São Paulo Bokeh
São Paulo Bokeh
São Paulo Bokeh
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Dec, 2014Views
825
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Awards
Featured
Runner Up in Concrete Jungle Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Concrete Jungle Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
All Star
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from my old apartment in the famous Copan building in downtown São Paulo. The magnificent view made me feel like batman every evening. Unfortunately the massive amount of crime in the area made it dangerous to take my camera outside (even batman would hesitate here...). so for the first 3 months in Brasil I only shot from my apartment window!Time
This was shot just a little after dusk, once all the lights in the buildings had come on.Lighting
The golden light is a combination of smog (inevitable in such a city) and a warm white balance. I used NIK color efex 4's color contrast filter to bring a little variation back into the colour of the buildings, which were a little too yellow due to the sodium street lights.Equipment
I shot this on a 4 year old, very well used, Panasonic GF1. I used a vintage 55mm Super-Takumar lens on an adaptor which gave me 110mm on my camera. I used a basic tripod and made a panorama of about 10 vertical shots (this photo is huge!!!)Inspiration
Look at that view.... do you need any more inspiration!?Editing
This is where the dirty truth comes out. There is no camera/lens combination that will give you this kind of Bokeh where everything in the shot is so far away. I used NIK analogue efex to add the bokeh to the bottom half of the photo. I wanted the eye to be drawn back into the city and this effect does just that. It's a nice photo without the bokeh, but the foreground is so busy that you can lose sight of that wonderful skyline in the center of the picture.In my camera bag
Since I took this photo I've upgraded both my camera and my bag! I use a Panasonic GX7. In my bag I always have my 2 favourite lenses, the SLR Magic Hyperprime CINE t-0.95 (astonishing lens), and my Samyang 7.5mm f/3.5 fisheye. I'm a manual focus and prime lens fan. One day I'll swap the samyang for the Voigtlander 10mm f/0.95 but only when I can afford it! Other than a wrist strap, SD cards and spare Batteries that's about it. I use a small ONA Bowery bag. This is literally a life saver in Brasil as it doesn't look like a camera bag, and is inconspicuous enough that most people don't notice you have a bag at all. Sao Paulo is a dangerous place. People don't even take their cell phones out on the streets here. Walking into the wrong street with the wrong camera bag could get you shot (not something I'm planning on doing). That's also why I shoot m4/3 cameras rather than the bigger more conspicuous full frame canons and nikons.Feedback
Get up high and try to get into the same spot for a few nights as you never know what your light is going to be like. And don't be afraid to play around with filters in photoshop/lightroom. Just try to avoid the automatic settings and really learn to do your own thing!
