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View Full Version : My Favorite Shot From November.


wxwax
Dec-11-2004, 11:02 PM
I was in Baltimore, wandering the harbor area after dark, hoping for a shot. Well, I used up a lot of frames, but I can't say I found anything worth shooting... not for the first hour of my walk, anyway. I certainly found myself missing the tripod I didn't have room to pack.

Anyway, near the end of my walk, I went down a ramp onto the floating docks where the clipper ships are tied up. You never know where you'll find your next good shot.

http://wxwax.smugmug.com/photos/12601870-L.jpg

ian408
Dec-11-2004, 11:35 PM
Waxy, this is a cool shot!

I love the shadows/lighting!

Ian

gubbs
Dec-12-2004, 01:37 AM
I was in Baltimore, wandering the harbor area after dark, hoping for a shot. Well, I used up a lot of frames, but I can't say I found anything worth shooting... not for the first hour of my walk, anyway. I certainly found myself missing the tripod I didn't have room to pack.

Anyway, near the end of my walk, I went down a ramp onto the floating docks where the clipper ships are tied up. You never know where you'll find your next good shot.

http://wxwax.smugmug.com/photos/12601870-S.jpg That's gorgeous Sid :clap:clap


Is the horizon slightly off? (You see what you've done to me andy:rofl)

gus
Dec-12-2004, 01:40 AM
Nice cut waxremover...looks like a stage with a canvas hanging behind. :thumb

wxwax
Dec-12-2004, 08:47 AM
That's gorgeous Sid :clap:clap


Is the horizon slightly off? (You see what you've done to me andy:rofl)
:wxwax

:lol3 I dunno, I tried moving it. Which way do you think it's off? I used the lampost as my guide. But the rubbish bin looks off, as do the hand rails. The background building looks OK, though. No? :dunno

Phil U.
Dec-12-2004, 09:13 AM
Hey - This is a really cool shot - I like it. :clap

gubbs
Dec-13-2004, 02:54 AM
:wxwax

:lol3 I dunno, I tried moving it. Which way do you think it's off? I used the lampost as my guide. But the rubbish bin looks off, as do the hand rails. The background building looks OK, though. No? :dunno I've got a shot of Canary Wharf that I can't seem to get to look right, the horizon is straight but the buildings look like they're leaning :dunno .

Its tough to get the camera straight at night, the edges of the vf often blend with the scene. I bought a Manfrotto (thanks for the suggestion Luben:thumb) hot shoe spirit level which makes life much easier.

Anyway, its difficult to see with the building, but I was looking at the far river bank, it seems to run down to the left. I think maybe its just the perspective as the river moves back. (Sid, it may just be me, I have astigmatism, so I don't always see lines quite as they are :roflShould have told you that before)

Andy
Dec-13-2004, 03:40 AM
sid this is a sweet shot :clap

reminds me of a shot i took in a similar scene cuppla weeks ago, on the wharf in monterey ca:

http://williams.smugmug.com/photos/12563479-L.jpg

no room for tripod? :scratch i give up my clothes to make room for it :lol3

wxwax
Dec-13-2004, 03:58 AM
I've got a shot of Canary Wharf that I can't seem to get to look right, the horizon is straight but the buildings look like they're leaning :dunno .

Its tough to get the camera straight at night, the edges of the vf often blend with the scene. I bought a Manfrotto (thanks for the suggestion Luben:thumb) hot shoe spirit level which makes life much easier.

Anyway, its difficult to see with the building, but I was looking at the far river bank, it seems to run down to the left. I think maybe its just the perspective as the river moves back. (Sid, it may just be me, I have astigmatism, so I don't always see lines quite as they are :roflShould have told you that before)

Yeah, a level would fefinitely help. I think using a waterline as a horizon can be a dangerous guide, as it's not necessarily a straight line. In this case, it's receding from the left side to the right side, as the harbor/bay opens up. I adjusted it to make the lightpost vertical, and I see that also made the background building vertical, so I let it be. :dunno

Astigmatism, eh? :wxwax Does this look straight?

http://wxwax.smugmug.com/photos/12662802-M.jpg

:rofl :rofl :flip

wxwax
Dec-13-2004, 04:02 AM
sid this is a sweet shot :clap

reminds me of a shot i took in a similar scene cuppla weeks ago, on the wharf in monterey ca:

http://williams.smugmug.com/photos/12563479-Th.jpg

no room for tripod? :scratch i give up my clothes to make room for it :lol3

Thanks, Andy. I love isolation shots, and you have a nice one here. I keep thinking about making some sort of essay on it.

I'm scared to give up clothes for a tripod on a working trip... sometimes we get sweaty and dirty. But there's no question a tripod would have helped on more than one occasion. I must admit, since moving on from the slow G3, I've used a tripod far less than before.

pathfinder
Dec-13-2004, 04:08 AM
sid this is a sweet shot :clap

reminds me of a shot i took in a similar scene cuppla weeks ago, on the wharf in monterey ca:

http://williams.smugmug.com/photos/12563479-S.jpg

no room for tripod? :scratch i give up my clothes to make room for it :lol3

Looks like a Hopper print! Cool :clap

ginger_55
Dec-13-2004, 04:14 AM
Great shots, Sid and Andy!

Tripod? (a three legged stand as for a camera: looked it up)
gonna try it sometime.:D


ginger

gubbs
Dec-13-2004, 04:30 AM
Yeah, a level would fefinitely help. I think using a waterline as a horizon can be a dangerous guide, as it's not necessarily a straight line. In this case, it's receding from the left side to the right side, as the harbor/bay opens up. I adjusted it to make the lightpost vertical, and I see that also made the background building vertical, so I let it be. :dunno

Astigmatism, eh? :wxwax Does this look straight?

http://wxwax.smugmug.com/photos/12662802-M.jpg

:rofl :rofl :flip
:lol

lynnma
Dec-13-2004, 04:44 AM
love the shot Sid.. to me it leans everso slightly to the left... I'm paranoid now as well.. Andys' fault..:clap :clap :clap

wxwax
Dec-13-2004, 04:48 AM
love the shot Sid.. to me it leans everso slightly to the left... I'm paranoid now as well.. Andys' fault..:clap :clap :clap
Thanks Lynn. Do you see the background building or the lightpost leaning to the left? Or just the trash bin and the handrails?

gubbs
Dec-13-2004, 04:54 AM
trashcan and handrails, but I've now lost any credibility that I may have had:D

Either way it's a great shot :thumb

lynnma
Dec-13-2004, 05:28 AM
Thanks Lynn. Do you see the background building or the lightpost leaning to the left? Or just the trash bin and the handrails?the background I think.. I think I would try rotating to the right about 2 degrees.. I dunno.. :dunno I tried rotating it about 2 or 3.. to me now it looks straight what do you think?

wxwax
Dec-13-2004, 05:35 AM
:thumb Thanks Lynn and Gubbs.

DoctorIt
Dec-13-2004, 05:56 AM
waxy, you really have an eye for the night shots :thumb

bikehiker
Dec-13-2004, 09:29 AM
Awesome shot waxy. I think your shot was level, w/out enlarging it, gotta remember your on wood floating on water they tend to warp and such. I've been doing the straightning thing like crazy too. My wife is starting to think I'm Crazy.

Michiel de Brieder
Dec-13-2004, 11:37 AM
I love the lighting, but it's the composition that does it for me :clap It's an awesome shot. I bet it would make a fine print!!
Cheers

GREAPER
Dec-13-2004, 12:15 PM
Maybe just a distortion thing?

gtc
Dec-13-2004, 03:11 PM
i like it-the light from the street lamp gives it a very theatrical feel- i can almost imagine humphrey bogart or someone similar, standing there smoking a cigarette.

re levelling-I use a little round spirit level that I put on my tripod -I first level the legs and head and then put camera on head and level the camera-not always though!

one of my camera suggestions is an inbuilt spirit level,similar to an aircraft instrument,that displays,in graphic form, pitch and yaw etc in the viewfinder /screen.it would make life so much easier.

wxwax
Dec-13-2004, 03:45 PM
i like it-the light from the street lamp gives it a very theatrical feel- i can almost imagine humphrey bogart or someone similar, standing there smoking a cigarette.

re levelling-I use a little round spirit level that I put on my tripod -I first level the legs and head and then put camera on head and level the camera-not always though!

one of my camera suggestions is an inbuilt spirit level,similar to an aircraft instrument,that displays,in graphic form, pitch and yaw etc in the viewfinder /screen.it would make life so much easier.

I like your suggestion! :nod

On the tripod I have a small level that fits into the flash slot, works well. But unfortunately this was handheld and I even if I'd slotted it in, my eye was in the viewfinder.

bikehiker, my defense rests on the wood warping theory! :evil

jwear
Dec-13-2004, 07:40 PM
that is a great shot ,upside down nooooo but right side up yeaaaaa it's more art than photo .I like it it more gropped on top great shot .

wxwax
Dec-13-2004, 08:15 PM
Thanks man, I thought about cropping, may yet do that.

ian408
Dec-13-2004, 08:30 PM
Thanks man, I thought about cropping, may yet do that.
Don't do it :huh

My takeaway for this image is the light and it's almost offer of safe haven
amidst the darkness. I think you might lose it if you crop.

Just my $.02.

Ian