Night Lights In San Diego
I captured this out of the window of my hotel room in San Diego. The way the sky complimented the city lights left me speechless, I simply had to take this phot...
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I captured this out of the window of my hotel room in San Diego. The way the sky complimented the city lights left me speechless, I simply had to take this photograph, as we said goodbye to another day on this amazing journey.
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Aug, 2020Views
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Action Award
Zenith Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
Spring 21 Award
Fall Award 2020
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo from my hotel room window in San Diego, we were staying on the 12th floor. I love staying in tall buildings as they give you access to amazing views such as this.Time
I took this photograph back in August 2019, while on holiday in San Diego. It was captured during golden hour as the sun was setting in the distance, at around 18:30pm.Lighting
The aim of this photo was to highlight the amazing colours of the sky, I only had a short time frame to take it, as the setting sun cascades different shades very quickly. I could see the defined layers of different colours and wanted to capture them as they were.Equipment
To capture this photograph, I used my Nikon D7200, a Tamron 18-200mm lens, my Manfrotto tripod and shutter release cable. I also used my Ultimate lens hood to block out any reflections shown in the window, such as the lights in the hotel room. I shot it using an ISO of 400, an aperture of F/9 and a shutter speed of 6 seconds. I chose these camera settings as I wanted to capture as much detail as possible, especially in the shadows without overexposing the highlights, or capturing too much grain.Inspiration
I was inspired to capture this photograph, by the exceptional colours of the sky. I have always been enchanted by the sky and the colours it can depict, especially during golden hour. It is mesmerising, as you never know if you’ll see that colour combination again, so I always make sure I never miss an opportunity to capture them. Simply put, it wasn’t an option to not take this photograph. I quickly grabbed my equipment, setting it up directly in the middle of the window and began shooting.Editing
For this photograph, I chose to enhance the overall image in Lightroom, using the basic correction sliders. Once I made my basic improvements I then increased the vibrance and saturation and of the colours, to make them even more magnificent.In my camera bag
The main equipment I always have in my bag is my Nikon D7200, my standard Tamron 18-200mm lens, my Tokina 11-16mm wide angle lens and my tripod. I always make sure I have spare SD cards, lens wipes and a spare battery. As well as these depending on what I’m shooting or where, I will also bring my Cokin Z Pro filters and a shutter release cable, in case I want to capture long exposures.Feedback
The best advice I can give is keep your equipment close and always be looking around. Be prepared to try different shots, shoot at differing times of day, alternate your equipment, try a different lens. But always keep shooting. Where possible try to plan out what you’re going to shoot, so that when you get there you already have an idea of your surroundings and know what and when you are going to capture your photographs.
