#SFGuide Featured Photographer: Fernando Pacheco
Each week we select and profile a photographer from our #SFGuide community on Instagram. We believe these photographers capture the everlasting beauty of San Francisco and the Bay Area. For a chance to be featured on our Instagram feed, or here, on 49Miles.com, tag your photos with #SFGuide.
This week’s featured #SFGuide photographer is Fernando Pacheco (@ferpachecophotography), from San Miguel, El Salvador. Scroll down to view Fernando’s breathtaking photos, and learn more about what inspires him as a creative in the Bay Area.
#SFGuide Photographer Profile
Name:Fernando Pacheco
Age: 24
Profession: Maintenance
Place of Birth: San Miguel, El Salvador, Central America.
Where do you currently reside: Hayward, CA
Something you’d like viewers to know about you:
I consider myself a fun person. I like to meet new people and interact with them. I’m a car and a electronic dance music lover. And of course a photography lover.
What is your favorite spot to shoot in San Francisco, and why?
California Street, even though I haven’t been there too many times. Just seeing the road blend in with the buildings and the Bay Bridge as a background…it’s just inspirational.
When and why did you take up photography?
I was studying communications back in El Salvador and one of my classes was photography. I didn’t get the chance to finish my studies because I had to travel to the US. Why? Because I have the opportunity to show my friends a different point of view from how they see things.
What do you love about photography?
What I love about photography is that it enables me to show other people a different view or perspective of places that have been just a regular place for them.
How do you decide what to shoot?
I’m open to shoot anything. I started doing car photography, but I’m currently focused on landscape and night photography at this moment. Anything that catches my attention will probably become a photograph.
What’s your favorite part about going out to shoot?
The views that some locations offer you. Once you get out there and see what’s in front of you, it’s completely breathtaking.
Which location did you have the most difficulty getting to, and how did you do it?
Cosson Hall, in Treasure Island was definitely the most difficult. I was by myself and it’s actually an abandoned place with restricted access riddled with no trespassing signs. I had to figure out how to get in. Luckily there was a window with a piece of wood blocking it, so I tried to move it. The piece of wood was just hanging on top of the window. Broken glass and debris were all over the place. The hardest part was walking inside the building with just the light of my cellphone. I was hearing all kind of sounds coming from the dark hallways, but I made it to the rooftop and all I can say is that it was completely worth it.
What is your dream shot? (Where, what time of day, what’s in it / the subject?)
That would be an arial shot of the Golden Gate Bridge between 1PM – 4PM. The Golden Gate Bridge and part of the ocean around it. A whole new perspective of the bridge.
What is your favorite app to use for photo editing on the go, and what are your top 3 favorite filters?
My favorite app is Adobe Lightroom, and my 3 favorites filters are Dynamic, Flat, and Cross Process 2.
How does Instagram and the #SFGuide community inspire you?
Instagram and the #SFGuide community have been an amazing tool to share and show my photos. It also has a great impact on my followers. The #SFGuide community inspires me to keep going and never stop. When I see other posts by photographers, I can’t help but think that my dream shot is not impossible.
What are your favorite San Francisco-based Instagram accounts to follow?
@nowrongwaysf @sanfranciscopulse @sanfrancisco
What type of camera do you use? And what is your dream camera?
My camera is a Canon T5. Honestly I never thought about it, but if I had the opportunity it will be the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.
What are your favorite settings in your idea shot?
Lens: 18-55mm
Aperture: F3.5
Shutter Speed: 8 sec.
ISO: 100
White Balance: AWB
Focus (Manual / Auto): Manual
Image Format (RAW / JPEG): JPEG
What advice would you give to new or rising photographers that you wish you had received when you first started?
“NEVER GIVE UP.” You’re the boss of your own time. Practice and never stop shooting until you’ve captured the shot you were looking for.
What do you love about living in the San Francisco Bay Area?
I love the diversity of the places that San Francisco and the Bay Area has to offer. Plus there’s a handful of different cultures that I can explore and show through a camera lens.
