The Grating Spectrometer, a photo from Kotor, South

Photographer's Note

This was my first visit to Kotor, Montenegro. The walled medieval city is evocative of several Croatian ports, including Dubrovnik, Split and Trogir. But, nestled among soaring mountains — remnants of of the last Ice Age when receding glaciers carved the steep walls and cliffs, and produced fjords evocative of the Norwegian Coast — Kotor features a topography even more dramatic than those of the Croatian ports in the Eastern Adriatic.

It was 11:30 pm, just half-an-hour before the Crystal Serenity sailed out of Kotor, Montenegro for Zadar, Croatia. The absence of any breeze created a mirror-like sea, and the opportunity for me to make a 30-second time exposure of the sailing ship anchored only a few hundred meters away. I set up a heavy tripod, and produced a series of photos with manual setting.

As for the title of the shot, "Grating Spectrometer." I am a theoretical physicist, and a self-confessed hazard in a laboratory. However, from my student days I remember seeing images through the eye-pieces of grating spectrometers, equipment that allows one to determine the characteristic wavelengths of a variety of gases in discharge tubes. The narrow vertical lines in a variety of colors resemble spectra one sees in grating spectrometers.

Suppiluliuma, jhm, Royaldevon, delpeoples, Sonata11, danos, josepmarin, jlbrthnn, daddo, MLINES, Didi, aliabazari, s_lush, rogerl has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Suppiluliuma (3849) 2012-10-15 22:21

Dear Bülent Bey,

The lights -and the time- seem to be frozen. Nice theme with aesthetic borders. Adriatic Sea seems to have a lot to offer. I will visit the area some day.

Although you couldn't do anything about it, the composition would be even better without the buildings in the background, IMHO.

Sevgilerimle,

Erdem

Royaldevon (18339) 2012-10-16 1:22

Good Morning Bulent,

A delightful shot, where the sea resembles a flat mirror, reflecting and extending the ship and the many lights. Your long exposure has used all the available lights to great effect. As always, great attention to composition.

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

snunney (67918) 2012-10-16 2:48

Hello Bulent,
I am amazed at the clarity of the image given it was taken from the deck of the ship, even with a tripod. The detail is excellent and the exposure perfectly controlled. Love those streaks of light across the glass like water.

jhm (123116) 2012-10-16 3:01

Dear Bulent,

Your first visit to Kotor with this wonderful picture makes a great impression.
F/11, 30 seconds is very well adjustment, you chose the best out of your series.
What a lovely reflection, impeccable photograph, very high quality.
Excellent composition, nice colors and good presentation. TFS.

Best regards,
John

Cricri (87288) 2012-10-16 10:43

Hi Bulent
j'aime comme la couleur du bateau ce copie aux bâtiments sur le haut, les éclairages colorées avec leurs reflets, un tout bien ressorti dans la nuit noir, belle réalisation
Belle soirée
cricri

nikkitta (6130) 2012-10-17 13:49

Hola Bulent

Happy you are back with new photos and interesting notes but Grating Spectrometer is a bit complicated to understand

On the other side the crystal clear photo is a perfect and beautiful night capture

The colorful reflects,the town and the smart ship are quite well captured with the long exposure

Greetings and warm regards
Maria

delpeoples (45684) 2012-10-18 3:01

Merhaba dear Bulent

What a fascinating title and one with your note has taught me something new, I'd never heard of a Grating Spectomter. A beautiful nightshot, we do not often see nocturnal images in your Gallery, but this is a beautiful example. I love the dominating silver and black tones, perfectly exposed and uniquely subtle. Well done.

Warmest regards
Lisa

madhumita_roy86 (2224) 2012-10-18 8:48

Hi Bulent,
very nice night shot...
lovely vivid colour tones...
excellent sharpness & lights...
lovely colourful reflections.....
very impressive & eye catching...
Tfs! regards,
Madhumita.

Sonata11 (28748) 2012-10-18 19:14

Hello Bulent,
very beautiful night picture. An amazing light and fantastic time. You captured this ship wonderfully and flawlessly with magnificenmt reflection. The effect of those light relflected on the water are spectacular. Really brilliant photo job. I love a lot. Perfectly well done. Thank you.
All the best and have a great day,
Barbara

danos (74478) 2012-10-19 3:59

Hello Bulent,
very nice the night shot with the new sailing boat to be moored in the port of Kotor,with the reflections to complete perfect the whole scenery.
I like the excellent quality of the image,with the well lighted buildings on the hill to make the image more attractive and unique.

Regards,danos

rbassin (11381) 2012-10-19 9:24

hello Bulent
C'est une très belle photo de nuit, le voiliers est superbe au milieu des lumières et des reflets.
Bon W-E
Roland

chrisvek (5645) 2012-10-19 18:01

Hello Bulent

Very good night shoot with perfect lightning usage and amazing contrasts.Perfect POV with details.Well done!

Have a nice day
Chris

papagolf21 (76973) 2012-10-19 23:37

Bonjour, cher ami Bulent,
Ici, point de recherche de polarisation, mais la beauté d'une vue nocturne où le voilier semble poser sur une mer de glace.
La joliesse de l'ensemble est remarquable.
Félicitations.
Amitiés.
Philippe

holmertz (27198) 2012-10-20 8:19

Hello Bülent,
Kotor is a great place and this nightly picture combines its beauty with the variously colored lights and their reflexions. The composition also combines a strong vertical accent of the masts and reflexions with an equally strong horizontal accent created by the shoreline. Furthermore the reflexions have formed a triangle which I find very attractive.
Kind regards,
Gert

Tigerlily (2343) 2012-10-20 14:19

Hi Bulent,
A beautifully captured image. Excellent light control. I really like the reflections on the water... I can't imagine such a tiny light made that much impact on the water, beautiful indeed.Best wishes to you:-)

agulberk (3792) 2012-10-20 19:53

Merhaba Bülent Hocam
Siyah rengin gizemli karanlığından çıkan yeşil,kızılımsı sarı,biraz mavi ,gri ve buz beyaz renklerin göz kamaştıran güzelliğine gri renkli yelkenli ve arka plandaki binalar çok hoş eşlik etmiş. Duvara asılacak çok güzel bir tablo.
Tebrikler
Selam ve sevgilerimle

Adnan

Thanoslim (310) 2012-10-23 6:45

Hi Bulent
Nice clear and very sharp photo. I like the way you write the reflections on the water.
Regards,
Thanasis

jlbrthnn (79787) 2012-10-25 10:35

Hello Bulent,
It is interesting the relationship of photography to science. The night shot is good, well exposed and sharp. Bravo.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

daddo (18629) 2012-10-28 20:27

Merhaba Bulent Bey.It's a fine night shot and only alludes to the beauties awaiting the traveler. it is an impressive place that I visited while we still had Yugoslavia. My forefathers (Albanian)came from the mountain villages above Bar (ancient Antivari) and the strange thing was that when they fled the Ottomans and settled in Zadar, they had no words for the types of fish found in the Adriatic. Do you think that we have a predisposition in our genetic makeup for a certain terrain, topographic features. My heart skips a beat when I see tall mountains crowned with clouds (like in Karadağ. But I also respond just as strongly when close to the sea, something to do with my childhood in Zadar and Biograd, both coastal towns. Serenity Now! as George from Seinfeld used to say. Selamlar. Klaudio.

Didi (49146) 2012-11-03 10:24

Hi my friend
This is a good example for a good lights management in the black lights
Wonderful mirror of the sea who don't looks freezed
Very well done
All my best regards

Silvio1953 (99177) 2012-11-12 11:40

Ciao Bulent, fascinating nocturne shoot, fantastic light, splendid reflections and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

scroller (3407) 2012-12-13 13:51

Hej Bulent!
An excellent night shot. I like the mix between the dark night and the different white elements!
Hälsningar
/Stefan

aliabazari (10165) 2012-12-13 22:45

Hi Bulent Dear
This place is very beautiful and you added exposure and the beauty of a good frame.

With respect, my friend.

s_lush (15636) 2013-01-04 4:36

Hello Bulent,
This beautiful night scene has been captured by you with the optimal camera settings that allow viewing many nice details despite the difficult lighting conditions. Excellent composition, masterful management of light and colors, perfect quality and very informative and highly interesting note!
Best regards,
Sergiy