Downtown Denver on New Years Eve Photo

Photographer’s Note

The spot that I took the skyline photo from on my last posting was about 1 1/2 miles WSW of this spot on downtown Denver's Sixteenth Street Mall. The previous photo was taken looking ENE and this photo is facing about WNW. This was an unusually warm new years eve and the crowds were pretty good but the fireworks were very difficult to take from any angle so I concentrated on the crowds on the outdoor mall. I used the flash to freeze the motion of the pedestrians and the shuttle bus. I like using Nikon's "rear curtain" sync fill-flash mode (which Canon calls "second curtain" sync) which goes off at the end of the exposure rather than the beginning. I feel that this mode captures motion in a more natural way than the normal mode does. I like having moving subjects at night to be partly blurry from the slow shutter speed and partly sharp from using "rear curtain" flash mode. My last posting was a little on the soft side and this is probably a little on the over-sharpened side. My postings are starting to look a little flat and it looks like it is time to recalibrate my monitor.

lilimih33, Bruno40, Floydian, zeca, leo61, japiey, Paolo, Photo65Net, jean11-3, emjleclercq, enedimd, JorgeCK, delic, gary91, plimrn trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

melmcree (2261) 2007-06-06 20:01

I love that technique that you use but I still can't figure out how to use it. I think I have to have the flash that mounts on the hot shoe. That's my next purchase but don't tell my wife!! I really like all the neon that you have here it really makes this picture vibrant. Well done.

[2]

lilimih33 (9874) 2007-06-06 20:05

Hello Stan!
Beautiful night shot!
Lovely colours, light, clarity and perspective!
Excellent done!
Lili

jwmunro (6379) 2007-06-06 23:26

Hello Stan -

I have to disagree with your assessment, everything in this image is spot on the money. Here is where a bit of over sharpness works to your advantage. Notice how crisp the lights are and how crisp the moving subjects in the flash zone are. My only comment would be that the flash is too noticeable but then again what do I know about flash. You are your own worst critic as I am. We have discussed this before. Excellent image!

Thank you for sharing.

John

[2]

zeca (20026) 2007-06-07 0:38

Hello Stan!
Very nice colours! The exposition is great and this picture has a nice mood! The frame is also nice! Well done work!
Regards,
Zeca

vagabondtravels (6115) 2007-06-07 0:52

Hi Stan

Nice capture from the mile high city. I lke your use of flash here. Some motion bringing the image to life. Well done.
Ben

leo61 (43650) 2007-06-07 3:26

Hi Stan!
Fantastic colors for a nightshot.Well done with the exposuretime.Good POV and nice perspective.
Regards,Leo

japiey (9497) 2007-06-07 3:51

STAN.

How can a night be captured so lovely and dreamy?
In your last image, i wished to be there..and now, am really walking there..!!

SALUTES, DEAR STAN...
Have a dreamy walk over there...

jean paul

Graal (58616) 2007-06-07 5:54

Hi Stan,
very nice reportage from Denver. Pleasant colours, good POV and interesting note. Well done photo. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

Floydian (30970) 2007-06-07 9:05

Hi Stan,
The exposure here is spot on, that 1/6 sec really help you to catch the light in the far back. Instead of a black hole we now see full detail, and those moving people create an excellent feeling of a busy street. Great colors and sharpness.
Regards, Henk

[2]

Paolo (40753) 2007-06-07 9:24

Hi Stan, a good night view at Xmas time, with many colours and subject and good quality and exposure.
thanks, ciao

quetzal (3467) 2007-06-07 12:17

Hello Stan,
Excellent shot of Denver by this special night. The colors are beautiful and give the shot an interesting atmosphere. Well done.
Greetings
Jean-Louis

Photo65Net (43096) 2007-06-07 13:28

Stan,
Beautiful nice shot.
You controlled so different lights, it is a great job.
Very nice,
Regards,
JB.

danyy (69357) 2007-06-07 15:35

Bonjour Stan,
on peut dire que tu donnes un caractère particulier à la vie nocturne, les inévitables fantômes dûs aux temps de pose élévés.
J'aime beaucoup cette atmosphère. L'uilisation du pied était bien necessaire.

Bets regards.
Daniel.

emjleclercq (14458) 2007-06-07 17:02

Well, personnally I never recalibrated my monitor...

To get back with the picture (which is not really a season's picture), I like the strong contrast between the very dark sky and the bright light of the street, especially the Christmas decorations. The blur effect works very well with the passing bus.

All the best,

Emmanuel

enedimd (1528) 2007-06-07 17:41

Hi Stan,
Very well composition. Wonderful night shot. Lights, colors and perspective are superb. Frame and helpful note are also so good.
TFS,
Have a nice day.
Emir Nedim

berseph (1758) 2007-06-07 17:56

Great image Stan. I really like all the different lights and the festive atmosphere. You captured this difficult scene quite well.

JorgeCK (2598) 2007-06-08 8:55

Hi Stan,
Love this pictures. I don't understand all the techniques that you used however this picture looks great. Like the clarity and the effect of movement that was captured.
Congrats.
joRge

delic (6735) 2007-06-08 17:21

Hello Stan,
Looks fine to me, certainly not flat. Maybe a tad oversharpened but nothing troublesome. Rear-curtain sync has worked exactly as described in your note. Fine street shot like others from Denver. Smoothness of colors is amazing, as if noise reduction was used. Excellent. Best wishes,
Hakan

ben4321 (9807) 2007-06-11 3:30

I don't think over-sharpening is too much of a problem here Stan, although it pays to sharpen areas of an image selectively - there's not much point sharpening intentionally blurred details like that moving bus for example. Similarly, areas of smooth tone such as skies shouldn't really be sharpened, and there are some strange artefacts in the sky here. Might just be due to the JPEG compression though.
Overall, this is a good shot of night in the city, although I think it needs some stronger foreground elements to really bring it to life. The combination of flash and ambient light works very well though.
I was using rear curtain flash from the Brooklyn Bridge in NY, unsurprisingly I got honked at by the drivers below!

Cheers,
Ben

WepWaWet (3973) 2007-06-12 5:37

Hello Stan,
Wonderful night shot!.. Great lighting and excellent framing. Colors, clarity and sharpness are very beautiful.
See you a few weeks later.
Regards,
Seref

euryan (8351) 2007-06-21 0:01

This is a really nice city shot. It’s very colorful and happy. It makes we want to sing that Downtown song, you know the one? In fact this photo almost looks more like a painting, probably because the lighting is so evenly balanced throughout the photo. Great use of your flash. I don't think I have used a flash in my life, so your note was very informative. I should try experimenting with my flash.
Take care,
Ryan

Bruno40 (6442) 2007-06-21 7:47

Stan,
I like teh technique you used here. It is quite sharp, and it has an interesting composition. Useful note as well.
cheers
Jorge

rgarrigus (0) 2007-06-26 1:32

Stan,

I really like this shot. It has somewhat of an Edward Hopper feel to it for me. The movement is well captured by your choice of rear curtain sync.

Cheers!

Bob G.

gary91 (15321) 2007-06-27 1:44

Hello Stan,
The technique if rear or second curtain is very good and I agree with you that it gives a more natural image. I like your very dynamic composition. The use of the wide angle gives a view like if it was me in this downtown main street.
Very nice image that reminds me of great souvenirs :o)
Have a nice day.
Best regards, Christian

Nikofan (1086) 2007-06-29 15:32

Hello Stan,

Superb and warmly colored night view!
A great job!

Bernard

plimrn (19694) 2008-04-29 19:23

Hi Stan,
I'm with John here, the sharpness was what drew me to the photo. Your note is very useful; Larry played a bit wioth rear-curtain sync with musician shots. He'll be interested in your opinion and seeing how you captured some motion.
JLJ, Pat