These City Lights
People from all walks of life, gather at the Brooklyn riverfront to enjoy the scenic view of Lower Manhattan at twilight......
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People from all walks of life, gather at the Brooklyn riverfront to enjoy the scenic view of Lower Manhattan at twilight...
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Mar, 2017Views
1081
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Awards
People's Choice in City Photos Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Superior Skill
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 20 rankTop 10 rank week 2Top 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
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Behind The Lens
Location
This twilight image of Lower Manhattan, was captured from a hillside in Brooklyn Bridge Park, along the Brooklyn waterfront of the East River. I specifically choose a location, behind the people gathered at the water's edge, that was elevated, in order to bring the people into the image. I was trying to capture the scene as if the viewer of the image was one of the people that evening, experiencing the full impact of the magnificent skyline under a spectacular sky. Whether you were the lovers sitting on the bench or the tourists peering through binoculars, you were truly rewarded this evening, with an amazing view.Time
'These City Lights' or 'Twilight View' as I sometimes call it, was captured just after sundown, at the end of a late summer day.Lighting
Lighting for this image was critical, as I was trying to capture the twilight skyline. While we all know twilight or blue hour is supposed to last an hour, the reality is, prime lighting for a capture like this, is much shorter. You basically have about a 20 minute window, as you have to wait patiently until the sun goes down past the horizon, but not too long or the sky will be dark.Equipment
This image was captured using my Canon 70D with EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens mounted on my trusty Sirui compact tripod. I chose a 5 second exposure to allow for all the vibrant detail in the frame to be captured and the people, boats and clouds to be slightly and pleasantly blurred.Inspiration
The skyline of New York City is one of the most inspirational and recognizable skylines in the world. As the sun sets, after long summer days, viewers are often rewarded with incredible lighting as the deep blue of the sky is complimented with the building lights that come flickering on.Editing
Post processing of this image was done in Lightroom 5, where I strove to format it to more accurately reflect the details of this magnificent evening. Shot from a distance at a wide 24mm, I need to correct for chromatic aberration that occurred around the edges. I did this by flattening the image so the buildings' vertical lines were straightened. Additionally, I found that I needed to turn down the yellow from the city lights, that often causes clouds to appear brownish. Finally, because I wanted the people in the foreground to be an integral part of this image, and I wanted you, the viewer of the image, to feel like you were one of the people viewing this scene, I raised the shadows and lifted the exposure of the foreground, where the people are standing along the water's edge.In my camera bag
Typically, on an evening landscape shoot, without knowing exactly what I will encounter, I bring my Canon photography backpack with Canon 70D body, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens and more recently, the Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM Lens. I also make sure my battery pack is fully charged and my memory card has plenty of room and always bring lens cleaner (soft cloth). Together with my Sirui telescoping tripod, that's all I need for an evening of fun.Feedback
Patience, patience, patience. And timing and preparedness. These elements all come together to capture an image like this. You literally have minutes to capture the twilight sky in Manhattan and with clouds often moving quickly, your window for an epic sky, is quite short. What this means is that you should be prepared ahead of time. Know where you are going, know what gear you will need, make sure you battery is well charged, your tripod is functioning and your lens' are clean. Set-up ahead of time. If the sun sets at 7:15, make sure you are in position by 7pm. This will give you time to both set-up and frame your picture as you want it. Truth is, I originally set up for this image, much closer to the water's edge. but when I observed all the people gathering and realized that I wanted to bring them into the image, I moved up a slightly sloping hillside, further away from the water. So plan ahead of time, know your camera and its settings and get into position. But most of all, have fun!
