Pennsylvania State Capitol 2, a photo from Pennsylvania, Northeast

Photographer's Note

Another in my ongoing project to visit and photograph all 50 US state capitol buildings. This series is from Harrisburg, the capital city of Pennsylvania.

Not only is Pennsylvania's Capitol one of the country's most beautiful, it also has one of the more elegant and interesting approaches I've seen, even if the surrounding city and areas are not always picturesque. The bridge you see here is State Street, which leads directly to the front of the Capitol building itself. Instead of passing over water, it actually spans a rail line; the Susquehanna River runs a few blocks behind the Capitol. At the far end of the bridge from where this shot was taken, there are two massive stone obelisks, visible in this shot, with a nice park between them and the building itself.

This shot also shows the exterior of the Pennsylvania Capitol dome, a St. Peter's inspired granite structure that tops out at over 270 feet tall.

Larger version on Flickr, here.
Pennsylvania set on Flickr, here.

snunney, krzychu30, rigoletto, jhm, rogerl, adores, Hansaphotos, annjackman, delpeoples, Schnappilic has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

dkmurphys (79209) 2013-06-06 0:14

HI Andrew,
Lovely street scene. I like the management of lights and the dynamics. Well taken, enjoy a fine day.

Daniel

krzychu30 (15512) 2013-06-06 3:07

Hi Andrew,
magnificent night photo!I´m a big fan of such photos and I can only say You did really a great job here!
Perfect exposure,well captured details and nice "star"effect around the street lamps.

Have a good day
Krzysztof

snunney (130967) 2013-06-06 3:07

Hello Andrew,
A well exposed night time composition. The large version is particularly spectacular with the street lights creating a wonderful long perspective leading toward the floodlit dome; something accentuated by the streaked tail-lights.

rigoletto (34279) 2013-06-06 3:48

Hi Andrew,
This is a left-handed compo, where the point of interest is located on the right. As a left-handed, i usually do the same, although the photography theory advises to put the main objcect to the left. Very nice tripod job which diffuses the automobiles into long lines of light. The starred lamps are a bonus.
Deniz

jhm (211738) 2013-06-06 4:13

Hello Andrew,

You chose the most classic angle but I find these angle the most beautiful.
What a depth and perspective.
What a lovely picture splendid colours an wonderful light.
Nice old architecture picture.
Excellent composition, nice colours and presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

No_One (4) 2013-06-06 8:51

Hi Andrew
Excellent composition, the way you have positioned the leading line into the shot is perfect and the light management is spot on. The building is, as always vast and impressive. The two stone obelisks remind me very much of the re-imagined great cities of Ancient Egypt, with their mighty roads leading to the tombs, surrounded by the great statues and monuments. Really nicely done, thanks
All the best
Noel

adores (46979) 2013-06-09 18:27

Hi Andrew!
It really seems magnificent at night, specially the dome with those lights. I like the way you framed it, with the nice lights leading us to the capitol. Good exposure also! Wasn't this place a little dangerous?

Hansaphotos (11381) 2013-06-10 13:18

Hi Andrew

Another addition to your growing collection.
Excellent composition with the street lamps and road as a nice lead towards the illuminated building. Wonderful details and fine effect of the light rails. I had a look at Flickr - a lot of great photos. Lovely work:) TFS. Have a nice week.

Greetings, Erling

jcpix (14030) 2013-06-10 19:56

Hi Andrew,

What an impressive way to feature this capitol, the layout leads us right to it without any hesitation! I like your idea to put this off center, I believe the unbalanced composition adds strength to the visual. Keying in on perspective with my last few posted pictures, this one really speaks to those senses. The appearance of the dome from this distance gave me an immediate association to St Peters Basilica in Rome (even before reading your note :)) Always tough for me to manage a night shot, so I really appreciate your result here, this looks great...and the light trails are always a lively effect. Without question, you've done this project of showcasing state capitols a great service and learning experience for all! Well done. Have a good day ahead.

All the best,

Jason

annjackman (23019) 2013-06-10 23:55

Hello Andrew,
What an interesting project and I would think difficult to achieve - sounds like a lot of travelling. You have done very well with this night time picture. The streaks of car lights and the rows of lamps are excellent lead-ins to the capitol building. Very well done.
Kind Regards, Ann

jemaflor (148124) 2013-06-13 4:12

Hi Andrew,
Excellent light capture, great perspective and depth with the street, good effect also with these red lines, well managed.

delpeoples (60342) 2013-06-13 23:50

Gidday dearAndrew

Quick, someone call the Vatican, someone's pinched one its domes. A great shot of this majestic building seen from afar. I love the low POV, the converging lines and the excellent light management in difficult conditions. The star points on the lamp posts look great and I can't detect any noise. Nice job!

Have a great day
Lisa

Schnappilic (9692) 2013-06-16 12:31

Hello Andrew,

A good night capture with perfect sharpness and beautiful perspective. Congratulations!

Best regards,

Ovidiu

macjake (98544) 2013-06-20 16:59

Hi Andrew
I thought for sure I had already critiqued this photo, but obviously i'm wrong.
so what time of day were you venturing out to capture this scene? looks pretty deserted out there!
what i really like is using a small aperature like yours here, a F16, it makes the lights turn into stars, but not if you use aperatures of F5 or F6.

I really like the low-to-the-ground street view too...its very similar to what we see in photos from NYC Times Square.

great way to complete the photo with the illuminated tower in the bg
sweet!
hope all is well.
cheers
craig

mjw364 (1466) 2013-06-22 13:05

Hello Andrew

Good use of lines to create perspective here leading right into that capitol building positioned well on a third. Good long exposure and light in this shot too.

Greetings from Barcelona!

Mike

Haymotion (2761) 2013-07-04 2:56

hi Andrew
Good shot!
It's difficult to catch this moment with good quality and luminosity.
Your shot is very good.
Nice DEPth of field too.
TFS
Vince