Very long exposure (~3 minutes) of the Ponte Vecchio bridge and Arno River in Florence, taken on a rainy evening.
Very long exposure (~3 minutes) of the Ponte Vecchio bridge and Arno River in Florence, taken on a rainy evening.
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image of the Ponte Vecchio was taken from a bridge crossing the Arno River, in Florence, Italy. I was there on a business trip.Time
This image is a personal favorite. I was walking around Florence, carrying my camera gear and tripod, in the rain. The shot was taken at about 5 pm, right around sunset, but with the overcast skies and rain the sun was not visible.Lighting
In spite of the overcast sky and rain, the light was still nice, with some intense blues in the clouds and the corresponding reflections in the river. The lights on the Ponte Vecchio and the colored streetlamps reflecting in the river provided a nice mix of color.Equipment
This image was taken with a Canon 5D Mark III camera and a Canon 16-35mm zoom lens, zoomed to about 35mm I believe. I used a 6 stop neutral density filter attached to the lens and a Canon electronic shutter release. I thought a long exposure might create some interesting effects in this light. The exposure here was a touch over 3 minutes. The other important piece of equipment I used was an umbrella, covering the camera and photographer during a series of long exposures!Inspiration
I was in Florence for just a couple of days, and the weather was horrible. Overcast skies and intermittent pouring rain the entire visit. Inspired by the light and beautiful architecture of the Ponte Vecchio. I decided to venture out in the rain and take some shots. I decided to take a long exposure here in an effort to create something interesting and unusual in spite of the conditions.Editing
I always capture in RAW. In this case, I liked the look of the in-camera generated jpeg so much that I simply used the Canon Landscape setting in Adobe Camera Raw to recreate the in-camera look. The only other adjustments were to use the healing brush in Photoshop to clean up unsightly debris on the banks of the river and remove dust spots.In my camera bag
At this time this shot was taken I carried a Canon 5D Mark III along with 8-16, 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200mm L series zoom lenses. I also carried a Manfrotto tripod, B&H neutral density filters and a Canon electronic shutter release for long exposures. These days I carry primarily a Phase One XF medium format digital camera, with a Phase One IQ260 digital back, along with 28, 35, 55 and 80mm Phase One prime lenses. I also carry a Lee filter holder and a variety of ND filters. I recently replaced my 5D Mark III with the new Canon 5D Mark IV and shoot regularly with that setup also. When shooting long exposures Its good to have a second camera handy....Feedback
My basic thought process is as follows: When I see something that captures my eye, I set up and take the shot. I don't hesitate to set up a tripod to be sure I capture sharp images. Composition and exposure rule, so I try to get the composition and exposure right in camera - I don't enjoy post-processing and I don't like to crop or use software to "save" an image. I try to keep it simple. Once I have a shot I like, I'll look at the scene again and ask myself "what can I do to make this scene different, or more interesting?". Frequently, that means taking a long exposure (a few seconds to several minutes) to capture movement in the clouds or water, or capture reflections of light or buildings in water made still by the long exposure. Sometimes it means moving the camera, or changing lenses. Experiment! Pixels and memory are reusable!