Light of Guangzhao
Dec, 2015Views
269
Likes
Awards
Zenith Award
Great Shot
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Chengdu Sichuan Province China. It was on a romantic walk by the river with my then fiance (now happily married) and despite not having my tripod handy I could not resist trying to capture the beautiful lights reflecting off the water.Time
We had just finished a wonderful meal in a local restaurant and had set off some time around 10pm so I think approx time of this shot would be 11pm.Lighting
I wanted to capture the reflections of the bridge lights in the water as well as get that silky effect in the water and with a lot of background light pollution from the city lights, it was difficult to get the right angle for a long exposure. The challenge of finding the right place to shoot from is what led me to find this great angle also. Using a small brick pillar nearby to steady myself (I had no tripod) I held my breath hoping to stay steady and snapped off about 6-8 shots before finally getting 2 that were acceptable.Equipment
Shot on Canon 50D with 17-185 USM lens at f/4, 1600 ISO, 1/40 17mm focal lengthInspiration
The night was a very romantic evening with my then fiance and the lighting and mood of the entire scene just fit perfectly.Editing
Very little post is done here, a simple push of the brightness and slight contrast boost was all that was done with this shot.In my camera bag
I was a bit of a gear hound in years gone by so was often caught lugging around a back pack and trolley with a mountain of gear to cover almost any situation. Now I realise that most of the stuff I had was unnecessary so normally just take out my Canon 50D with 17-185mm glass (covers just about everything I need) and my trusty old 420ex speedlight, the Velbon tripod is an option but not always carried . I will also carry my little Olympus Pen because it is so light and small I barely notice it and it is a decent little backup if something went wrong with the SLR plus it can do nice little videos.Feedback
Use a tripod lol. Actually doing this without a tripod is quite challenging and rewarding when you get the shot. I guess the best advice would be to spend time getting your framing right before taking any shots. It was the time I spent looking at the shot from many angles that allowed me to finally find that space where I could capture the best of the lights and also not have the light pollution from the city interrupting the shot too much.
