Jacksonville Skyline

moose135

I spent MLK weekend in Savannah, GA and saw that Jacksonville was just a little bit down the road. I've never been there, so I took a ride down for the day.

This was looking across the St. John River, near the Friendship Fountain plaza. The bridge on the right is under repair, and that's a big spotlight they have for the construction crews. I'll have to return when the work is done and try this shot again!




Another view, with Friendship Fountain in the foreground.

David_S85

#2 for me. That's a really fun looking shot.

boco

voor mij ook de tweede opname
grt,boco.

TonyCooper

If you go back, go up to the The Skyline on the 42nd floor of the
Bank of America building. That's the tallest building in your first
photograph. The one with the triangle-shaped top.

The Skyline is a cafeteria on that floor, but you can walk around
the entire perimeter of the floor and photograph the scene below
from any side. You have to hold your lens up to the window, but
you can get some stunning images of the bridge, the St John's,
and the scenes below.

You don't have to be a customer of the restaurant. You just
take the elevator up and walk around. I bought a cup of coffee
just as the "price of admission" but no one asked me to. No one
objected to me photographing. No admission charge.

I like to photograph people, not scenes, and I got some good
shots in Laura Park which is very near that building. I won't
add those photos here, but a few samples are here::

http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/Current-Shots/i-bzkPd4K/0/X2/2013-11-20-130b-X2.jpg
http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/Current-Shots/i-VgssR8K/0/X2/2013-11-20-103b-X2.jpg
http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/Current-Shots/i-cwJvN3V/0/X2/2013-11-20-108B-X2.jpg

I live in Orlando, but Jax is a good road trip for me.

black mamba

Very nice work, John. I actually like the construction light in the first one. That second one really highlights your prowess as a night shooter. Next time you are in my town, give me a call. If possible for you, I'll run you down to St. Augustine for some real exciting stuff.

Take care,

Tom

Thelensspot

Please tell me what settings and post production technique on #1. Photoshop? Lightroom? I really like both of these!

The Lazy Destroyer

I really like #1 with the light on the bridge as-is. I'd be curious to see what it looks like without, but feel the light helps pull me into viewing the bridge which it worth looking at.

I like the overall lighting/color/mood of #2

moose135

black mamba wrote: »

Very nice work, John. I actually like the construction light in the first one. That second one really highlights your prowess as a night shooter. Next time you are in my town, give me a call. If possible for you, I'll run you down to St. Augustine for some real exciting stuff.

Take care,

Tom

Thank you, Tom, I really appreciate that! This was a last minute trip - Thursday night my weekend plans cancelled, Friday afternoon I decided to go to Savannah, and Friday night, looking at some stuff online, I decided to take a run to Jacksonville on Saturday. I took a loop through Amelia Island and down by the beach as well. I will certainly give you a shout the next time I think I'll be down that way. I look forward to getting together.

moose135

TonyCooper wrote: »

If you go back, go up to the The Skyline on the 42nd floor of the
Bank of America building. That's the tallest building in your first
photograph. The one with the triangle-shaped top...

Thanks for the tip, Tony, and I love the shots you linked. I'll have to check it out next time I'm down that way.

moose135

Thelensspot wrote: »

Please tell me what settings and post production technique on #1. Photoshop? Lightroom? I really like both of these!

Thank you! The first was shot was 13 seconds, f/16, ISO 100. The second was 13 seconds at f/11. I start in Adobe Camera Raw, doing basics - cropping, leveling, and tweaking exposure and saturation. From there, I go into Photoshop for any additional editing - I usually don't do a lot there, just dust spots and such. I use the Nik Software sharpening tool - one think I always do, a carryover from my aviation photos, is to exclude the sky when I sharpen an image.

moose135

David_S85 wrote: »

#2 for me. That's a really fun looking shot.

Thanks! That fountain was pretty neat - the sprays changed height, and the lights cycle through a series of colors - blue, green, pink, and a couple others.

kdog

Very nice shots, Moose. Construction light or not.