Hungarian Parliament at Daybreak
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest, Hungary
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Jun, 2015Views
8262
Likes
Awards
Contender in the Photography Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Perfect Reflections Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Around the World Photo Contest By Discovery
Contest Finalist in 500 Stormy Clouds Photo Contest
Featured
Contest Finalist in Using Filters Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Discover Europe Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Around the World Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in 500 Buildings Photo Contest
People's Choice in Classical Architecture Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Classical Architecture Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Light On Water Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Categories
nandicmb
October 01, 2015
Congratulations on your People's Choice category win in Classical Architecture Photo Contest!
Platinum
Platinum
kenderby
November 10, 2015
Thanks! I got lucky on this one. The reflections. The clouds. Couldn't ask for much more.
DBurb
November 20, 2015
Outstanding,"People's Choice" is awesome privilege! Also, ViewBug is very thankful for your amazing artistic photography! Wonderful you share with VB and 1,000 are able to enjoy the beauty thru your eyes!! Congrats!!
From the Curator Team at View Bug.
From the Curator Team at View Bug.
Platinum
kenderby
November 20, 2015
Thanks for your kind words and thanks to all that voted for my photo. There are many wonderful photos posted at VB, so I am honored that my was chosen by the "people."
Platinum
Premium
sarahmirkin
April 28, 2016
Such a gorgeous, incredible shot! What type of filter did you use? Congrats on all the awards you've gotten for it! So deserving!
Platinum
kenderby
April 28, 2016
Thanks for your kind words. They are much appreciated. I used a ND2 or ND4 filter to make the shot. I don't remember exactly which one I used, though. Regardless, I got lucky with the reflections, clouds, and lighting. I also got attacked by about a million mosquitos when taking the shot, so at the time I wasn't too thrilled to be shooting. Of course, I'm now very happy with the end result. Thanks again.
Platinum
kenderby
March 19, 2017
Thanks! People love this photo, and I got lucky with lighting, the storm clouds, etc. But photographing static objects are not too interesting to me. I'd much rather photograph what is taking place on the streets, etc.
Platinum
Platinum
RachelKey
August 29, 2018
What an Amazing building. Thanks for your Great, light, reflective and contrasted shot!!!
Platinum
photojeanne
March 01, 2021
Stunning capture! I have traveled there and the night shots are breathtaking!
pathopkins
January 07, 2023
Amazing photo! Suberb lighting and perfect composition. Great atmosphere with the background of clouds in the sky! Plus, the reflections are excellent! Everything came together with perfect timing by you!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I’m an amateur "shoot-for-the-fun-of-it" photographer. I take pics of whatever catches my eye, heart, and head. I took this photo of the Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary (aka “The Pearl of the Danube”) on the opposite bank of the Danube River.Time
Budapest is a beautiful city, but it’s most beautiful in the soft light of early morning and late evening. One problem with shooting the Danube in the evening is that many boats cruise up-and-down the river, and they can sometimes interfere with what you want to shoot, especially long exposure shots. So I knew that the best shot of the Parliament would be in the early morning because there would be few boats on the river. So a buddy and I got up early one Saturday morning and headed down to the river before dawn. As the sky slowly lit up, about a billion (at least it seemed to be a billion) mosquitos swarmed the river . . . and us! The mosquito attack lasted for ten minutes and was really irritating, but it was well worth it because we got some great photos in the end.Lighting
Honestly, as we stood on the bank of the Danube and watched the sun slowly light up, I was disappointed. I had hoped that the sky would hold some light wispy clouds, so that it would light up with cotton candy colors as the sun was rising. I figured that this would be a lovely backdrop for the Parliament building. Well, the sky was filled with angry storm clouds, and I wasn’t happy about this, especially since I got up at 4:00 am! Well, when I got home and took a look at the photos on my computer, I discovered that the angry clouds provided a dramatic backdrop for the Parliament building, and they accentuated the lights of the building and the reflection of the lights on the water. Of course, I was very pleased with the end result.Equipment
I shot this photo with a Samsung NX300M, a 18-55mm Lens, and a tripod.Inspiration
Well . . . the inspiration is the building itself. If you’ve seen it, the Parliament building is beautiful at any time of day, but its classical beauty heightens at night when it’s illuminated. It’s really a no-brainer. Take a photo of the Parliament building during the day, and you will be happy with it, but take a photo at night, and you will be ecstatic with it.Editing
I shot the photo in RAW, and I did minimal post-processing. I removed a bit of noise with MacPhun’s Noiseless Pro, and I sharpened the photo a bit with MacPhun’s Intensify Pro.In my camera bag
I carry as little possible when I’m out shooting. For a bag, I use a Metrosafe™ 250 GII anti-theft shoulder bag. It is not a camera bag, but it’s padded, unobtrusive, safe, and it holds my stuff fine . . . and it doesn’t look like a camera bag! Currently, I shoot with an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, and it goes with me everywhere I go. I always have my M.Zuiko 17mm f1.8 prime lens with me. In addition, I’ll carry either my M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO, my M.Zuiko ED 40-150mm f2.8 PRO, or my M.Zuiko ED 14-150mm f4.0-5.6 II. I also use a Sun-Sniper "Steel" Shoulder Camera Strap, so that my camera always hangs on my hip and can be quickly grabbed when needed. The lenses I carry with me depends on what I plan to shoot for the day. I also carry two extra batteries, a lens brush, a lens cleaning cloth, and a small bottle of liquid lens cleaner. That’s it!Feedback
To capture a similar photo, I think it’s important to be familiar with the surroundings and to take a lot of shots. I shot in aperture priority, and I took about 50 shots at several different exposures (ranging from 1 second to 30 seconds). I also used a neutral density filter (ND4) on a few shots, but in the end, I wasn’t happy with the results on this particular shoot. Out of the 50 shots I took, one or two were good, and the rest disappeared when I hit the delete key on my computer. In my opinion, the key is to take many shots (with different shutter, aperture, white balance, settings, etc.) and in the end, if you are lucky, you might come away with one or two good photos. And . . . don’t be afraid to use the delete key on your computer . . . and if none of your shots were good, delete all of them, and then go out and shoot some more . . . and have fun!
