twilight - timing and quality of light

I got back from shooting almost frozen. It was cold and really windy! But those shots are really worth it! You all probably heard already, that timing is everything. And in photography this is valid even more. Quality of light on your pictures is very dependent on the proper timing. And this was my case last Saturday evening. I was about to take a picture for my project 52 and the theme of the week was Twilight, or "Magic blue" if you want. And I got that picture, as you can see below. So what is this Magic cobalt blue? It is a moment of the day, apx. 30-60 minutes after the sunset, when sun is not shining directly anymore, but there is enough light reflected from behind the horizon and the sky is still not pitch black. Especially city landscapes and car trails looks amazing against this fantastic blue sky! And that's what I waited for. Sunset at 8.20pm and the picture below was taken at 9.00pm. Three minutes exposure to get those wonderful car light trails and the city lights below me. And as always, when shooting during twilight I've called for help my FLW filter, to enhance overall colors and structure.
 - [slovenská verzia textu nižšie]



Since I got a couple of shot before the final one, when I was setting up my position, I wanted to share those with you as well, to demonstrate how fundamentally light can change literally within a few minutes and what does it make with the final picture (click to enlarge it).

And as always, what Bryan Peterson thought me well: when is a good time for vertical shot? Right after the horizontal! ;)

All those picture above were shot facing east as the car trails were much stronger and more vibrant, but this shot facing west I consider also as a great example to see how the twilight looks like when the sun will disappear. Picture taken at 9.05, so 45 minutes after the sunset...



Vrátil som sa späť z fotenia riadne premrznutý. Bolo chladno a ešte aj fúkal riadny vietor! Ale tie zábery stáli za to! Už ste to niekde určite počuli, ale správne načasovanie je strašne dôležité, a vo fotografii to platí obzvlášť. Kvalita svetla na vašich záberoch veľmi závisí od správneho načasovania. A toto bol aj môj prípad v sobotu večer. Chystal som sa nafotiť záber do môjho projektu52 a témou týždňa bol Súmrak, alebo "Magická modrá", ak chcete. A podarilo sa mi nafotiť záber, ktorý vidíte úplne hore. Takže čo to je tá Magická kobaltová modrá? To je moment dňa, zhruba 30-60 minút po západe slnka, kedy už slnko priamo nesvieti, je stále dosť svetla odrazeného spoza horizontu a obloha ešte stále nie je totálne čierna. Obzvlášť zábery na osvietené mestá a svetlá áut vyzerajú fantasticky oproti magickej modrej oblohe! A na toto som si počkal. Západ slnka bol o 20.20 a prvý záber úplne hore bol nafotený o 21.00. Trojminútová expozícia, vďaka ktorej som do záberu dostal tie nádherné dlhé farebné šnúry zadných a predných svetiel áut a svetlo mesta podo mnou. No a ako vždy keď fotím počas Magickej kobaltovej chvíľky som si na pomoc zavolal FLW filter, ktorý dokáže krásne zvýrazniť celkovú farbu a štruktúru záberu.

No a keďže som mal zopár ďalších záberov, kým som si chystal miesto, chcel som sa s nimi podeliť s vami, aby ste videli výrazne sa dokáže zmeniť svetlo v prienehu pár minút a aký to má vplyv na výsledný záber (viď koláž vyššie).

A ako ma Bryan Peterson naučil: kedy je vhodný čas na nafotenie vertikálneho záberu? Hneď potom ako nafotíte horizontálny! ;) A preto som pridal vyššie aj vertikálnu verziu.

Všetky fotografie boli nafotené smerom na východ, nakoľko som tam mal svetlá z áut oveľa krajšie a výraznejšie, ale ako posledný som pridal záber nasmerovaný na západ, aby bolo vidieť ako krásne vyzerá obloha za súmraku, keď sa už slnko stratí. Posledný záber bol nafotený o 21.05, teda 45 minút po západe slnka...

Prague's castle at sunset (FLW filter nailed it again!)

We have spent a beautiful Sunday with my Prague's "workshopers". Starting at 4am, trying to capture sunrise, tram's motion, talking to strangers, jumping in front of graffiti wall, seeking for reflections.. and many many more! And then finishing at about 10pm - where else if not pointing at always photogenic landscape of Prague's castle over Charle's bridge? Touristic boat with a big PRAGUE name was just a cherry on the top of the already sweet cake. Gorgeous cloudy sky and of course - thanks to using FLW filter - beautiful enhanced overall colors and structure of the image. Thanks again for an amazing day!!

eiffel, part 6 - the last one (and the most postcard-ish one)

Enough teasing. Here it comes. The most classical Eiffel tower view, the most classical postcard shot. Something you HAVE to shot on your own, otherwise it doesn't count and you were NOT in Paris :) Well, mademoiselle Eiffel is very photogenic, no doubt about that. And her illuminated, curvy shape against a dusky, cloudy and colorful sky has no competition in Paris. So here I was. After playing enough with a carousel and flashes shots, I have finally arrived to Trocadero and I am fighting elbow to elbow with all other photographers and thousands (literally!) tourists to get the best available position. Keeping en eye (other one, which wasn't glued to the viewfinder) on roaming individuals who had a tendency to kick to my tripod (yeeah, and this is not something you want at the end of your 20 sec exposure! :)

Obviously - when is the best time to shoot a vertical picture? Right after the horizontal one!

eiffel, part 1

When you are visiting Paris, you can't miss Eiffel tower. It is really visible from almost everywhere!
Obviously I have taken few nice classical "postcard shots" as well (they will come later!), but let me first start to present THE tower from some different, a bit unusual angles.
This one has been taken next to a small carousel and as I LOVE the motion in the pictures, I had to incorporate a carousel into the frame. Mind a beautiful sky - all brought by favorite dusky FLW filter, otherwise picture is almost straight out of the camera.

Nikon D800, 24-70mm at 28mm, f/22 @ 10sec, ISO 100

panoramic athens

One more return to my rich Athens folder. At the top of the small rocky hill, right across Acropolis (when they've kicked out tourists after 5pm), I've spent about two hours. You know, as usual. Playing. With flash, without flash, wide angle, street zoom. And - with FLW filter I have taken this panoramic shot. Made out of 8 vertical shots, each taken at f/8 @ 10 seconds. Enjoy by clicking and opening a bigger size.

PS: and one more extra bonus - different place, different time. I personally like a lot strong line elements here. And I've just changed white balance to tungsten to pop up street lights.

greece without processing (again, FLW filter makes miracles)

I'm spending weekend in Athens (21.5°C on 1st of December!That's kind of winter I can live with! ;).
As I do not have my comp, I wanted to share only two pictures, where NO post processing has been applied at all.
First one is again a prove of Bryan's well shared tip - FLW filter makes miracles with the sky, when shooting after the dusk (see my previous example here).

05 dec - picture updated, sensor speck removed. photograph is still untouched

And as I am finalizing our new PPSOP.cz Flash course - I am obviously playing a lot with flashes recently. In my view - a beauty of combining ambient and flash light source offers just vast opportunities! In the background - famous Acropolis (under heavy construction). Highlighted tree in front lit with radio controlled, off the camera located flash NIKON SB-900 with amber gel.
Again - no processing has been applied - this is a straight out of the camera shot.

View at Acropolis  from the nearby hill.

no post processing (aka FLW makes miracle)

Believe or not, but the picture below has not been edited at all. This is "from the camera" shot. No Photoshop, no editing, no playing with sliders of white balance and contrast, no HDR... I'm dead serious.