Willis Tower and Light Trails
Dec, 2015Views
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Contest Finalist in City Life In Black And White Photo Contest
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Contest Finalist in Motion In Black And White Photo Contest
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this on Chicago Avenue overlooking the Kennedy expressway in October 2015. This location is one of the best to capture light trails in Chicago.Time
The photo was taken at night around 8 pm. Rush hour was over so the chance to capture light trails were greater at this time. The weather was nice and ideal for shooting.Lighting
This street is pretty well lit at night. Plus, the lights from the expressway and traffic ensured that the image would not be hidden in darkness. Downtown Chicago is always well lit at night and it was well caught in delayed exposure..Equipment
This shot was taken with a Nikon D7100 and Nikkor 18-140 mm DX lens. A tripod was used for the shot since it was a delayed exposure shot.Inspiration
I have shot from this location before but I felt that I could get a better capture. On this night, the antennas of the Willis Tower were brightly lit. Also, the traffic was moving briskly on the Kennedy expressway. This made the conditions perfect to capture beautiful light trails on the expressway. The backdrop of downtown Chicago made it nicer.Editing
I did minimal post processing in Lightroom for the shadows and black levels of the photo.In my camera bag
My current photo gears includes: Nikon D7100, Nikkor 18-140 mm DX lens, Nikkor 55-300 mm DX lens, Tokina 11-16 DX lens, and a remote control for the shutter. I also use a tripod from Sunpak for night photography.Feedback
The keys to capturing light trails are location and time. Heavy traffic situations do not allow for beautiful light trails. The ideal time is to wait after evening rush hour. You will still have enough cars and they will be moving rapidly in order to capture pretty light trails. A tripod is a must, along with a remote control for the shutter. I used shutter mode, F29, ISO 100, exposure of 30 sec for this photo. One can probably use a lower F stop for the photo and lessen the exposure to 5 seconds. If you have an open view of a road with a beautiful backdrop, you are half way there to taking a spectacular light trail shot.
