The photographer's fish: a Golden Gate Bridge street photography story

I was waiting for a lame landscape shot, but I got something better.

Last week I was in San Francisco with my film camera, heading out to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge.

My plan was simple: capture some beautiful landscape shots, something I could print and frame. My friend Juan and I started at Golden Gate Park, walking around and taking a few photos, as we got blessed with a rare fog-free day. Can you believe it? The sky was clear and gorgeous! Anyone who knows San Francisco knows how rare this is. That deep blue sky, the bridge visible from miles away, no marine layer in sight.

Help me with something real quick…

We took an Uber from Golden Gate Park to the bridge viewpoint, and as soon as I arrived, I grabbed three solid landscape shots for my fine art photography collection. I’m planning to print and sell one of them, but I need help choosing which one.

(you must be logged on Substack to vote)

Down at the waterfront, there was a pier with several people fishing, including a woman in a striking purple outfit. As a street photographer, my mind immediately shifted gears: forget about (yet) another landscape shot of the Golden Gate, and focus on these people. If I could get a street photography moment with the bridge in the background, I'm done for the day. That’s the shot I really wanted. That’s the shot that would be special.

The fisher caught my attention immediately. I spent half an hour wandering around that pier, trying to find the right angle to capture one of them with the bridge behind. I tried waiting for them to catch a fish. Nothing worked. No deal. Nada.

The woman in purple was still there, persisting, and I really wanted to photograph her, but she was facing away from the bridge. Wrong angle. Nothing seemed to work.

Frustrated, I gave up and ducked into their convenience store for a work meeting (they had a coffee shop in it). As I walked in, I joked to myself: “Watch, the second I turn my back, she’s going to catch a fish. Wanna bet?”

I was wrong.

The fisher lady was the winner, and she didn’t catch it while I was walking away. She caught it while I was sitting there in the coffee shop, a few minutes before I left, and I was incredibly lucky to catch what happened next. There she was, holding it up for everyone to see!

Man, I dropped everything: my jaw, coffee, and the granola bar I was eating, all of it. I rushed over, almost running. “Congratulations! What a beautiful fish! Can I photograph you holding it?”

She caught her fish, and I got mine!

The atmosphere was pure joy. Everyone on the pier was celebrating her catch, this amazing moment. She agreed, smiling wide behind her fisher's mask and sunglasses.

I was a little concerned about not cutting off the top of the bridge on the composition, so I sacrificed her feet (no pun intended, lol), cropping them out of the frame. Luckily I didn't crop the fish's tail. I needed to make sure the bridge wasn’t cut otherwise I'd kill studium. It all happened so fast. I had absolutely no idea if the shots turned out. This is when I would have appreciated a digital camera and burst mode, because I was shooting completely blind on film, but I'm glad I made it!

The moment that makes Street Photography worth it

When I finally saw the developed negative, this was it. This was the shot that justified carrying a film camera around San Francisco all day.

Everything came together in a single frame: the woman in her vibrant purple outfit, that massive striped bass gleaming in her hand, the Golden Gate Bridge spanning majestically across the background, even a seagull perched on the pier adding another layer to the scene. The film captured that rare San Francisco blue sky perfectly, and the warm tones of the film gave the bridge its iconic glow.

This is why I LOVE STREET PHOTOGRAPHY. You can plan all you want, scout locations, calculate exposures, do whatever you want, but the magic happens when life unfolds in front of you and you’re ready to capture it. The woman was thrilled with the fish she had just caught, which she planned to release back into the water. I was equally thrilled with my own catch, the photographer’s fish.

Available as an A3+ Fine Art Print

Buy the story about two people fishing, two catches, one perfect moment, frozen in time on film.

Shot on CineStill 400D film with a Leica MP, this is authentic analog street photography at its finest. Each print captures the raw emotion of the rare clear San Francisco sky, a fisher and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in a way you’ve never seen before.

Print specs:

• Film: CineStill 400D

• A3+ size (13” x 19” / 329mm x 483mm) - perfect for framing

• Printed on archival museum-quality fine art paper

• Signed by me (if you want)

• Ships unframed, with easy framing options at Amazon or any other stationary store

More than a landmark

I could have walked away with just another landscape photograph of the Golden Gate Bridge. I had three in the camera already (and you're still about to help me choosing which one to print).

But I’m a street photographer. I can't resist. My soul isn't in the landscape. To me, it’s about capturing life as it happens, the human stories that unfold when you’re patient enough to wait for them. The Golden Gate Bridge will always be there, magnificent and photogenic. But that woman, holding that massive striped bass with pure joy? That moment lasted two minutes before she released the fish back into the water. This is the difference between documenting a place and capturing a moment.

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