night and low light Protecting the Harbor

A capture from my first time ever doing night shots. This was taken

about 2 hours after sunset with an exposure of about 1.5 minutes.

The cannon is one of the many from the Civil War on display around

the Charleston Harbor. Any thoughts or comments--especially from

those of you with some night and low light experience--are greatly

appreciated!

Tyler, by Patriots Point? Been there a few times - think Charleston is a great place. Like the bridge lighting, the rest seems a bit warm to me. Bit on the yellow/orange side. I guess you could tone this down a bit (if you agree)in software. I've been experimenting with night shots recently. Seems to me you need a clear night to get the sky looking good - otherwise tends to look a little muddy. Yours is better than anything I've achieved! My camera has a long exposure noise reduction feature which helps a bit.

Alan--Yes, Patriots Point. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by and comment. I know exactly what you are talking about with the foreground being yellow/orange. The reason for that is there are parking light lamps just to my left that illuminate the area around the cannon. I don't think I did anything to this shot in regards to post-processing--perhaps it is something that could be fixed. I do see what you are talking about and agree 100%. If you are interested, go check out my other shots in the same folder--there were cub scouts having a party on the Yorktown that night and I managed to talk the security guard into letting me out on the dock for a few minutes...those shots are taken with water as the foreground and are much further from the lovely parking lot lights. Thanks again for stopping by--I have to run but I'll definitely swing by your portfolio a bit later.

I was wondering how you got that other shot of the full bridge without going down in the marsh. that was very kind of the guard to let you on the pier. I personally like the parking lot lights on the cannon. I have a very similar shot taken before they tore the old bridges down, but it lacks the "punch" that this shot has. my one suggestion would be to come around a little more so the muzzle of the cannon is not crossing the further bridge support. otherwise its a beauty. regards, J.K.

My first thought was; sunset light gleaming on the metals, but I then read the ensuing comments and now know better, I think you did a GREAT job. Night images have never been strong suite, but what you have done here here, (even with the slight yellowing from the overhead lamp) works well for me. Your perspective is new and freshing, and the colora are not far fetched, just streched a little:) Wonderful job overall, I would love to see some more of your night images, so I'll keep on looking in on your works.. Cheers Cole

JK and Cole--Thanks for the comments. I appreciate them greatly! JK-I see your point with the end of the cannon and that is a very, very keen observation. I'll go back and try to recompose. While taking this shot I didn't pay much attention to that because I was busy trying to make the cannon hide some other unpleasant things...if you look just off that white pole coming off the back you can see a glimpse of a white stake just beyond the cannon and then under the cannon you can see that there is a bit of a yellow police tape that sits in front of the marsh. I'll be creative and try to recompose...I'm sure I can still hide those things (possibly even better). Cole--I think I've found a new inspiration with night shots so you can bet there will be more. I'm going to be busy the next few weeks but I'll be out shooting so check back periodically for more! Thanks for stopping by!

Nice light and nice subject.