Logan Square At First Light Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is Logan Square (or Logan Circle), in center city, Philadelphia, at first light. I took this from my hotel balcony in the Embassy Suites, from the 20th floor.

Notice the fountain is turned off. On the left is the Franklin Institute. On the right is the Free Library,. and down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in the background is the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Behind the art museum is the Schuylkill River. Portions of this entire area are known as Fairmount Park, which encompasses the art museum and many other properties both connected and disconnected to what you see here.

I was lucky enough to have a cloudy, rainy, pre-dawn morning when I took this shot. I think it adds a nice mood to the scene. Hope you enjoy as I don't think you'll see this view from very many places.

paololg, bobocortis, AiresSantos, josepmarin, trekks, Bluejeans, bakes888 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bobocortis (14140) 2009-05-14 10:43

Hello Rachel.
A gorgeous shot, full of tiny shining lights!
Excellent pov and perspective.
I like it a lot.
Kind regards.
Bobo.

cobra112 (11468) 2009-05-14 11:47

Hi Rachel. Magnificent perspective in excellent management of light. Amazing and dramatic sky.

Roberto

bracasha75 (22021) 2009-05-14 12:44

Hey Rachel
I realy love to visit USA and have you next me to show me all this lovely places in Philadelphia and Ca.
Thank you for this awsome photo and place so typical for USA
TFS
Cheers,Braca

paololg (13673) 2009-05-14 15:08

Ciao dear friend,
I don't know if it is worth of your new camera, but in these last photos of yours I see a great change in better. This your last photo is absolutely perfect, not easy to do, but you have managed the sharpnes and the lights in marvelous way. In Italy it's said: BRAVA!
Ciao, have a nice day!
Paolo

AiresSantos (41990) 2009-05-15 2:05

Hi Rachel
Very interesting this picture in sunrise.
Great high POV and excellent details. The light could be improve. I did a WS for this picture
Have a great weekend
Aires

[workshop] [compare] +

josepmarin (33785) 2009-05-15 9:42

Hi Rachel,
A difficult capture because you are afraid of heights.
But you have obtained an excellent result and a deep perspective, thanks to this high POV.
I like the weak light of the morning early, that is combined by the lighting of the city, by the clouds in the sky and by the reflections on the wet streets.
The geometry of this Square and the diagonal of the avenue have a magnificent graphism, and the architecture is very beautiful.
It's a great composition.
Best regards,
Josep

trekks (14266) 2009-05-16 13:41

hi Rachel

I hope you are using D60 well because it is light and easy to handle. In the past week, I finally used D40 which I bought late last year, it is the same size but older model than yours. I find this 18-55mm lens is really very powerful.

Yes, you are right. This is a superb view. The light is a bit dim. If you had used a tripod, it would be wonderful to play around with different effects of shutter speed, even upto 15s for traffic flow.

Because of the light in the sky, the captured mood feels like a bit unexposed, so the WS done is a good option.

Otherwise, with a tripod, I might even try f/22 and let the long exposure get a different experimental shot.

In any case, the above is technical variations which you can try in future for other scenery in town.

I understand why you take this scene. In my opinion it has very much to do with geometry and shapes. The nice layout of the street, the circle and the garden inside the gyratory, the lights around the edges of street. They really make a good subject for the strong feature of this square.

So next time you see something like this, try a tripod or find a good support for your camera and set long exposure shots, in addition to handheld shots.

Good work.

tfs, bill

Bluejeans (32133) 2009-05-20 5:33

Ola Rachel ,
Linda avenida tem uma grande praça tem pouco movimentos de carros , bonita a arquitectura dos edifícios , boa profundidade de foto, parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

bakes888 (18165) 2009-05-23 15:50

Hi Rachel. Nice catch. The wet pavement and reflection add to this scene also, wonderful moody sky. Good depth and detail. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good Sunday, Paul.