Story Bridge in Brisbane

[PhotoByTrace]

A couple of days after I took the photographic tour of the Story Bridge I headed up to the Wilson Outlook on Bowen Terrace to see if I could catch a sunset and the lit bridge at twilight to "complete my set".
Well, Mother Nature was very kind to me and gave me one of the more spectacular sunsets I've seen in some time. For a few moments I was wishing I'd been on the bridge for this sunset, but then in the next thought realised without filters or a tripod to bracket with, this would have been difficult to capture the way I wanted to.
I also learned that I need to account for my lens's distortion when framing a scene with strong verticals, oh, and that it is time to start saving for a wide lens
C&C welcomed...

Photo 1- Half an hour before sunset. Fast moving clouds and a 4 minute exposure


Photo 2- Sunset with a 2sec exposure


Photo 3- Sunset with a 1min exposure


Photo 4- Twilight about 20 mins after sunset with a 15sec exposure

[dje]

Another excellent set Trace.

I think 2 and 4 are my favourites this time but once again they are all good.

It's fascinating the variety of moods you can capture in the space of an hour.

Dave

[Jack R Mann]

just awsome !! love all

[waha]

Yes, a fascinating study of what light can do!

I wonder if you would consider darkening the roof of the large shed in the lower right in the first three shots? (Or perhaps this is against your photographic ethics?) Seems to me the roof distracts from the delicate filigree of the bridge and the beautiful lines of the buildings. Worth a try, no?

[epmi314]

Wow. At first glance I honestly didn't even see the roof lower right as I was too busy paying attention to the rest of the image. Frankly, the roof/lower quarter of the image isn't needed in the shot and a crop is in order. That said, they are all absolutely wonderful. Number 2 and 4 are the best IMHO. I feel the more static clouds fit well in number 2 as there is no other motion in the shot that I could see. Number 4 rocks with the same little crop... Really nice stuff!!!

[PhotoByTrace]

Hi Wayne,
Yes, I will try and darken that roof. And no, not against my photographic ethics. I tried various crops to remove it, but none gave me the balance I wanted, so darkening the roof will definitely de-emphasise it. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and feedback

[PhotoByTrace]

Thanks Scott! I have tried a few crops on these photos during processing, but just couldn't come up with a crop that felt balanced and didn't require a whole lot of cloning out of the remaining shed (which I also tried but wasn't getting a good result). I will revisit it though, as I tend to agree. Thanks for your input!

[Rob Douglas]

Beautiful set Trace. The colors are amazing. Slightly toning down the roof would be good but not completely needed. Maybe a very slight vignette?

[FrankMi]

Another lovely set, Trace! My favorite is #2 but I would be real tempted to apply the sky from #2 to #4. For the shed, have you considered just selecting it, reducing the contrast, and adjusting the colour and brightness just enough to make fade into the foreground? Sort of like it does in #1 but more in the same direction?

[PhotoByTrace]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. It is all appreciated! I've revisited Number 2 and tried both de-emphasizing the building and just cropping the bugger out.... I think the crop has grown on me overnight
Here they are; let me know what you think, preferences etc.

[dje]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. It is all appreciated! I've revisited Number 2 and tried both de-emphasizing the building and just cropping the bugger out.... I think the crop has grown on me overnight
Here they are; let me know what you think, preferences etc.

Hi Trace

I think this just comes down to personal preference. Each image has it's own character. I'd probably go for the cropped version although I'd prefer to see a little more of the river at the bottom. Something like this perhaps - cropped just above the rocky outcrop and with the remaining roof and branches cloned out (very quickly). Hope you don't mind me fiddling !

Dave

[PhotoByTrace]

Hi Dave, no I don't mind... and I prefer the balance of this one. I've tried this crop (with the bridge more on the third) a couple of times, but my cloning skills have let me down... time to keep working on them as it definitely looks/feels better balanced with more water in the foreground.
BTW your "very quick" crop looks more natural than the ones I've spent some time on
Thanks for your time and help!

[Bobobird]

Crop or no crop they still are great pics.

What made you go for a 4 min daytime exposure? I presume you had some filter on?

[PhotoByTrace]

Crop or no crop they still are great pics.

What made you go for a 4 min daytime exposure? I presume you had some filter on?

Hi Bobo, I could see that there were some moderately fast moving cloud floating through and wanted to "streak"/"smudge" them with a long exposure to get that windswept kind of look. And yes I had some heavy filtering happening as it was still quite bright. A soft gnd, a 10 stop nd and finally an additional 3 stop nd. I tried initially with just the 10 stop and 30 seconds, but it wasn't long enough to streak the clouds for the effect I was hoping for; then tried f/13 for 1 minute and was getting closer. So added the additional 3 stop which put me out to 4 minutes. Also tried it with f/8 but blew the highlights.
That... plus I had about 20 minutes to "kill" before sunset