Night photography often attracts new photographers attention but many I find have little idea how to go about it.
It’s not as scary as one may think.
Brisbane's Story Bridge
OBJECTIVE:
I’d taken several photos from the other side of the bridge and several of the city without the bridge on this evening but decided I wanted to find a view that wasn’t seen as often. I drove around the roads that skirted the river until I saw this view and decided it was what I’d been looking for. The reflections and city as a backdrop fitting nicely for me.
COMPOSITION:
I could have chosen several focal lengths here but found too many distraction out wide of the bridge and found that by zooming out I introduced too many foreground elements as well. In the end I decided to zoom in to eliminate as much as I could of those distractions but leave enough in the foreground to show the height above the water.
SETUP & SETTINGS:
30 secs – f8 – ISO 100. 18mm focal length. No filters on the lens. Tripod.
The settings you choose will often vary depending on how dark it is and how much light there is in the scene. I usually choose around f8 for my aperture because it’s usually reasonably sharp on most lenses and gives a good depth of field as well. A lower ISO setting helps to reduce noise. Then I adjust the shutter speed to cater for the amount of light. In a brighter scene I might have used only around 10 secs or less.
POST PROCESSING:
I straightened the shot because it was a bit lopsided and I slightly boosted the colours from memory.
END RESULT:
There are some pretty colours you can catch shooting Brisbane from across the river but shooting from this view added in that dominant orange reflection from the bridge lights which I thought was very striking and bright enough to create a silhouette effect in the foreground. This added some depth perception also.
I like this shot. It looks like a postcard. In fact I bet you could sell it as one, the black space at the top is screaming for a city/location title.
Thanks for that Tony