Long Island's Christmas Tree
Braved the cold tonight and went down to the Reckson Plaza (formerly EAB Plaza) for some shots of Long Island's Christmas Tree.
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/231784123-L.jpg
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/231784150-L.jpg
I liked the tree's reflection in the windows here:
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/231784751-L.jpg
Played with some longer shutter speeds to blur the skaters:
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/231784293-L.jpg
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/231784973-L.jpg
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/231785246-L.jpg
I want to go back out there one night and shoot right after sunset to get some color in the sky.
Re: Long Island's Christmas Tree
Why didn't they get the big one? :shock:
Re: Long Island's Christmas Tree
Re: Long Island's Christmas Tree
Great shots you two. Moose, what camera settings did you use?
Re: Long Island's Christmas Tree
Nice stuff John and Fred, in fact the only downside to being able to get out of NY earlier is that I miss the Xmas shoot with Fred Miller. Would have been enjoyable to do the Duck again or Reckson Plaza.
Re: Long Island's Christmas Tree
Quote:
Originally Posted by AirtrafficController
Great shots you two. Moose, what camera settings did you use?
Thanks. The shots of the tree (without the skaters) were all taken at ISO 100, aperture in the f/7.1 range, with shutter speeds between 1 to 8 seconds. The ones with the skaters were shorter shutter speeds, around 1/4 second, with the aperture and ISO bumped a little to compensate. I wanted a little faster shutter for those, to get a little blur, but at slower speeds all you get is a ghostly blur of motion, without any real substance. I was also experimenting with some flash (Canon 580EX) playing with some second curtain shutter sync on the flash, although I don't know that it made much of a difference at this distance.
Re: Long Island's Christmas Tree
Quote:
Originally Posted by moose135
Thanks. The shots of the tree (without the skaters) were all taken at ISO 100, aperture in the f/7.1 range, with shutter speeds between 1 to 8 seconds. The ones with the skaters were shorter shutter speeds, around 1/4 second, with the aperture and ISO bumped a little to compensate. I wanted a little faster shutter for those, to get a little blur, but at slower speeds all you get is a ghostly blur of motion, without any real substance. I was also experimenting with some flash (Canon 580EX) playing with some second curtain shutter sync on the flash, although I don't know that it made much of a difference at this distance.
Interesting...do you always shoot at ISO100 when you're on a tripod? Do you have a remote control for your camera? I was trying to do some night photography on a tripod this week, but when the shutter speed got slower than half a second, I kept getting motion blur from hitting the shutter button. So I bumped the ISO up to 800 and still ended up with usable pics :D I'm trying to figure out whether a remote would help...it looks like I can pick one up for $40 or so...
Re: Long Island's Christmas Tree
Yes, if I can, I try to keep the ISO down as low as I can. If I'm shooting at 30 seconds or less (above Bulb mode) I just used the self-timer. On a few of these (with the skaters) where I didn't want to use the timer, I used mirror-lockup - when you hit the shutter button the first time, it moves the mirror up without opening the shutter. Then next time you hit the button, it trips the shutter. This results in much less camera shake (on the tripod of course). I also have a remote, which I mostly use when in Bulb mode.
Re: Long Island's Christmas Tree
Ah, the self-timer! Brilliant! I'll give that a try on the next clear night...
