Back Bay Aglow, a photo from Massachusetts, Northeast

Photographer's Note

Yesterday I posted the last image that I have from any blank place on my TE map, with Hawaii. Today, though, I'm sticking closer to home. I realized recently that I have very few shots of Boston, my home, on TE. So, with the help of my shiny new tripod (Oben AC1410, for those keeping track), here's my first real long exposure attempt (68 seconds), of Boston's Back Bay skyline at night. The towers here are some of Boston's tallest and most famous. The dominant one is I.M. Pei's John Hancock tower, a mirrored monolith in the heart of the Back Bay. the building to its left with the blue lights and bright beacon atop it is the Old Hancock Tower, whose lights are themselves a weather forecast:

Steady blue, clear view.
Flashing blue, clouds due.
Steady red, rain ahead.
Flashing red, snow instead.

This particular night it was flashing blue, predicting cloud cover.

In addition to the towers Hancock, we have two buildings in which I've worked: the building below the Hancock tower with the arched window at top is 500 Boylston, while the domed bright building at right is 101 Huntington, both of which housed publishing companies I worked at for some time. Finally, at far right, is one of the city's most iconic skyscrapers, as well as one of its first: the Prudential building.

While Back Bay is not the city's largest collection of skyscrapers - that lies behind the camera in the Financial District - in many ways this is its best known area. I'll present a different, daylight view of it tomorrow, taken from the Longfellow Bridge leading into Cambridge.

krzychu30, lousat, ourania, bukitgolfb301, mirosu, timecapturer has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

krzychu30 (8935) 2012-10-23 7:31

Hello Andrew,
we see definitely too few pictures from Boston.Your night panorama of Boston´s skyline is awesome.These beautifully illuminated buildings and still blue sky make a really eye-catching combination.And use of tripod paid off here as we get perfectly clear and sharp image.Brilliant composition!
Have a nice day
Krzysztof

lousat (57724) 2012-10-23 9:36

Hi Andrew,great exposure totake so well this blue houe rich of modern architechtures and colors,very nice composition and perfect details too.Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

ourania (12469) 2012-10-23 10:29

Hello Andrew,
I like very much the point of view from which you composed this fascinating picture. You've made a close and comprehensive group portrait of the very diverse and interesting buildings, capturing excellently their different characters. Their brilliance is impressive (a little too strong, perhaps at some points). I only wonder if you could have included some more of the view below or it would have been distracting. Sharpness is quite remarkable, there's superb definition in patterns and tones against the lovely deep blue sky. Well done and thank you!
All the best, have a great day,
Ourania

siudzi (23959) 2012-10-23 12:44

Hi Andrew,
Wow! What a superb night shot executed with fantastic long exposure. Perfectly taken and composed. Very well done. Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Malgorzata

bukitgolfb301 (30111) 2012-10-23 20:35

Hi dear Andrew

Great night shot for an attrcive Boston city view.
I do not know how long exposure time you set, but the result is so effective. Wonderful and also fantastic image indeed. Thanks for your sharing and have a good day!

Takero from Tokyo

mirosu (5533) 2012-10-23 21:08

Hi Andrew,
Nice night cityscape photo. A great use of colors and light. The deep depth of field is perfect. A well presented crop allows eyes to remain fixed on the nicely lighted buildings. This is a really excellent photo, and is a good example of night cityscape mode. The nicely lighted buildings and the dark blue sky color in the background also lends a lovely contrast to the scene. Well done.

SnapRJW (18792) 2012-10-23 22:17

Hello Andrew - Boston, a place I would love to visit. It has a great history and as I understand it great tea parties! This evening shot shows a modern skyline with lovely pin-pricks of light, some very good star-bursts against a rich velvet blue sky. Attractive shot, I look forward to more from your city. Warm regards Rosemary

macjake (39235) 2012-10-24 0:41

Hi ANdrew
very interesting blue hour display.
Personally, and this is strictly just a personal preference thing - I find that blue hours are often the best when there is significant cloud coverage.
here there are no clouds to give texture and mood.
now i know thats not your fault! :)
but i bet you that if you take the same shot if cloud coverage you'll see a massive difference.
Also, i wider angle or a vertical composition could prove to be beneficial aswell - but i'm not here, so i don't know what the set-up circumstances are - perhaps you can't do a vertical, or perhaps there are obtusive elements out of frame that you deliberatle left out for that same reason.

its hard to really pick apart a photo when you weren't there 100%.

so don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the photo - its just when it comes to blue hours i'm very picky :)
I've spent many many many many cold mornings and evenings by myself taking blue hours!!! :)

I've gotta say, the sharpness is excellent, pin sharp.
not sure if you really need 68 seconds, it may be a bit excessive. but interesting. I learn something everytime i view one of these.

looking forward to more.
cheers
craig

timecapturer (30394) 2012-10-24 4:25

Hi Andrew
nicely executed night shot of this striking skyline. Love the star-bursts and your execution here is flawless. Excellent imagery and presentation.

Best wishes - Brian.

fabbs99 (5533) 2012-10-24 5:14

Hello Andrew,

Amazing!I must say this is an exceptional shot in lowlight with use of tripod as well as cable release I believe.The colors are deep and the details are excellently expressed.A quality image and stunning presentation.TFS.

Best Regards
Farhat

i9l2y1m8a8t3 (4435) 2012-10-26 16:33

Hi Andrew!

Excellent handling on the blue hour. Love the brilliant lighting and the sparkling effect of the overall photo. Good thing that you didn't get some flares. I simply love blue, and blue hours,you've managed to capture the building and the lights very well. Love that bulb light effect on the left hand side of the image.

As to your question regarding the shoe, I don't know too (haha). If you'll see the image in colored, they all look the same! I think I chose that particular shoe because of the positioning and which satisfies my aesthetic perception on the compo, oh, yes, and because of it's color and importantly the caption that goes on with it, "little red riding shoe"! Hope that satisfies your curiosity!

see you around,
regards,

Matt

abmdsudi (26311) 2012-11-01 3:41

Hi Andrew
Superb low light shot, a glimpse of the wondrous night scene of the skyline, focusing on main interests making them very significant and well seen in such good clarity. It does look festive with the mix of lights and colours, lovely how well you have composed this, a truly superb night image of which you should be very proud. Congrats.
Warm regards

jmdias (45830) 2013-01-13 13:05

andrew

beautiful view of the light and the architecture. nice framing and sharpenss, interesting effect of that false star over the building. TFS.

hugs

jorge

Miguel82 (7882) 2013-02-24 5:56

Acl,
What a wonderful night view on Boston towers
Good light management, excellent colors and sharp photo
Kind regards

Noel_Byrne (7450) 2013-04-14 6:50

Hi Andrew,
This is class. Long exposure I cannot do, and massively admire a shot like this that has captured the light and details of the scene so clearly. The bright light on left is particularly cool, it really draws the eye into the shot. Really nicely done.
All the best
Noel