All pictures were shot on my Sony A7 III with Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens and the Sony 35mm f/1.8 lens. You can see my full camera kit here. All photos were edited with my Lightroom presets.
In March 2020, just before COVID starting taking over the world, I took a small and quick road trip from San Francisco to San Diego. I shared some pictures of my trip on Instagram and Twitter, but I wanted to put them all in one place.
This was my first visit to SF. What blew me away was how dense the place was. I wasn’t expecting everything to be so tightly put together. It actually felt quite claustrophobic and uncomfortable at times. But the rest of the time it was great. I only ever saw SF in movies and TV shows so seeing it in person felt like I was living in those movies and TV shows.
I had to see the famous painted ladies. I love the architecture in SF. It’s so classic with all of the old Victorian and Edwardian style houses.
The view from Twin Peaks was as epic as expected. You can see the whole of SF. It gives you a great sense of how dense the city is.
Before going to SF I knew there would be hills but I was not expecting how steep they would be. It’s hard to describe until you experience it yourself. Driving around the city means going over crests and being completely blind to what might be ahead of you – it’s super scary at times.
You can’t come to SF and not see the Golden Gate Bridge. Standing in this very spot, taking this picture, reminds of GTA San Andreas ha! I put a lot of hours into that game and I have San Fierro vividly etched into my brain.
I went back the next day to see the bridge from the Battery Spencer view point. It’s a pretty incredible spot.
I was only in SF for a couple of days. I then started my journey towards LA. This picture was from somewhere between SF and Monterey.
One of the main reasons why I wanted to do the trip between SF and LA was to see Big Sur. And what an incredible place it is. The terrain and was so rugged but beautiful at the same time. There was so much greenery and the ocean was had a nice teal look to it. I didn’t take that many pictures on the long drive as a lot of it did look the same and I also wanted to take it in.
When I arrived in LA I stayed at an awesome hotel called 1 Hotel West Hollywood.
The interior design of this place was incredible. This all wood staircase was a great piece of design.
This was the room itself. I enjoyed the rustic look but at the same time minimal feel? It’s very LA.
There was also a pool area only available to hotel guests. It was super serene and was a nice place to chill with my iPad. Due to the time of year I went, it was super quiet too so I pretty much had the whole area to myself.
I took the OrbitKey Nest with me which held my batteries and cables for my devices. It also has a wireless charger built in to the top so I can put my phone on top and have it charging.
The next part of my trip was driving from LA to San Diego. This was my third visit to San Diego. I absolutely love the place. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t on my side so I didn’t go out much. I stayed in a Sonder. It’s basically like a more fancy AirBnb and it was awesome. I would highly recommend it if you want to stay somewhere clean and taken care of.