Golden Gate Bridge Night Shot (Panorama)

[dkapp]

Here I am again with another panorama from last night :) I just got my color issues straightened out as best I can. Let me know when you get tired of these. I'm just having a blast with this new stuff.

This was taken just after 9:00pm last night. More details on the image:

-4 images taken in portrait orientation stitched together.
-each image 30 second exposure @ f4
-Tamron 28-75 @ 52mm

Any comments suggestions are welcome!

http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/12748269-L.jpg

Thanks for looking
Dave

[lynnma]

Here I am again with another panorama from last night :) I just got my color issues straightened out as best I can. Let me know when you get tired of these. I'm just having a blast with this new stuff.

This was taken just after 9:00pm last night. More details on the image:

-4 images taken in portrait orientation stitched together.
-each image 30 second exposure @ f4
-Tamron 28-75 @ 52mm

Any comments suggestions are welcome!



Thanks for looking
Dave
http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/12748269-S.jpg

well... the comment that first came to mind with me was "fantastic". I love it. It's beautiful. :clap :clap

[obelix]

Here I am again with another panorama from last night :) Dave

Very nicely done Dave, but I just can't understand why f/4, why not stop down further?

[dkapp]

Very nicely done Dave, but I just can't understand why f/4, why not stop down further?

Each image was a 30 second exposure, so if I went to f/8 or smaller, I would run into issues w/ underexposing the shot, or having to use an external timer and the remote to open/close the shutter...neither option would work for me last night.

f/4 was the smallest aperture I could use and still expose the image properly.

Thanks,
Dave

[obelix]

Each image was a 30 second exposure, so if I went to f/8 or smaller, I would run into issues w/ underexposing the shot, or having to use an external timer and the remote to open/close the shutter...neither option would work for me last night.

f/4 was the smallest aperture I could use and still expose the image properly.

Thanks,
Dave

Hmm, for a minute I forgot that 30 sec was the slowest before bulb (or is it), of course you could have pushed the ISO up and set the camera NR on.

[dkapp]

Hmm, for a minute I forgot that 30 sec was the slowest before bulb (or is it), of course you could have pushed the ISO up and set the camera NR on.

I tried to get a timed shutter speed longer than 30 seconds last night, but couldn't. I thought about turning up the ISO, but I want to print this one *BIG* so low noise was important to me. I've never used the camera NR before, and last night was not a good time to experiment. I was out there with my girlfriend & she was freaking herself out. It was pitch black & all we had was a small AA maglite and I wouldn't allow her to turn it on during an exposure :) She was convinced someone was going to come out of the trees/bushes and get her...hahaha.

Needless to say, when the last image finished recording she was grabbing the gear & running back to the car. I didn't even get my lens cap back until we were safe inside the old Mazda.

[wxwax]

I think it's a great image. The soft purple in the sky balances the yellow glow of the bridge. I especially like the sharp shadow the bridge casts on the water. The only thing I'd figure out how to change is a way to bring down the lights a bit, especially the white & green lights at the far end of the bridge.

I like this style of panorama (4 frames), where the shape of the image is still somewhat standard. It feels like you can take advantage of a slightly tighter shot, fill the frame, and still get a wide perspective - the best of both worlds.

[ubergeek]

Great photo. Love the color of the sky! That Tamron is a fantastic lens, isn't it?

Cheers,
Jeremy

[snapapple]

Great job there. That stitching really works great. You could never get that perspective with one shot, but it doesn't look like a bunch stitched together because it's not real wide. I don't understand how you did it, but it looks marvelous. :clap

[dkapp]

I think it's a great image. The soft purple in the sky balances the yellow glow of the bridge. I especially like the sharp shadow the bridge casts on the water. The only thing I'd figure out how to change is a way to bring down the lights a bit, especially the white & green lights at the far end of the bridge.

Thanks for the kind words and good suggestion. I think the lighting problem is due to the perspective and cars on the highway. The very white lights are headlights of the vehicles entering the bridge. I'll play with it a bit in PS to see what I can do.

I like the reflections in the water. When printed it almost looks like there is a fire under the bridge!

I like this style of panorama (4 frames), where the shape of the image is still somewhat standard. It feels like you can take advantage of a slightly tighter shot, fill the frame, and still get a wide perspective - the best of both worlds.

This is the first panorama I've taken in this perspective. I love the flexibility in print sizes it gave me. The 8x12 seems to be a favorite so far.

Thanks again,
Dave

[dkapp]

Great photo. Love the color of the sky! That Tamron is a fantastic lens, isn't it?

Cheers,
Jeremy

Between the Tamron 28-75 and the 17-35 I couldn't be happier. For the price, you can't beat the image quality. Do you own any other Tamron lenses?

Dave

[gregneil]

Cool shot. I'm a sucker for photos of the Golden Gate, having grown up in the bay area. I really like how there seems to be a luminance to the air around the bridge, like a light mist is being lit up by the lights. My only critique would be that it seems a hair too bright, at least on my monitor, and that some of the silhouetted shrubs in the foreground seem crisp, and others seem blurry. Great looking stuff. I love the idea of stitching together 4 portrait shots like that. Gonna have to try it...

[ian408]

I very much like the composition but think it's too bright.

Very sureal look to the bridge. The long exposure really makes the water
seem smooth as glass.

Ian

[dkapp]

I'm getting a lot of great feedback here tonight & I've made a few changes to my image. I have darkened it a bit, and decreased the brightness of the lights in the back part of the image.

What do you think? Does it look better to you?

Here is the before image:
http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/12748269-M.jpg


Here is the after image:
http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/12774982-O.jpg

Thanks everyone!

Dave

[dkapp]

Cool shot. I'm a sucker for photos of the Golden Gate, having grown up in the bay area. I really like how there seems to be a luminance to the air around the bridge, like a light mist is being lit up by the lights. My only critique would be that it seems a hair too bright, at least on my monitor, and that some of the silhouetted shrubs in the foreground seem crisp, and others seem blurry. Great looking stuff. I love the idea of stitching together 4 portrait shots like that. Gonna have to try it...

If you decide to try your hand at a panorama and need some help, I'd be more than happy to do what I can. I'm very new to this, and I'm still learning as I go. The big trick is the exposure & keeping a nice even/level pan as you go. This will make the post processing & stitching much easier. I use a flash mount bubble level to make sure my horizon is level throughout the entire shoot. This way I don't have to crop too much out of the final image and everything will line up nice and even.

Dave

[gregneil]

I definitely prefer the darker one. The bridge seems much more imposing, even a little eerie. And that's exactly how it feels on the bridge late at night when few cars are around.

Thanks for the panorama tips. I intend to go on a shopping spree soon, pick up a good tripod and other gear, and then I'll try it out.

[gubbs]

Dave,
Loveley shot :clap
I saw your comments about using f4, and another thread where you mentioned you were having trouble with focusing at night. What did you do regarding focusing each of these 4 shots here? I was wondering if they were all at ~ or focused separately....

[gubbs]

Between the Tamron 28-75 and the 17-35 I couldn't be happier. For the price, you can't beat the image quality. Do you own any other Tamron lenses?

Dave
I'll second that!! Although I often wish the 17-35 was 2.8 all the way

[lynnma]

I'm getting a lot of great feedback here tonight & I've made a few changes to my image. I have darkened it a bit, and decreased the brightness of the lights in the back part of the image.

What do you think? Does it look better to you?

Here is the before image:



Here is the after image:


Thanks everyone!

Dave
definitely the darker one.. both are spectacular but I can see the shape of the mountains more clearly in the second darker version..

http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/12774982-S.jpg

[Andy]

:clap :clap

love it, nice pano!

i ought to try a pano one of these days....

[ian408]

I like the darker version.

Ian

[dkapp]

I definitely prefer the darker one. The bridge seems much more imposing, even a little eerie. And that's exactly how it feels on the bridge late at night when few cars are around.

Thanks for the panorama tips. I intend to go on a shopping spree soon, pick up a good tripod and other gear, and then I'll try it out.

I got my tripod used on Craigslist.org. The tripod legs, head and strap would retail for over $225. I got it all in mint condition for $175. The threads on the tripod have didn't even show any wear.

Dave

[dkapp]

Dave,
Loveley shot :clap
I saw your comments about using f4, and another thread where you mentioned you were having trouble with focusing at night. What did you do regarding focusing each of these 4 shots here? I was wondering if they were all at ~ or focused separately....
I had to focus this series manually. It was very dark at night, so I had to find a nice bright area to focus automatically & then switch to manual & "tweak" Once I had focus locked on, I left it the same for all images.


I'll second that!! Although I often wish the 17-35 was 2.8 all the way
Same here! The only down side would be a 2lb $1,000 lens like the Nikon version.

Dave

[dkapp]

definitely the darker one.. both are spectacular but I can see the shape of the mountains more clearly in the second darker version..

http://dkapp.smugmug.com/photos/12774982-S.jpg

Thanks Lynn,

The feedback here is priceless! Thanks to everyone for helping make this image what it is.

Dave

[dkapp]

:clap :clap

love it, nice pano!

i ought to try a pano one of these days....

If you make it to the city one night, I'll take you to a few of my favorite places to shoot & eat :D

Dave

[fish]

If you make it to the city one night, I'll take you to a few of my favorite places to shoot & eat :D

Dave
Tadich Grill?

[dkapp]

Tadich Grill?

I've never been there, so I will have to add it to my list. I do honestly keep a list of places people recommend :D

I did a quick google on the name & found an interesting book at amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1580084257/104-5124024-7549539?v=glance). It seems that place has quite a history.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Dave