod, but am currently looking for a new one. Manfrotto is a good brand. So is Gitzo, Peak Design (their $300 one is probably just as good as their $600 one), and Slik. To be fair, it doesn’t really matter too much which brand you have. Just make sure it can withstand wind and your camera.
Lenses! I have a problem where I always bring almost all of my gear because I have an irrational fear of needing a lens that I decided to leave at home. You’re going to want to have a telephoto with you. My most used lens is my Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM. While this lens may suffice for shooting the Golden Gate Bridge and some locations on Tam, it is not a big enough zoom for specific shots. I also bring my Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM, and my Canon 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6. Moral of the story: Just make sure you have at least one telephoto with you.
Filters! If you follow me on Instagram, you know I am a heavy user of Polar Pro. I love their variable neutral density (VND) filters. I use their 2-5 VND a lot, but I also use their 6-9 VND a lot. It really just depends on the time of day you’re shooting, where the sun is located, etc. If you don’t have a VND filter, I would recommend showing up to shoot the low fog with at least a 6-stop filter.
Settings! So if you’ve gathered anything from what I listed above, I hope it’s that you’re shooting this low fog as a long exposure. You don’t need to shoot a long exposure, but if you want the waves it’s necessary. It cannot be captured without leaving your shutter open. Typically, I shoot everything with my ISO on 100; this will help eliminate noise. I always bring my aperture (f stop) to 22 or higher depending on my lens and what I can bring it to; this means less light will be entering your camera. Now for how long you want your shutter open is entirely up to you. For more silky smooth waves of fog, I’d recommend leaving your shutter open anywhere between 15-30 seconds. This is entirely dependent upon how fast the fog is moving! I’ve taken shots with my shutter open for only 10 seconds and it was just as smooth as on days when I’ve left it open for 30 seconds. Experiment. Shoot at different shutter speeds so you can see what look you like the most. Shooting fog is similar to shooting water movement (waterfalls, etc). Every second counts, and every second will give you a different result. If you’re shooting with a lens that has image stabilization, it’s also important to note (which I recently learned) that shooting with it turned OFF helps the shot.
Accessing the Webcams!
