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I was out and about tonight photographing places around Seattle. The first few images are taken from Kerry Park on Queen Anne. The others are taken down on the Elliott Bay Marina near Palisade Restaurant. All of these photos were shot with a Canon 7D with a 18-145mm IS Lens on Bulb Mode at F/8 between 15-45 second exposures. Enjoy!
Nice shots! The Kerry Park ones are always good even though just about every Seattle photographer has some of those in his portfolio. You need some of those signature shots in your work, they look good and establish your location well.
Your shots are nice and sharp too, with no apparent vibration. Did you use a cable release on those?
"Signature" might not be the right word, possibly "iconic" would be a better choice.
In any case, what I meant is shots that are instantly recognizable, and immediately establish your location and your skill. (While night shots are actually fairly easy once you master the technique, they're also quite impressive.)
When you show somebody your portfolio with shots like that one in it, they'll hopefully react with two thoughts: that you're in Seattle and that you're a really good photographer.
As for the cable release, I thought so. The bright red lights on top of the buildings are a give-away. If you just press the shutter with your camera on the tripod, you often get a small bit of shake. That won't show in most of the image since it happens so fast, but those little red lights are bright, so they often show the motion.
To combat the problem, either use a cable release, as you did (the best approach), or use your camera's self timer so that the vibrations damp down before the shutter releases. If you camera has one, and you're really serious about no movement, also use a mirror lockup, though that's usually overkill unless you're shooting with a really long lens.
really like the first two... like Bob said, everyone who shoots in this area probably has, or should have, one or two shots from Kerry Park in their portfolio. which reminds me, i haven't been up there in several years, and i need to get back and get some newer images. though there's nothing at all wrong with the ones i have, but they were shot with my old 30D, and i wanna try some with the 5D for comparison...
My manual said I could use the 2 second timer, never thought of that. One night I was out playing with the Shutter and Aperture settings, not sure what was going to happen but did a ten second shutter by hand, thought: Ohh shhoot!
My manual said I could use the 2 second timer, never thought of that. One night I was out playing with the Shutter and Aperture settings, not sure what was going to happen but did a ten second shutter by hand, thought: Ohh shhoot!
Yes, the timer works well, and unlike a cable release, you always have it with you.
My camera allows me to set the exposure time up to 30 seconds. In bright places like Seattle that's plenty of time to get a good exposure. If you need longer than that, then you'll have to use your cable release on bulb setting.
Nikon also sells a fancy cable release that allows you to set longer exposures, do intervals and various other nifty tricks. It also comes with a rather "nifty" price of around $150 or so.
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