Reflections of Union Station
Oct, 2015Views
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DuffyDoherty
March 06, 2016
I like the relationship between past and present captured here. Nicely done!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in mid-town Kansas City, just east and a little north of Kansas City's historic Union Station.Time
This was taken at sunset, as you might guess from the lighting.Lighting
The lighting was completely coincidental. Sometimes, accidents work out better than the best planning. My rules for career success are: 1) Know the right people, 2) Be in the right place at the right time, and 3) Have the ability to recognize the first two when they come together (where this 3rd rule is the most important of the three). My rules for lighting success run in parallel: 1) Know the right light, 2) Be in the right place at the right time, and 3) Have the ability to recognize the first two when they come together. As with the first rule set, the 3rd rule is the most important of the three. That said, it's important to note that this final image is the processed result of a 5-bracket exposure.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon 70D and a Sigma 70 ~ 200mm "f/2.8 APO EX DG HSM OS FLD" lens. (That's a mouthful of a lens, no?) I had the camera on a Dolica AX620B100 tripod; I pulled the trigger with a SMDV RFN-4 wireless shutter controller.Inspiration
I'm not a very good landscape or architectural photographer, and the vast majority of my better shots (probably better than 90%) in these categories are the results of pure discovery rather than planning (Hey, that looks cool! <Snap!>). In this case, this image is the direct result of some rather careful planning and analysis. I had been shooting KC's WWI monument when I noticed the newer building behind Union Station and decided that I wanted to somehow get the old and new architecture together as counterpoints in the same image, a kind of a new vs. old thing. I then hiked about 1/4 mile to get the shot. Once on street level, it took me about 15 minutes of checking various vantage points before I finally got the angle that I wanted - and it just so happened that the lighting worked out brilliantly.Editing
As noted above, this image is a 5-bracket HDR; I did that using NIK's HDR Efex Pro in Photoshop CC. Also in PSCC, in the very, very lower right of the image, I painted out some stray tree branches in the reflection; is that horrible? Finally, I used DxO Optics Pro to correct the vertical lines (which aren't actually exactly straight up-and-down, because it didn't look right when I did that).In my camera bag
I carry a Canon 80D as my primary body and a 70D as my backup. I've had people question my body choice: Why don't you shoot full-frame? Why don't you use a pro body? I won't apologize for buying Canon's best bang-for-the-buck. Right now today, without going to the DX 1 Mark II or the brand new 5D Mark IV, you can't get a better performing Canon body - and until or unless Canon updates the 7D, it's their (probably unintentional) flagship APS-C camera. As for lenses, my go-to is the above-referenced Sigma 70 ~ 200mm for planned outings. For portrait work, I use Sigma's new 50 ~ 100mm F1.8 DC HSM Art lens (which is designed for APS-C sensors, by the way). If I'm looking to grab-and-go, I'll just stick the Canon 40mm pancake lens on the 80D and be on my way.Feedback
I didn't realize it at the time, but I was racing the sun to get this image - and it wound up being a huge factor in the success of this picture. With that in mind, if you can get a sufficiently sharp zoom lens, I recommend using one - it will save you the precious time you'd have to spend repositioning the camera while using a prime lens. On a similar note, wide angle lenses are generally recommended for architectural shots like this - but I've never had any luck going that route. I recommend a standard zoom, probably no more than 50mm on the wide end. I was pleased with myself on this point a couple years ago when I saw a video where Moose Peterson said you should be using a long lens for landscapes (which is effectively, I think, what cityscape and most architectural photography are). Next, always shoot stuff like this exposure-bracketed. You'll be hard-pressed to find a modern DSLR that can't be set to automatically do at least 3 brackets, and shooting bracketed not only helps to ensure that you'll get a properly exposed image but also gives you the flexibility to do HDR in post-processing. Speaking of HDR, give that a shot (pardon the pun) as well. Now that Google has made NIK free, there's no excuse not to at least try your hand at HDR - especially since the HDR module can be used stand-alone with some fiddling and some care. Of course, HDR is now built into Adobe Camera RAW and has been built into Photoshop for a very long time, so if you're a Photoshop or Lightroom user, you *really* have no excuse for not trying HDR. Even if you hate HDR, you might be surprised at the results! Finally, especially if you're shooting at sunset, and even more so if you have HDR in mind, use a tripod and a remote trigger. Always!
