Bay Bridge at night
The Bay Lights is the world’s largest LED light sculpture, 1.8 miles wide and 500 feet high. Inspired by the Bay Bridge’s 75th Anniversary, its 25,000 white...
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The Bay Lights is the world’s largest LED light sculpture, 1.8 miles wide and 500 feet high. Inspired by the Bay Bridge’s 75th Anniversary, its 25,000 white LED lights are individually programmed by artist Leo Villareal to create a never-repeating, dazzling display across the Bay Bridge West Span through 2015.
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Mar, 2013Views
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Awards
Chatter Award
Legendary Award
Well Done
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Jaw Dropping
Peer Award
Exceptional Contrast
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
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cmorisset
March 31, 2013
Oh la la, very nice photography for a newbie. You have a good eye and are very creative. You now have a follower from Wakefield, Québec, Canada. Cheers!
FocusedOnYou
May 22, 2013
Sorry for the delay. Thank you! I'm using a Canon T3i. Also used a tripod, remote shutter release and 55-250 mm lens. Hope this helps.
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. The Ferry Building is also nearby if you're planning to take photos of the bridge. Night photography was always something I wanted to get better at. As a self-taught photographer, I'm glad I took the time to practice and was able to capture the nightlights the Bay Bridge is famous for.Time
This is by far one of my favourite images in my photography journey. I remember going with a photographer friend of mine who came to visit. If you've been to San Francisco, you know that microclimates are a real thing. It gets breezy/chilly at night especially in San Francisco. Imagine a chilly evening and we're standing out there with our tripods set up to take photos of the Bay Bridge lights - it's quite the experience as a photographer. The things we do for photos! The photo was taken on March 2013, around 9:00 pm.Lighting
When it comes to night photography, a tripod and remote shutter release are mandatory. Also, waiting for the sunset to be over was key. While a sunset by the bridge would be nice, seeing the brightness of the lights at night was definitely worth capturing. I must've taken at least 30-40 shots to get the perfect shot, not to mention walking around to get a good view. Finding that one spot to set up the tripod was needed given the surrounding street lights that might impact the shot as well.Equipment
This was taken with a Canon T3i, my first DSLR. I also used a Manfrotto tripod, remote shutter release and a Canon 55-250 mm lens. No other equipment was used.Inspiration
Since night photos was something I wanted to practice, and living in California at the time, I thought, what better way to practice than in one of the most visited and photographed cities in the world. It helps to have friends who are photographers to learn from, especially for scenes you're not familiar with. Honoria, my photographer friend who accompanied me, provided some good advice with getting the right camera settings. I'm quite proud of this photo, especially since it was taken at the time my photography skills started to flourish.Editing
Night photos do require post-processing. I used Lightroom CC, added some contrast to the water and reduced the shadows. This helped bring out the reflection of the lights on the water. This also helped make for a dramatic night sky.In my camera bag
Equipment that's normally in my bag: 55-250 mm lens, a kit lens (18-55 mm - some of my favourite photos were taken with this lens too!) and a 50 mm lens. All of these are Canon lenses. So far, these lenses have been great to work with for portraits, landscape, travel and night photos.Feedback
If you're in San Francisco or a city/town with constant temperature changes during the day, be prepared and dress appropriately for the weather. Check the weather ahead of time and also the day of, you never know when the temperature will change. This is especially true for the Bay Area/San Francisco. It can be warm during the day and then get breezy 10 minutes later. For night photos, the best advice would be to practice, and practice often. There's no better way to excel than to practice. Night photos require more patience than photos taken during the day. Don't worry if you didn't get the right shot or your camera settings were not right, keep trying different settings to get better with each shot.
