Night Shooting

I was reminded today that I'm actually used to darkness coming so early in the day, so after many days of rain I took advantage of the clear sky and went shooting tonight. It took a little effort to get me to be alone this evening. I am enjoying my Panda time and was almost tempted to head over and watch the TV with a name. I've had friends texting me for the last couple hours trying to get me to meet up (apparently there is some man on bartender spooning?), yet I've held strong and spent the evening by my lonesome. I need to every once in a while or I go a bit crazy.

It's been a while since I posted. The holiday treated me well and I'm trying to keep down the drama for a bit and get through these next couple months with a smile.

I knew my destination was Alki and since I decided to head over the bridge at rush hour it took me a while to get over there. I knew my first stop was to be a set of old pier pilings to try out my long exposure skills.

nevermore

Here's the funny thing about really minimalist long exposure shots, you should have at least one thing in the shot not moving. After a few blurry shots I focused my actual eyes on the pilings and realized the darn things were moving with the waves. Oh well, I liked the birdie anyway.

minimal

My fingers were getting pretty chilly, but I still needed to get some good pier shots. I headed towards Luna Park and made my way down to the beach. I was aiming to get some shots of the pier, but I love love love this shot of the waves against the rocks. It's exactly what I was looking for when I went out tonight.

blue sky at night

While setting up the rock shot, I looked behind me and gasped a bit a the bright blue sky. The rocks were illuminated by the street lamps and the driftwood cast long shadows against the sand. I was praying that my camera would capture what my eyes saw, and after some work with the white balance it came out exactly as I saw it.

beach askew

askewed even! The more I look at this photo the more it seems to be on a studio lot. The backdrop of the blue sky with plastic plants and foam logs.

too much

I had a lot of fun with angles tonight. I've called this shot "too much" as there is almost too many things going on in this frame to call it good, but what makes it great are all the little details. Look and you will see the monument to Luna Park, The Space Needle, two ferries passing on Elliott Bay, the anchor filling the empty space... If you are so inclined, check the link to the larger size.

zoooom burst

Our first trip up to Lost Lake with my new lens I forgot my flash card. Panda was patient with me and even showed me a fun little zoom burst trick with a frozen lake. I've loved the bokah'ed up christmas light shots and thought I'd try one with a twist. I would have liked it to be more centered, but with this shot I'd lose some of the fun squiggly lines so I decided not to crop it. Incidentally, it's squiggly because I took this shot from my running car, hand held in the dark.

ferry lines

Had I a little foresight I would have focused on the log in this shot, but I like the lines so I've added it to this post. Plus it's a good reminder for me in the future to watch what I'm metering on.

here is the steeple

Heading home, hands cold but heart warm, I spied a building that's caught my eye on the drive home the last few nights. It's under construction and it's soon to be windows are covered in blue tarp and when lit from the inside the entire building takes on a neon glow. Searching for a good place to shoot it, I stumble upon a beautiful church in the middle of the city. It's chapel has a bright red door as it's entrance and the street is lined with dead trees grasping out to the parishioners. I opted for the church over the neon sky scraper. I'd take culture, heritage and history over gentrification any day. Pay special attention to the shadows cast over the building.


seventy three

I'm really proud of this shoot tonight. I've been studying a bit, endlessly pouring over photographs, wondering if I can do certain techniques. I feel like I accomplished a lot on this shoot and I feel really proud of the photographs I've offered up to you this evening.

Comments

Bryan said…
These are great shots Stacy!!! Keep 'em coming :)
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Anonymous said…
you shot my block.
skills, ye posess skills.
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mike helminger said…
love the rock shots. and yes, the plants do look like plastic studio ones :)