Night shot......Downtown Knoxville, TN

[ShotsbyScott]

I had an opportunity to take some shots last night. My favorite time for setting up the tripod.
I would like to know your thoughts on this old bridge.

thanks,

Scott

[F-15_Flyer]

Wow, I love this shot, very nice composition, the lights through the bridge gate makes a cool effect also. The whole picture is awesome.

Nice job!

[JK_Photo]

I like it too Scott. Boost the contrast a bit and maybe take a bit off the left side so the first lamp is half again closer to the edge. Come down on the sky a bit and shazam!
That's a great bridge. Tons of opportunity with that one. Like to get in close with a wide angle.
Looks like you're pretty close. Can you get down by those girders?
It would also look cool with some light trails going across.

[F-15_Flyer]

Jon, I'm not sure, but I think there ARE in fact light trails, their just behind the gate, you can see it, just look at the gate....if i am correct.

[jar_e]

Nice shot Scott. I love the flared street lamps on the bridge, very nice effect, whether it was on purpose or not. Just out of curiousity, what did this shot look like in color?!

[JK_Photo]

Jon, I'm not sure, but I think there ARE in fact light trails, their just behind the gate, you can see it, just look at the gate....if i am correct.

Could be. Hard to tell. Scott?

[GB1]

I like the shot, even though the street lamps are pretty intense compared to the lower bridge support structure. Perhaps a graduated ND filter would help to even out the exposure. The density of the greys are extremely powerful... NOT the normal B&W I usually see... almost like a dark milkshake color. The sky looks a bit cold and threatening too.

The composition is powerful. I read once where if you split the pic into two parts (as you pretty much have in this photo), it can be either distracting (creates conflict/tension) or dramatic. This one is tough to say... (I guess then that you'd get to go with the better choice of dramatic) for it really has both tension and drama.

Experiment - You might also consider adding selective color to this B&W photo, see what happens.............

[gahspidy]

Scott, i like alot of things about this shot, the tones, glare of the street lights, detail in the bridge structure, and clean image. But I'm not crazy about the composition here. I wish the street lamp were not blocking the interesting structure in the bg, and the light reflections through the span are making the shot busy, for me. Appealing image for various reasons but better composition could have improved it alot. Just my take on it.

[ShotsbyScott]

Thanks to all for the feedback!
F-15 Flyer......yes it is light trails. Not much traffic on this night for some reason.
jar_e.............The flare effects on the lamps are what I got with about 10 seconds.
I tried several different settings but these lamps were really beaming.
Jon..............This spot is really the only position I can get a shot from. I am at the edge of
a drop off.
Down below is a storage lot with a huge security light. That's what is
basically lighting up the bridge for me. I may need to pull out the repelling
gear.
Gary............I was not happy with the BG either. There is a hospital behind me, and I
started to go in and see if they had a 8' ladder I could borrow.

thanks again,

Scott

[readingr]

I like this a lot and I agree with others about composition.

I do like the lighting here and the reflections in the water. I assume you used a star filter for this?

HAve you tried a crop without the lights so that all you have is the bridge?

[ShotsbyScott]

Thanks Roger!
I didn't use a star filter on this. I usually get this when I leave the shutter open a couple of seconds
I think I had it open here about 10 seconds. It was actually 7:30 pm, and I wanted to try and get more of the structural underside of the bridge.
I'm going to go back and try some different angle soon.

Scott

[jar_e]

I think I had it open here about 10 seconds. It was actually 7:30 pm, and I wanted to try and get more of the structural underside of the bridge.
I'm going to go back and try some different angle soon.
Scott

Scott, Can't wait to see the reshoot. I love how the lights flared with out any filters or anything!

Great shot,
Jared

[Trevor Ash]

The composition needs some work here. Sure it's neat to be able to take night photos but don't forget about the other important elements of a photo. Perhaps focusing more on the bridge somehow would have improved this photo.

[gahspidy]

About the starry lights . . . It is most likely that you had a small aperture set 16 22 or smaller. A smaller aperture will give you the starry lights, no filters needed.

[ShotsbyScott]

OK, I would like comments on what you would have done differently with this shot.
This is the origional picture in color as taken.
First, I had about a 4' x4' spot where I'm shooting from.
Second, As I said in one of the post, I'm at the edge of a 40' drop off.
The reason I cropped the origional post was the lights on the lamp post started running together at the right end of the picture to where it was one big blow-out.
I would like to be at a higher elevation, so the bg skyline is above the bridge. But I would need to carry a folding ladder (not out of the question).
Any additional feedback would be appreciated.

thanks,

Scott

[Trevor Ash]

Whether it's possible or not, I don't know. But I'd probably have been looking for a composition in the lower half of the photo where I can play with the reflections in the water and the bridge.

[ShotsbyScott]

Trevor..........Maybe I can check out that possibility on the reshoot.

thanks,

Scott