City under the bridge

[spark]

Took this shot tonight. It's a view through the arch of an abutment of the George Washington Bridge in NYC. Difficult shot for me because I wanted enough exposure for the buildings in the background but sodium street lights and bridge lights created flares. I would appreciate any comments on this unprocessed shot as well as any tips for mixed exposure shots. Thanks.

A75, 4 second, f/5.0, ISO 50, manual focus to infinity.

Sam

[spark]

Another picture with different settings and cropping.

A75, 4 second, f/8.0, ISO 50, infinity.

Sam

[Tom Overton]

Hi Spark;

Good job.

One way to achieve what you want here without getting blown out by the sodium lights is to bring a flashlight along to your shoot and use it to paint details on the buildings. You might get some strange looks from passersby, but it's really effective. This way you can be selective about what your lens will see. It will also allow you to shorten your shutter speed, use a lower ISO or smaller aperture.

Regards,

Tom, on Point Pelee, Canada

[spark]

Thanks for the compliment Tom. I'll definitely try your flashlight trick next time out, as well as trying to take a couple of different exposure shots and integrate them together in PS - don't know how yet but I'll learn.

Sam

[Canna W]

Hi Spark,

I love the second pic - even the cars look good enough to eat! I think it's an unusual & very powerful take on the romance of cities at night, and I love the contrast between the more suburban looking foreground andNY skyline. I think it is truly fab....

abw

Canna

[spark]

Thanks for the kind words Canna. When I first got my digicam I thought it was going to be easy to get some great city shots, it's nyc for crying out loud, but I found out fast the difference between snapshots and photography - I'm still doing mostly the first but I'm working towards the latter.

Sam