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Capitol Christmas
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Capitol Christmas



behind the lens badge
cameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III

settings Aperture 8/1 ISO 100 Shutter 16/1 Focal Length 35/1 

upload_dateMay, 2016

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2141

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Awards

Contest Finalist in Holiday Lights Photo Contest 2017
Runner Up in Iconic Places and Things Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Iconic Places and Things Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in City Views Photo Contest
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Peer Award
cricketnrp kenkast2 MyLensPassion germenaantoninamauney ks_pics Tilley torla +52
Absolute Masterpiece
dantaylor_3680 Devanpayne photoflea throughmycamera kaych22 nandicmb JayneBug +31
Superb Composition
Tanya333 annmor angelundercover coxcraig ragnarvagmrnasson pamelaseals Adaospina16 +12
Magnificent Capture
sigridbh LeonovPhoto efimbirenbaum Hippiechic Moorthy joestanley lhartney +6
Top Choice
Gayle_Solis michellekiba geoffreynash BOULENGER DonnaTurner jerseybrat611 carolcardillo +2
Superior Skill
Starrienight nycajun VictorHawk mcampi
All Star
irishlad daydreamsbymary0710 Mudmonkey
Outstanding Creativity
zkrol heatond1 anthonymannion

Emotions

Impressed
Cruiser87 GNikolovPhotography joshross_5596 dantaylor_3680

Top Ranks

Holiday Lights Photo Contest 2017Top 20 rank
Fish Eye And Wide Angle Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Fish Eye And Wide Angle Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Iconic Places and Things Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Iconic Places and Things Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
View more
Iconic Places and Things Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
City Views Photo ContestTop 10 rank
HDR Landscapes Photo Contest Explore SeriesTop 20 rank
HDR Landscapes Photo Contest Explore SeriesTop 10 rank week 2
HDR Landscapes Photo Contest Explore SeriesTop 10 rank week 1
3 Comments |
Starrienight PRO+
 
Starrienight June 18, 2017
Beautiful image of one og my favorite place! Congratulations!
Drawmeafish Ultimate
 
Drawmeafish June 22, 2017
Love this photo 'n
GNikolovPhotography
 
GNikolovPhotography December 09, 2019
I will be happy if you join my holiday challenge

viewbug.com/challenge/the-magic-of-holidays-photo-challenge-by-gnikolovphotography

Submitted to Photo Contests
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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo at the United States Capitol Building in Washington DC.

Time

This shot was taken at 7:24PM in the evening on December 19, 2013.

Lighting

The US Capitol Building is lit well and the night skies on a clear moonless night make the lights glow around the building.

Equipment

Equipment and camera settings: Canon EOS 5D Mark III EF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM ƒ/8.0 35.0 mm 16 ISO-100 MeFoto Carbon Tripod

Inspiration

The Holiday Season is a special time in the Washington DC area and its the only time of the year when Capitol Hill is lit. So I wanted to capture the Capitol Christmas tree in front of the lit Capitol Building at night. The colors in DC are fantastic this time of year,

Editing

I took 3 exposures for HDR processing. I blended the exposures in Photoshop using luminosity masks.

In my camera bag

What's in my bag varies depending on what I am shooting. I primarily shoot with Canon bodies, whether it’s my 5D Mark III or 7D. I bought a Sony Alpha 7M2 last year. I enjoy the Sony because it is lighter and is just as capable as my Canon bodies. Also I really like the crop feature on the Sony – it’s like having two cameras in one. I have any one of these bodies in my bag when walking around. For general shooting, I most likely have my 16-35 mm wide angle and a 28-135 mm zoom. However, if I am specifically shooting architecture I choose either my 8 mm or 14 mm Rokinon lenses in addition to my 16-35 mm. For landscapes, I bring along my 50 mm f1.4 prime and my 16-35 mm. For time lapse, I primarily rely on my 16-35 mm, and, for portraits, I use my 70-200mm f2.8. I have a Comlite adapter for fitting my Canon lenses on my Sony Alpha 7M2.

Feedback

Night shooting can be tricky. You will need a tripod to shoot long exposures. Also because you will have to shoot long exposures, objects can move in the shot causing streaks or smears. This effect can be undesirable. So you have to choose your shooting location and time with this in mind. At this time of night, there is very little activity on Capitol Hill (the location of the US Capitol Building). I intentionally drove into DC at this time of night to get this shot. I chose to shoot multiple exposures so that I could to control the highlights and shadows in post-production. Shooting multiple exposures allows for more control of the dynamic range of light in post - you would;t have the same control with one exposure. Learning how to use bracketing on your camera (if you have this feature) and how to blend multiple exposures in Photoshop (or some HDR applications such at Photomatix or Nik's HDR Efex Pro 2) is essential. There are other techniques for achieving HDR results, but, this is the one I frequently use. There is a plethora of information on the Internet and YouTubes videos on how to achieve HDR. Hopes this help.

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