"The Magic City" at the Magic Hour

I have mentioned the "magic hour" of photography before.  The "magic hour" is that time 30min before the sunrises to 30min after (or 30min before sunset to 30min after).  This is the time when the light is it's most favorable for almost any kind of photography.  This post is about how quickly the light can change and how different the photo can be as a result.  Each of these photos below has a very different feel.  Both photos were taken from the same spot on the same day.

5 Image Panoramic shot with 80-200 f2.8 @ f11

The first one was shot just a few minutes before dawn.  You can see it has a very "cool" feel with all the blues and darker colors from the city.  This image in particular was shot as a five frame panoramic and has extreme detail as a result.

Single Image cropped as a Panoramic.  Shot with 24-70mm f2.8 @ f16

The second image was taken 15 minutes later than the first.  Just 15 minutes...  As you can see it has a very different feel with the tones being very "warm" in nature.  You can see the reflection of the golden sky in most of the buildings.  This images was shot as a single image using a 24-70mm f2.8 and cropped to a panoramic view.  Even at this resolution you can get large panoramic prints without loss of detail.

Remember, if you don't like the light when you first arrive to a site you may be better suited to wait until it changes than rushing off to find a new place.  The above images are great examples of that.  Please feel free to share this post on Facebook or Google +.  Remember too that if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me or even give me a call.  Thanks for stopping by!!!!!

Working a Subject

Often times when I go out for a fun day with my camera I find a single subject that catches my attention.  Ages ago I would set up a shot that I thought was good and take a couple of exposures.  Then, I would pick up and move along.  Now days though I tend to want to work the one subject just to see the different looks I can produce.  That extends to post processing as well.  I create several "virtual copies" in Lightroom and try different settings to see what happens.  I might even move it over to Photoshop and try working with some layers.  Sometimes all of this works and sometimes it doesn't.  I recently went to South Beach for some sunrise fun.  I wasn't overly excited about the photos I was getting in the beginning and so I became interested in the lifeguard stand that was next to me.  I worked it from many angles and took multiple exposures so that I could do some HDR work on them in post.  Take a look and let me know what you think.  Remember, don't just run up, take a shot, and run away.  There are many ways to explore a single subject.