Coit Tower with Cables - San Francisco, California
Another the cityscape series, this time with a 500mm lens plus a 2x extender for 1000mm total reach! I'm still working on the big panorama. It is difficult to get identically perfect conditions on 3 different evenings. No HDR.
See the super big 1800 pixel version to see every bolt on the cables!!
Www. flickr. com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/521152361...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II - 1 single image, no cropping
Canon 500L F4 + 2x extender
(with live preview magnified to 10x to get it perfectly sharp with the background soft.)
Be careful, as a lens cools down after being in a hot car, you have to refocus every minute or so!
0.3-second exposures @F29, very little diffraction compared to F8. Needed big DOF to get it all in focus!
No grad filters
No polarizer.
ISO 100
RAW files processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF files processed with Photoshop
Tripod - 1 home depot bucket with a circular 1-inch thick plywood board rotated on top to create panoramas. (this setup far more stable than the most sturdy tripod and only US $15!) I'm not kidding!!! Make sure it is perfectly level so that the entire panorama is level.
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The Story
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This is just a single image that I saw while setting up for an evening panorama. It ended up being too hazy for the panorama but this single shot came out well! I was not intending on getting this image but the light was too good to ignore. Don't get married to preconceived ideas about what you want or you may miss a great moment.
The big pano is really difficult to capture so I'm still working on it. The first week, the visibility was 100 miles but the heat made big waves which blurred out the longer exposures. Then a few days later, the air because stable for really sharp photos but it was hazy so the distant objects were not perfectly visible. Then for the last few days, everything was perfect but I had to go to LA to visit relatives so I still have yet to be here under the right conditions for the panorama I want.
If you wish to get a really outstanding image when 5,000 images are uploaded to Flickr each minute, it seems as though you really have to be dedicated! Don't give up.
The map shows the exact location.
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Other stuff
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My pictures are featured on the front page of the newly redesigned
The state Gov. of California website. Have a look! It is Flash with my pics cut into layers for a 3-d slideshow. If you are into building apps, the State has opened up lots of data to the public, so check it out!
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Resources:
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Google Earth
Earth. google. com/
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
Www. wrh. noaa. gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)
Tidesandcurrents. noaa. gov/tide_predictions. shtml? gid=235
Wave Heights (I choose 'North Pacific from Global')
Polar. ncep. noaa. gov/waves/main_int. html
Or Here:
Www. opc. ncep. noaa. gov/shtml/RP1bw. gif
Photos of every inch of the California coastline from a small plane. Excellent for close in detailed views.
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