Dundas Street, Stromness, Orkney

by FraserDixon

Long tripod exposure, 3 sec at f9. Just needed a little cropping and some work to reduce the flare of the streetlights. Can't enter it in the Night Competition as its 2 years old and as, up here its quite light during summer nights, so I can't repeat the shot until the evenings are darker.
Uploaded18/07/2012 - 21:01
CategoryArchitecture
Shutter Speed3 sec
Aperturef/9.5
LensN/A
ISO200
Focal Length35mm
Views/Likes81/0

Gary Hickin
Posted 18/07/2012 - 22:21 Link
Super location-potentially a wonderful atmospheric shot if the flare from the streetlight could be controlled. It presents similar problems encountered in a candlelit still life- if you expose for the flame surrounding detail is lost in the shadows- if you expose for the details you just get a glare from the light source. Blending two or more conversions from a single RAW file could work or simply blending a couple of shots- one for the light , one for the street. Maybe some subtle tonemapping? Sorry- you probably know this already but it's such a great shot waiting to happen! It would be interesting to know what you have done so far to try and reduce the glare.
Cheers,
Gary
sandinista
Posted 19/07/2012 - 06:49 Link
Great atmosphere with the glistening rain soaked cobbles and paving stones
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Edited by sandinista: 19/07/2012 - 06:49
bwlchmawr
Posted 19/07/2012 - 07:31 Link
This is so unusual and distinctive. Great sense of time and place.
Best wishes,

Andrew

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pauljay
Posted 19/07/2012 - 08:34 Link
You can almost reach out and touch this one! Have to agree with the master, Gary!
Paul.

Photography is not a sport. It has no rules. Everything must be dared and tried! (Bill Brandt)
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Mac
Posted 19/07/2012 - 11:08 Link
I'd have this enlarged and on my wall.

Love the colour and the wet pavement, to say nothing of the perspective.
Mac from Montreal

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autumnlight
Posted 19/07/2012 - 15:42 Link
Super shot, i love the wet pavings and the curves.
szgabor
Posted 20/07/2012 - 20:06 Link
Great composition, wonderful lights. Well taken shot.
Regards,
Gábor
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FraserDixon
Posted 20/07/2012 - 21:37 Link
It would be interesting to know what you have done so far to try and reduce the glare.
Cheers,
Gary

Tried selecting area around light with a broad fuzzy edge and reducing the brightness within - but the result was always obvious although I made several attemps with different settings. Ended up adjusting brightness, contrast, highlight and shadow for the whole image until I felt image was as good as possible. Might retake the shot using neutral density filter or, possibly, an air rifle.

Thanks to you all for your comments - much appreciated. Encourages me to post a few more
Fraser
Gary Hickin
Posted 21/07/2012 - 00:50 Link
An ND filter will increase the exposure time, assuming the same f stop,iso but the problem of sufficient dynamic range would remain. An ND grad might improve things but will have an effect across the entire width of the shot, some selective adjustment of levels would be necessary. I would still favour a two shot blend- one for the light, one for the street/buildings. You have inspired me to roam around my local town to see if I can find a similar scene! Wet roads and pavements should not be a problem at the moment!
Like your air rifle comment!
Cheers,
Gary
PS. Was the original a RAW file? an underexposed RAW shot (for the light) might work well, selectively bringing up the levels of the street and buildings- could be a problem noisewise though.
Edited by Gary Hickin: 21/07/2012 - 00:51

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