The Capitol Christmas Tree and Reflecting Pool, Washington, DC

So ... I've been downtown three times this week trying to get some nice shots of Cole's tree in front of the Capitol building. I love the sparkly lights in this one. :-) So - talk to me about technical stuff. Night shots are NOT my specialty. Be brutally honest.

Any comments or ratings are appreciated! Merry Christmas!! :-)

DITTO From the above comments; Very nicely shot. I assume you used a 6-star light enhancing filter to produce the star lighting sparkles? IF PS you spent a long time working on the reflection! Absolute magazine quality; Love the picture.

I like it! The composition is good, you've cropped it well; it is well exposed, preserving the different temperatures of the light. The tree gets a little lost in there, but short of chest-waders and walking halfway across the Reflecting Pool...Did you use a filter to achieve the starring effect on the lights? May be it will snow soon and you can see what this scene looks like with the white stuff all around. How are all of your concerts, etc., going? Merry Christmas! Cheers! Chris

 

P.S. I left you a little 'story' about the Getty Center on that image of mine that you commented on. Cheers! Chris

Edward, NO filters or special effects at all. I just used a long exposure, and adjusted levels, contrast & color a little in Photoshop. I don't know how the starry things happened. Maybe someone could explain that to me.... :-) And the reflecting pool was like glass that night, so I didn't even touch it in PS. Anyway, thank you for the compliment ... It was a fun evening for me.

 

Chris, no snow anytime soon. We've had 60's all week. I was down at the tree three times this week after sunset with a thin shirt and light jacket (and not always even wearing the jacket). And the weather is supposed to get warmer before it drops down into daytime upper 40's. No complaints about the weather here ... not even having any rain ... just some a.m. fog. The concerts are over ... I am attempting to catch up on my sleep and am working on getting the shopping/shipping of gifts done and the parties party-ed. Merry Christmas to you, too!

I'm glad you post these wonderful photos from your area so I can enjoy them and not have to go there, I think all the people and hub-bub would drive me a little "more" looney. This is a lovely shot and I too really like the "stars" and the reflection. A purple tree! Makes for a wonderful Christmas greeting, hope your holidays are spent with lots of good food and fun, and many loved ones. You looked beautiful all gussied up!

...and the reflection too! I thought DC was supposed to be cold in winter?

Not so much, Colin - I grew up about 400+ miles north of here ... I think that must be about 800km (?) ... we had lots and lots of snow every winter (the initial snowfalls in the late fall didn't usually melt until March or April). Here in DC winter temps are often 40's or higher ... and if there is more than one serious snowfall (more than a few inches) in one season, it's a surprise to everyone. What are your winters like in London?

Looks very appealing, Lou Ann. I haven't done much night photograpy, so I'm no expert at all. I just know this one stands out because of the brightness of the tree and building and just looks very nice. The star effects are cool, no matter how they happened, and the reflection makes a perfect balance to the composition.

Lou Ann, I enjoy your use of the 10-22mm lens, I'm still looking the right way to use it...a nice panorama of the festive mood, really feels the holidays. The colored tree is a good addotion that stands out !

"Night shots are NOT my specialty. Be brutally honest."

 

Actually, Lou Ann, it looks like you started doing night shots as an expert. This is superb.

 

--Lannie

Fantastic shot Lou Ann. With regard to the starry things, I would always rather be lucky than good! MC & HNY.

Just a thought on square crop FWIW

Beautiful work, Lou Ann! Best regards, Ruud.

Really, night shots aren't my forte! I took about 17 different exposures of each shot, and you're just seeing the one that looked the most balanced to my eye. Thanks, all, for the input! :-)

Superb photo. I like that you have used a very closed aperture in order to create those stars in the lightings which give a christmas look to this nice image.

I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year Lou Ann.

Beautiful. Love the reflections. No snow here in Jamestown either but much colder.

merry christmas and happy new year,my friend..best regards.

I love the reflection, it is so crisp and clear, but the tree looks so small:) lol, Really shows the scale of things, great job You are so lucky to get to see such cool sights.. And thank you again for going out and capturing these images, truly amazing...

I like these! Night photography is fun & it sounds like you enjoyed doing these. This reminds me of someplace else I've seen.... :)

 

-s

Beautiful work.

Like the tones. Nice work, Lou Ann.

Lovely LouAnn you captured the Christmas spirit here.

Lou Ann, I have a brief moment between cooking, family, etc. and want to wish you a most wonderful Christmas. It has been a true pleasure getting to know you and your photography this year! With warmest wishes. Linda

This is beautiful! I think you've handled the night and the lighted buildings and tree very well. The reflection just adds to the appeal of this shot. As for your crop, I think I prefer it to the square crop, although that is nice as well. BTW, if you want snow shots, come on out to Colorado....we've got plenty here! Thank goodness we landed early Wednesday morning just as the blizzard started to really kick up...we made it to Andy's parents without too much trouble but it was slow going. Another hour or two and we'd have been with the many thousands stranded at the airport or turned away to land elsewhere! Yikes! The kids are loving the snow, though :)

 

Have a safe and merry Christmas and New Year.

 

Leslie