San Diego

[dennylee60]

Hello all,
I am getting ready for a short trip to New York City and I talked my wife into taking me to the Empire State Building at night for some pictures. So to prep for it, I went down to the ferry landing in San Diego and took these shots. Any suggestions or comments?

[dbutler]

Wow! I think they are both great. Sometimes when I look at the skyline it looks soft and other times it doesn't so I'm thinking it's the lights. But what phenomenal color.

And my favoirte is the B&W. I like how you composed it, and the startburst effect. Maybe the ferry sign could use just a tough of brigntening but then again it may just be me! Well done!!

[dennylee60]

Thanks for the comment. I saw the picture "Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick " so I wanted to try to create the starburst effect. It turned out well.

[opus]

I think a bit of Unsharp Mask would help the first one. Maybe the second one too, but it would have to be a light touch.

[srobb]

Both are great shots, denny. Really love the b/w one. Agree that both could use a little unsharp mask, but as kelly said, only a little. The colors in the city shot are really nice.

[dennylee60]

Hello all,
I tried using unsharp mask but I did not notice much difference until I cranked it way up. I wonder if the fuzziness has to do with the web downgrading the image. I will post the new image a little later.

[julsoph]

Dennylee...these are both really great shots, but by FAR I prefer the 2nd one. You did a great job with the starburst effect, especially since the bursts sort of echo the round sign for the ferry...I really like that. Also the lighting in this is really beautiful. Very nice!

Emily

[Herriot]

Great photographs, really like the second one in particular, I think it is really interesting when people on the forum are inspired by each other and post the subsequent images, just as you were with Chris' post.

Good luck with the trip to New York and I look forward to seeing the outcome of your shoot there.

Herriot

[GB1]

Denny - The second is really neat ... the composition is great (like an "M") and the starbursts look neat. The only thing I would have done (in hindsight) is to add more space at the top of that the lamps and bursts don't feel clipped.

This shot would be very cool to have a person leaning agains the ferry sign, though they'd have to be very still so not to blur.

The first is decent also. You got a little shake in there somehow, not sure why.. could have been when you pressed the shutter button, or from the wind. Also this is probably realistic with the lay of the ground here, but I would have adjusted the angle of the camera on the tripod just a tad to make the bay water meeting land area to be flat... It appears to have a very slight tilt to it. But the colors and overall composition are very good. Looks like you got the precise exposure here.

GB

[dennylee60]

Greg,
Actually there was a couple walking toward the end of the pier. But the exposure was so long that they did not show up.

As for the shake, I had the camera on a timer so it was not the shutter release. The only thing I can think of is that I had the tripod sitting on top of a bunch of ice plants, so it could have slipped slightly. Maybe I need a much heavier tripod to prevent the shake.

[GB1]

Greg,
Actually there was a couple walking toward the end of the pier. But the exposure was so long that they did not show up.

As for the shake, I had the camera on a timer so it was not the shutter release. The only thing I can think of is that I had the tripod sitting on top of a bunch of ice plants, so it could have slipped slightly. Maybe I need a much heavier tripod to prevent the shake.

Yes, the area under the tripod is definitely a consideration. But watch those "heavier" tripods. True, they are more stable, but they're tough to carry around backcountry if that's also on your agenda. The Slik 212 rules!

GB

[readingr]

Only one suggestion from me and that is to post the New York pictures. These are excellent and I wouldn't change a thing.

Roger