Bright lights, big... town Photo

Photographer’s Note

Torquay Harbour Bridge

If you'd like to have a go at HDR yourself, I have a tutorial online here

Not quite as impressive as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but I think still worthy of a photograph or two nonetheless ;)

The bands on the bridge towers are made up from strips of bright blue LED's. Although you can't see it here the clever stuff actually happens beneath the bridge - it conceals a cill designed to maintain a uniform depth of water within the harbour regardless of the level of the tide outside. The main reason for this is to make the harbour more picturesque - of course picturesque doesn't come cheap, the complete harbour redevelopement cost 21 million GBP...

Torquay itself has a long history, the first settlers in the area arriving in prehistoric times - a nearby cave suggests perhaps up to 700,000 years ago. Modern human occupation probably dates back to the 1196 when a group of monks founded Torre Abbey. In the past few hundred years it's become popular with holidaymakers, initially as a health resort, but subsequently with everyone due to its mild climate and beaches.

Tech:
Three exposures taken immediately after sunset, bracketed at -1.5EV 0EV +1.5EV and then merged together using Photomatix to maintain shadow and highlight detail. Tone Mapping applied in Photomatix.

Loaded into PS for USM and resize.

Then loaded into NeatImage for noise reduction on the sky.

rtome, Albrecht, lasscor, Floydian, cherryripe, paura, Didi, nels, ebayrakci, Porteplume, darrasin, leo61, dolin, lotis, Xalkida, lilimih33, Emiel_Skyfreak, cam, VeeJayCee, Bogdan, fredleal, Jason_teale, madux, maloutim, yogi32, andante, Prisley, derek3755, ilghiz, vmukherjee has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Albrecht (10916) 2006-08-16 13:00

Hi Adrian
Spectacular lights and compo and POV. Well made picture. Compliments.
~greetings Albrecht~

chaitee (136) 2006-08-16 13:02

Amazingly beautiful and futuristic photo Adrian! I love the skys and the lights in that photo, maybe try using f/22 next time to generate a ray effect on the light sources.

lasscor (7623) 2006-08-16 13:02

Hi Adrian,
Wonderful colorful night composition.
Wonderful Blue and gold colors, light and shadows, pov, dof, perspective, textures, details ... ALL IS PERFECT!!!
Very good job of an expert.
TFS,
Corinne

Floydian (30970) 2006-08-16 13:03

Hi Adrian,
Excellent work in exposure and pp in Photomatix.
Composition, colours and detail are well taken....really great work..!!!
Regards, Henk

Shelbeesmom (678) 2006-08-16 13:14 [Comment]

Show Comment

paura (37848) 2006-08-16 13:21

Adrian,
Nice comp from this noturne landscape.
Good job!

Paulo

tabora (13636) 2006-08-16 13:25

Bonjour Adrian,
Superbe prise nocturne féerique,bien nette.
Beau Travail.
Amitiés joseph

Didi (35744) 2006-08-16 13:32

Hello Adrian
Nice picture with theese magics lights in the blue time.
The HDR is a very interesting solution.
Well done.

gigi (2668) 2006-08-16 13:47

hi Adrian
great night shot
fantastic
gigi

AthaPan (0) 2006-08-16 13:49

Hi Adrian

I often use this programm, but in totally nightshots the noise is to visible. Did you have the same problems???

Photo is well managed!
Sakis

tjanze (5674) 2006-08-16 13:52

Hi Adrian!
I missing something there.What? Jedy!
It looks like space station.Very cool.Fantastic work.Sharpness...wow! Bravo!

gilou530 (34731) 2006-08-16 14:04

salut adrien
trés belle photo de nuit, couleurs et cadrage super,bravo
gilbert

nels (2455) 2006-08-16 14:21

hi adrian,, stunning colours and lighting looks like i will have to give photomatix a try

Bluejeans (31613) 2006-08-16 15:13

Ola Adrian bela foto nocturna , as cores ficaram fantasticas , parabens

greg (2835) 2006-08-16 15:15

So Safeway's out, huh? Very futuristic, this one. Maybe because of your HDR treatment - it gives it a rare feel. Torquay didn't look at all like that when I was last there...

ebayrakci (240) 2006-08-16 15:35

Perfect POV. Great composition. I Like very much, TFS.

Ertugrul

Porteplume (3255) 2006-08-16 15:35

Bonjour Adrian,
You let us wait & wait & wait... But then, when you're ready, we for sure get something very special! :o)
It's wonderful, I got the impression I could "enter" in that image, so much depth.
Well, reading about your PP I understand it has been improved after shooting but still... You must be very handy and a good photographer to build that composition and get that tremendous image to work with.
PURE MAGIC! Thank you for the pleasure, as always...
Amicalement - Viviane

darrasin (2860) 2006-08-16 15:40

Hi Adrian,

You have captured great depth here. It's very stunning. You have really exploited the wide angle lense you used here well.

Thanks for such a detailed note! The post processing notes are especially useful to me as I just started dabling with NeatImage.

Regards,
Doug

Regards,
Doug

leo61 (42868) 2006-08-16 15:45

Hi Adrian!
You must be joking,that`s not the UK,that`s the entry to a forreign galaxy........
Luke Skywalker and friends would have fun here.
Excellent shot and magic light.Your POV is perfect and the contrast of the lights at the bridge with the lights at the city is fantastic.Great work,congratulations.
Regards,Leo

toni_al (15430) 2006-08-16 16:36

Salut Adrian
Une belle image de nuit, superbes couleurs.
@+ Toni

peter1892 (3201) 2006-08-16 18:10

A superb image - the exposure & colours are excellent. Perfect timing in waiting until just after sunset to retain some natural light in the sky. I'll have to give this HDR thing a try myself :)

dolin (15647) 2006-08-16 18:46

Hi Adrian
Assez fou, on se croirait je ne sais où, y a une ambiance de film à science fiction, c'est assez incroyable.
Les tons oranges sur le fond, les lumière bleues et l'ambiance métalique avec ce pont, le ciel bleu-violet....terrible !!!!!
Sacrée prise
Bravo
Fred

vapours (7913) 2006-08-16 21:15

Quite impressive Adrian, and this is better than the Sydney Harbour Bridge because I haven't seen this bridge about a million times. Great sharpness and the lighting looks great, the blue gives off a real futuristic feel to it.

My only complaint is that the blue seems a little too saturated.

jjcordier (24140) 2006-08-17 2:41

Very good night shot with great colours and original composition.
Best regards
JJ

cherryripe (18794) 2006-08-17 11:56

Hi Adrian
Beautiful graphic night shot. The bridge is beautiful and those blue lights are stunning. The town behind is well lit. I like the clouds which make the sky more interesting and the smoothness thanks to Neat Image adds to the graphics.
Regards
Nikki

lotis (132) 2006-08-20 21:26

Hi Adrian,
What a nice shot! The lights are very well exposed. You really did use the "blue hour" to your advantage here. Your sky and reflection on the water are well caught too. The blue is saturated just enough in my opinion. It's on the limit. But everything is so crisp and clear.
And what a not too!
Very well done.

Best Regards,
Louis

Xalkida (11740) 2006-08-21 3:11

Hi Adrian

Great shot, very well combined. It's an interesting method that I must examine in the future. Great colors! Excellent job!

rahul__rahul__ (2250) 2006-08-23 15:59

Hi Adrian
I like the lights in this a lot, the colors are very nice and the vertical format works well
good job
tfs
rahul

flatwin (1932) 2006-09-02 8:09

bonjour,
excellent prise de vue de ce pont de nuit - bonne maitrise en pose longue - suberbes couleurs

Arnaud

chrisdane (18) 2006-09-07 1:50

Greedings Adrian
I love the colours in your photos and this is the epitomy of your ability to capture them.I love this photo, it deserves to be published as poster for a futuristic lounge bar :) Great work matey , cheers
Chris

izmirli (2931) 2006-09-14 20:43

merhaba adrian
wonderful picture.wonderful lights and composition.well done.
best regards.
gürkan akçakır.

poulinp (4464) 2006-09-18 20:04

Hi Adrian.

This ia a "comic books like" shot! :-) Incredible the way you managed the colors here. Very well done.

turbaczka (0) 2006-10-08 14:02

hi

wow I don't know what to say:P I'm really impressed, great picture with great colours and those lights..ahhh...it looks fascinating:)
regards

tigra (2966) 2006-10-14 18:06

WoW!!!
Unbelievable night shot, Adrian.
It is well-composed and sharp.
Exellent work!!!
Katia

lilimih33 (9870) 2006-10-22 19:01

Wow! Hello Adrian! Fantasic night shot! Wonderful colours, clarity, sharpness...just perfect! Well done! Lili

adalfons (281) 2006-10-23 5:58

on the contrary, very impressive.

donluicu (23901) 2006-10-23 11:52

Hi Adrian
the results of your xompo is simply amazing...
excellent PP work..
it'q quite unreal.

regards

Emiel_Skyfreak (2976) 2006-11-03 15:12

Beautiful shot. Really nice colours, great work with this HDR.
Lovely lights on this bridge. Great sharpness and nice composition, I like how the bridge leads the eye into the image. Lovely result on the sky to, which forms a real nice background.
Really excellent work.

Funny that I was just browsing your gallery minutes ago, and after that I saw you critiqued one of my shots..:)

You've really great work in your gallery!

cam (8880) 2006-11-05 12:54

Hi Adrian
Impressive results you got from HDR,a useful tool the more I see pictures.
Everything is well exposed and the results is a festival of colored lights.
Did you any problems with passerby or this is a very lonely hour?
You made this picture alive in a futuristic way.
Do you have a site where you can refer me for learning HDR?Thanks in advance.
Charles

mbhhas (301) 2006-11-18 16:00

you have a 6 sence for night time photography!
brilliant

jdwyer264 (1082) 2006-11-22 14:23

Great shot Adrian.
An awesome sculpture this bridge. The longer exposure has given the image an extra element of beauty, and it does look quite special. Also looks a bit artificial, in a good way, a great way. I would say for the position of the subject this is near perfect, would have been an added bonus if the sky had been more colourful alongside the lights. Great work.
Love to know what you think of any of my shots.
Have a good day.

VeeJayCee (2410) 2006-11-30 5:10

A wow of a picture Adrian!Taking the image as a whole, The town is very nicely exposed and the damage which neat image sometimes causes is actually a plus in this case, softening the clouds as the exposure were much longer. The time of taking is important as twilight allows this sky detail to show which is preferable to a completely black sky. However, the crowning glory for me is the quality of light and the finely detailed sharpness of the actual bridge structure. I even wonder whether (as an alternative) a black and white version might subdue the remainder and allow the bridge to be the single point of impact. Either way a picture I'd love to have taken myself. Much kudos to you.

kevinos (6911) 2007-02-02 8:58

Torquay Harbour bridge! So interesting! I though it was the millennium bridge at first, but they look quite similar. You have made this night exposure so well, with darkness but enough light in the sky and a lovely golden glow from the buildings on the shore.(Is one of them Fawlty Towers, the most famous Torquay establishment?)The strong lines of the bridge structure make a good lead in to the subject. Every element is so well expose, making a delightful picture. Regards Kevin

fredleal (54) 2007-03-16 23:36

Well, it really is picturesque. When I first glanced at the thumbnail, I was immediately drawn to this pic 'cause it looked like a cartoon, with such bright colors!

jbweasle (9294) 2007-03-17 6:56

Hello Adrian, I live in the UK but it's a long time since I have been to Torquay. It seems things have changed with this modern structure. Anyway you have captured it well with great colour, detail and exposure.

Jason_teale (703) 2007-03-17 7:03

Great HDR shot! Amazing tones and depth! They sky is particularly impressive!

rubisheikh (77) 2007-05-13 12:04

Hi Adrian,
Very good night Photo with warm colours and Contrast, perfect composition,TFS Best regards
Rubi.

coco (27598) 2007-07-29 12:01

Hi Adrian.

Excellent work with the light and exposure. I love this long exposure shot and how you managed the light.

Well done.

andante (7092) 2007-08-22 12:00

S W E E T !!!!!! I guess that the combination of exposures on the HDR added an interesting combination of feels to the image. The blue portion feels very modern and futuristic while the background and warm portions have a more "old time" look and feel. Color and light management in this image should be on reference manuals, the "how to do it right" pages.
TFS,
Enrique

sotiris_k (836) 2007-09-20 4:15

Wow!!! This is like an extra-terrestrial city! Well done! I will try the HDR technique...

Sotiris

fryz (1727) 2007-11-12 6:24

excellent l'effet
bravo Adrian
Vincent

koker (267) 2008-02-09 10:12

Hi Adrian,
Absolutely enchanting with fascinating colours!
As though another world.
Regards.
Huseyin

derek3755 (2341) 2008-05-20 15:25

Hi Adrian

the bracketed shots have really produced an excellent result. Colours, composition nicely done too.

Regards
Derek

ilghiz (470) 2008-06-24 8:55

I am astounded by this futuristic object placed against a historical background. To say nothing about the wonderful reflections and amazing colours...

Adrique (579) 2008-11-09 11:51

Hello Adrian,
this photo actually looks pretty surreal like a computer rendered image (especially the bridge and the towers) blended together with the "normal" bacground and the blurred sky. As if these three parts were taken at completely different time and places.
Nevertheless or just because of it, the image (it´s not a photo anymore after the extensive PP) is visually stunning and can´t just be overlooked. Composition is good too.
Nice work, your effort was worth it.

Best regards,
Adrian

[2]

Pi-Production (0) 2009-03-15 0:40

Top notch, remarkable HDR.Congrats !!

vmukherjee (395) 2009-10-02 2:09

Lovely HDR image! The smooth silky textures look surreal. The lights, colours, and composition also look wonderful. And thanks for the excellent note.