Stained
It's hard to explore a city such as New York, when you are limited for a flight layover. This was my first time on the city and just had a few hours to tak...
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It's hard to explore a city such as New York, when you are limited for a flight layover. This was my first time on the city and just had a few hours to take some shots. As every tourist, I went early in the morning to Manhattan hoping for some sunrise colors. Instead, it was foggy, and for me, a perfect chance to practice some long exposures. This was one of the shots I got at Brooklyn bridge.
I now know why this is a preferred location for photographers. Lots of interesting shots. Unfortunately couldn't spend so much time there, as I wanted to do some more walking. I also wanted to cross any of the bridges on foot. I've seen really nice pictures, and thought that the mood was perfect to capture some people. Anyway, I decided to go through the beaten path and head to Central Park. I really need more time to capture both the skyline and its inhabitants. It just such a diverse and vibrant city. Hope to see you soon.
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I now know why this is a preferred location for photographers. Lots of interesting shots. Unfortunately couldn't spend so much time there, as I wanted to do some more walking. I also wanted to cross any of the bridges on foot. I've seen really nice pictures, and thought that the mood was perfect to capture some people. Anyway, I decided to go through the beaten path and head to Central Park. I really need more time to capture both the skyline and its inhabitants. It just such a diverse and vibrant city. Hope to see you soon.
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Jul, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken during a one-day layover in New York City, the Manhattan Bridge to be exact. This was my first time in the city and only had about 24 hours to explore it. It was a rush all the time, but I had to get out of the airport and shoot.Time
I only had one morning and didn´t want to expect. It was in the middle of the 2015 unusual hot winter (December 14th), so there was a little chance of snowing (it only snowed by February I think!) but had no idea how the weather was gonna be early in the morning. I have had seen wonderful pictures of the Brooklyn-Manhattan Bridge before, so I checked the Photographer's ephemeris and realize that the sun was going to rise within of the frame of the bridges between 6:30 am and 7:00 am from the Manhattan side. Not too early right! So decided to give it a shot and walk there for my first hours at the city, only to see a thick fog. Obviously, no dramatic colors were present, but nonetheless, the cold mood was perfect to try some long exposures and try to capture the fog dissipating. It was fun to see how the image I had in my mind, turned slowly into the opposite, with great results.Lighting
Mother nature is my photoshoot assistant and she is very temperamental. Not always follows my instructions. Actually, she never does. For this, instead of giving me some nice gelled sky colors, she put a humongous diffusor on top of the scene, to make it moodier and let me play with slower shutter speeds. I think she knows best.Equipment
Thinking of capturing both bridges, I took it with a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 mounted on a Nikon D750. A tripod was required and a Manfrotto MK190XPRO4 with a 3-way pan head did the job. No filters involved.Inspiration
I just wanted to see how NYC wakes up. More than the photo itself, I think was the walk there what was more interesting. As I said, my expectations involved a 'dramatic sunrise' and the inspiration seen in some low light pictures I had seen before. All changed with the fog, but for good now that I think about it. It gave a real feel of NYC's winter, even with no snow present. It kind of represents this laziness of getting out of bed, since you know is going to be cold anyway.Editing
The scene itself was almost in black and white, so I felt obliged to convert it. Besides, the textures in the clouds, the water, and the bridge, were also screaming for some monochrome love. My preferred software for this treatment is definitively Google's Silver Efex Pro 2. It is not only free but the level of control on every detail of the black and white conversion is just amazing. Never two conversions are equal with this tool. I only used one exposure and the cleaning of some rain drops, distortion and sharpening were carried out in Photoshop.In my camera bag
I don't own a lot of gear, but perhaps the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 is the most consistent. It's lightweight, crazy sharp, and you can shoot pretty much everything with this lens in any kind of light: portraits, street photography, landscapes or architecture. In Bogota, where I live, we don´t have too many safaris or wildlife (besides humans, but most of them are rather nice and easy to approach) and I'm not into sports either, so I don't see the point to carry a large telephoto lens. Sometimes I missed it when I want compression in landscapes, but it hasn't been enough to invest in it. For travelling, it depends on the destination. In hiking trips well known for vast landscapes and beautiful scenery in any direction, a super wide is almost mandatory. So in this kind of situations, the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 never left my bag. Also, a headlamp, a rain cover and a tripod are essential for this journeys.Feedback
Being prepared and open-minded for everything. It's easy to get frustrated when an idea doesn't become a reality, especially when time is not an ally. When things don't come as planned, the anger clouds the mind and many opportunities are missed. Wake up early, and try to walk to your desired destination. If it is too far, try to park the car away or get out from the bus/train a few blocks before. Walking there helps to get in touch with the surrounding's mood and prepares your eyes to a different sight (if any), and quickly can change your chip to new ideas. On the technical side, I'd have loved to have a big stopper ND filter here.I just can imagine those moving clouds getting out of the frame from the bridges. This was just 1 sec exposure, and some movement is spotted. Now picture it with a 20 or 30 sec. Nice huh?
