A Few Night Shots

[GB1]

On a mostly full moon evening, figured it was time for night shots.

Had to sharpen some of these quite a bit. The vertical tree pix seems busy to me, but am interested in hearing others opinions.

[Herriot]

I think that they each have their own certain qualities but it is the subject matter of the third image that captures my attention (and imagination!) the most. I think it is particularly interesting that the light trail from the moving roller coaster is intermittently broken by the posts, the car light trail on the road is also interesting that it take a small leap just to the left of the centre, was there a dip in the road or was the driver just trying to join in on the fun??!! Just a shame about some of the smog that can be seen towards the centre of the image, I have lost a lot of long exposure images close to busy roads due to this as well.

Herriot

[threelions usa]

the second one does it for me.

although i am no expert by any means. just i like it a lot.

i train soccer and for the past 2/3 nights, we have had a full moon and a cloudless sky. we have our field lighted of course, and i wondered (were i more experienced) if i could have had enough light (off to the side somewhere) to have captured a full moon over a tree that is at the end of the field.

of course asking the kids to continue while i fart about with a camera taking inordinate shots is perhaps akin to being asked to be axed from the job...

[Jimmy B]

# 2 presents it's self well, Being a back lit shot with the moon there is some light on the left trees to add to the shot.
Jimmy B

[MarcusK]

GB1, these are some nice shots...

#2 in the vertical trees is the one that works very nicely... I like the framing, and the mood it gives.... as if you were in the front of a theatre and taking a photo of these tress watching a projection of some kind.... or even maybe These trees were heading to pay homage to the moon, and give it some offering! this is where i will stop rambling!

#1 feels as though the crop is a bit tight.... and the fact that the trees on the left are leaning more than the ones on the right is also bothersome. (for me anyway)

#3 is great as well.... just one question for anyone else though.... Is it tilted?? feels like it is tilted to the right.... if it is not however... I got no issues with anything else!

Actually.... there is one thing common to all photos I figured i would leave until the end... I think they are stars.... but in any case... there are white dots in the images ( had to make a swipe at the screen first ) in #1 it it between the tallest 2 trees, another on the leaves of the second tallest tree.... in #2 it is to the left of the first tree to the right! and in #3 follow the line from number 2 down.......

Hope this helps , a pleasure as always,

Marc

[MB1]

I think the third image has the most potential but I much prefer the sky in the second one. Any way you could move around to get the moon into the coaster shot?

[GB1]

Thks!

Herriot, I did notice that smoke/haze in the center... I don't know what it is, but I didn't think it came from a car (maybe I'm wrong?). Perhaps there is a building behind all this bleaching smoke? I didn't get the chance to look... when I moved into the park after this photo and started taking shots up close, some workers descended on me yapping about how I can't take "professional" photos of the amusement park (I asked them what the difference was between someone walking around with their kids snapping shots and what I was doing .... they just babbled a bunch of stuff about me using a tripod and professional camera and how that's different. Blah blah blah - you can't win with these guys). The "bump" is a car coming out of a small parking lot there.

Unfortunately, those light gaps aren't where the train light was blocked but gaps between the lights on the tracks. I don't know if the train actually cruised this evening - it was very slow.

3L - I saw that moon and said "GOTTA TRY" and luckily had my camera gear in my car. But I'm not sure I am happy enough with the results -- the human eye seems like it can see both the moon and the trees so more clearly at the same time, whereas the camera sensor only shows 'one or the other.' The real scene was just so much better, it's disappointing.

Btw, non-photogs often look at me like I'm crazy. But some folks get it. Don't get fired over it though, there'll be plenty more full moons.

Jimmy - Thanks. I need more definition on the trees. Maybe I'd flood them with my headlights next time?

Marc - It does look dramatic when there's a full moon. The palms made for a good foreground. I agree on # 1 - it's a mess. # 3, it isn't actually titled, but I did take it at a slight angle (not directly perpendicular to the road and rollercoaster) so it may look that way. They are stars as far as I can tell, or planets that shine really bright. I could take them out easily enough.

MB - Worth a try for next time. But there's a big building on the other side that may obstruct... I will see.

[Mr Yuck]

#2 has a good feel, I like it as is.

#3 has great lighting and good composition, though I wish there was either more traffic or none at all in the foreground. Very interesting lines and angles.

[Jimmy B]

{Jimmy - Thanks. I need more definition on the trees. Maybe I'd flood them with my headlights next time?}

I think head lights would over do it, something to bring out this side a touch.
Jimmy

[Mr Yuck]

or maybe an external flash + test button, maybe some gel for the right color?

[Greg McCary]

I think they are all cropped a little to tight, but you nailed the exposure.
Greg

[Coastal Flyer]

GB,

You know how I like night shots so these appeal to me a lot. I like the color in them all. The Belmont Coaster looks great.

CF

[GB1]

MY - Probably would need to be more traffic then, for even on Weds evening that road is busy. That would have to be a pretty powerful strobe too, cause I was actually about 50 yds or so from the front trees.

Jimmy - I agree. I guess if it looks like the exposure might be bad on film or sensor, it will be. There are plenty of trees there and I could fish around for another scene where there's lights on the camera side -- next full moon

Greg - I sort of agree. They are probably a tad tight. But I think I backed off and that it lost the feeling of the smooth lighting. One thing I'm still getting used to is the reduction in my zoom with the digital

CF - The only reason I came down there was because I saw a sports event on TV that switched to a live video of the roller coaster for a sec. I figured I'd get that with a still.

I'm like you btw - sort of a lover of night shots. Still looking for the best locations in this town.

[Coastal Flyer]

GB,

A couple suggestions for night shot locations: Balboa Park, of course. Anywhere along the marina/water front from Seaport Village to the County Administration Building; campus of UCSD, they have wonderful architecture that makes for fun night work. Good luck.

CF

[GB1]

GB,

A couple suggestions for night shot locations: Balboa Park, of course. Anywhere along the marina/water front from Seaport Village to the County Administration Building; campus of UCSD, they have wonderful architecture that makes for fun night work. Good luck.

CF

Great, CF - I haven't tried any of those spots yet, at least not seriously (not that i do anything seriously..). So it will be fun to try something new, esp after DST ends and we have more night to work with.

[jgredline]

Funny how we are all different creatures and see things a little differently...Personally I love the tight crops and that number 2 pic is very nice...The coaster pic is also quite good, although I wish those cars were not in the picture...Night time shots ''at least for me'' are tough, so really to my eyes, the pics are very nice...

[StreetDoc]

great pictures. Mission beach? I miss San Diego...

[Jimmy B]

GB1, depending on how long your exposure is have you thought of the idea of painting with lights?
Jimmy B

[GB1]

jgredline - Thks for commenting. Yeah it really depends on the scene whether it be tight or wide or whatever. I've read where someone wrote that if something in particular is interesting and everything else isn't, definitely zoom in to the interesting subject. But if the photo is really about the entire scene and how it makes a mood, a wider view is appropriate.

I think # 2 came out ok but it was better in the real. Not sure if the trails in # 3 are bad or not - might be boring w/o them?

StreetDoc - Yep, Mission Beach. I jog through there every Sunday. Kind of a worn-out place, full of odd characters. A little like Venice beach.

Jimmy - I've done that before but not with my digital yet. It's definitely harder and more exp on film cause you will have many failures. I think that in order to get a shot that's a keeper that you need to have a plan to make something nice - ideas?

G

[Didache]

I seriously like the palm trees with the moon behind. The others are good, but they are "conventional" - the trees/moon shot, on the other hand, is a very different take on night shots. You have kept detail in the trees too, which is not an easy thing to do. That one's a winner in my book

Cheers
Mike