Icon Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

I had to visit Sydney in November to attend a conference. It was a pretty busy week, and there was only one night that I was able to get out with the camera and tripod to try to catch a shot or two of the city.

This is one of my favourites from the shoot, taken from The Rocks around 11pm. The only tricky part of the composition was trying to grab five seconds of exposure without a ferry zooming through the foreground!

Tech Stuff: 70-300mm zoom at full telephoto. Shot in RAW, "as shot" conversion in Photoshop CS2, no post-processing. My first real use of the Cokin P "STAR 4" filter.

Hope you like it!

Silvio1953, lilimih33, gypsygirl58, Alain, JPlumb, rjb874, tigra, bakes888, vesalius, vjmite, MLINES has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

poulinp (4464) 2006-12-29 15:35

Good night shot of this monument. Maybe that was not the best subject to try the P Star 4 (wich I would like to have too!), but the effect is not bad. Good work Simon.

deblink (2548) 2006-12-29 16:14

Hi Simon,
This is a lovely shot of our Opera House. It is lit up beautifully and your photo shows that well.
Cheers,
Debbie

lilimih33 (9874) 2006-12-29 16:28

Hello Simon! Beautiful night picture! Nice colours and wonderful lights! Good sharpness and perspective! Well done!
Happy holiday!
Lili

gypsygirl58 (1329) 2006-12-29 18:05

Hi Simon,
Great shot of the Opera House! The lighting is excellent and I like the use of the star filter(I used to have one of these years ago).

I notice it was shot in RAW, how do you convert this or do you need to at all?? My camera has the RAW capability and I would really like to know more about it from someone that has used it. Would like to hear any comments you have about it!
Cheers Tina :-) Have a great New Year!

Alain (288) 2006-12-29 18:42

Nice use of the star filter. Light balance is good. See my photo of the same building, the Opera House and the birth of the Sydney Bridge

Silvio1953 (43458) 2006-12-30 4:16

Hi Simon, wonderful nocturn composition with this splendid modern architecure, very well done, * Happy New Year * To you and your family.
Ciao Silvio
:) later

JPlumb (3153) 2006-12-31 20:04

Hi Simon, the Opera House is probably the most commonly photographed building in the world, so it is difficult to do well, yet still stand out from the crowd. With your night shot with great exposure you have done just that. You've picked up very good detail and colour under difficult circumstances. I have just started shooting in Raw. It is amazing the latitude it provides.

Thanks, John

tigra (2968) 2007-01-02 19:59

Hello Simon
Excellent night shot!
I like the lightning of the building and the star-effect on the lights.
Katia

bakes888 (18353) 2007-01-04 3:39

Hi Simon. Great night shot of the “icon”. There must be millions of photos of the SOH but still you have managed something a little different. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

vesalius (857) 2007-01-18 22:22

Hi Simon,

What a fantastic shot, I really like the effects of the star filter.

You have got to be an anesthesiologist with that name :)

Take care,

Don

elboutch (36) 2007-01-21 13:48

Hi
Light is great and "Star filter" effect is very good ! Nice result.
Regards

vjmite (1575) 2007-01-28 21:51

The star filter gives a new slant on a popular subject. The Opera House looks great at night, and you have captured its look. The close-up zoom brings out all the detail, and you have managed to get the sails well exposed without flaring of the bright lights at the base of the building. I guess the post-processing helped here.

Cheers,
Vincent

ballaln (400) 2007-02-04 8:50

Hi Simon,
You have transformed one of the regular views of opera house with your creative use of Star 4. Adds a lot of interest to the subject - well done and TFS.

MLINES (11068) 2007-05-26 21:18

Hi Simon. Excellent work here. The light effects are magic. Well created and presented. Murray.

ktanska (16759) 2008-01-31 3:11

Hi Simon,
Always a plaesure to see good picture of the Opera House. Star filter seems tu work well with these futuristic forms. Some sharpening could give the effect extra punch.
Kari

Benedict (7062) 2008-02-02 21:08

hi simon,
excellent night capture of this famed Aussie icon. the flickering reflections add richness and depth.
benedict

patmor (274) 2009-01-01 14:20

Hi Simon,
Sydney House Opera was a bigger emotional shock during my Astralian trip.
Thanks for sharing.

Photo Information

Copyright: Simon Bolch (Propofol) (1786)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-11-23
Categories: Architecture
Camera: Canon EOS350D/Digital Rebel XT, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM, Digital ISO 100
Exposure: f/8, 5 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-12-29 15:00