Tribute in Light - 2006

Shay Stephens

Spent a couple of hours in the city tonight. At first it was cloudy, I took my big pano shot and was a bit disappointed. But then just as many people were leaving, it started clearing up. After a while it was all clear, so I reshot the pano. I now have two versions to play with. Probably won't have time to work on it for another month or so, but I did take some singles that I think should turn out nice too. Here is one of my favorites which shows more context than I have gotten in the past.

frg

Incredible shot, love the way you've exposed this

gluwater

You are the man Shay.

Richard

Beautiful shot. Bravo.

ehughes

Excellent shot Shay... Very impressive

USAIR

Very nice Shay
Love that bridge

Fred

Antonio Correia

Shay,
The shot is very beautifull. There are details in the shadows and in the hightlights.
The blue of the sky is also very nice.
Good work.
Can you please post the exif for me/us ?
Thank you.

Swartzy

It's a beautiful thing
To watch a pro at work. Stunning! I learn something every time you post Shay...thank you!

stephiewilliams

Shay - very good Love this shot. I have seen a couple of 911 light tribute shots and your is by far my favorite thus far. Nice work

Shay Stephens

Some details. This is a composite photo using pieces of three photos:

50mm f/1.4 lens
30 seconds, f/8, ISO 100
8 seconds
1/8 second I think, maybe 1/2 second, I can't remember now.

The bottom half of the photo is the 30 second shot, the top half is the 8 second shot, and the 1/8 second shot was used to control the highlights of the top of the building inbetween the beams.

I could have taken the shot with a two stop graduated ND filter in place instead of taking two shots.

I'll straighten it when I work to finalize the photo later on. Glad you all enjoyed it, I did too :-)

The whole time I was shooting I was looking around to see if I would recognize anyone there, never did, but it was still fun "Photographer Watching" last night hehehe

Lee Massey

Nicely done Shay... I like it a lot.

For me it doesn't quite have the drama as your first Tribute in Light photograph but I definately love the new context. The people on the benches add so much to this photograph.

Thanks for sharing your results and your methods. It is appreciated...

Thanks,

Lee

Shay Stephens

Lee Massey wrote:

For me it doesn't quite have the drama as your first Tribute in Light photograph...

I know what you mean. My main reason going down there was to take a big pano, which I did. Hopefully not too long a time will pass before I can process it. But it is my hope to top my previous attempts :-)

We'll see...

ChrisJ

Very cool shot... looks similar to one in the LA Times this morning.

Dee

I was hoping...
you'd shoot the tribute this year. I kind of like the blue lights shooting up into an empty sky, but I also love this shot with the people sitting on the bench! Can't be in two places at once though, can you.

Milan

Great! I love that shot!

Baldy

Shay Stephens wrote:

Spent a couple of hours in the city tonight. At first it was cloudy, I took my big pano shot and was a bit disappointed. But then just as many people were leaving, it started clearing up. After a while it was all clear, so I reshot the pano. I now have two versions to play with. Probably won't have time to work on it for another month or so, but I did take some singles that I think should turn out nice too. Here is one of my favorites which shows more context than I have gotten in the past.

Oh. My. GOSH. I could just keep staring at that shot. It looks surrreal.

bow

Andy

just gets better and better, Shay!
Can't wait to see the pano.

Folks, I own his first version of this, from 4 years ago. It's hanging in my Studio office. Breathtaking, and makes me pause, each time I see it.

steelephotography.com

This is a spectacular image....
Like Baldy, I can't stop looking at it...

What is so nice about it is that it really does memorialize the tragic events 5 years ago. The image honors the memory of those that perished in the World Trade Center while at the same time illustrating that the bright light of the American way of life will not be dimmed by terrorism.

It is stunning artwork in every sense of the word.

Thanks for sharing.

DS

Awais Yaqub

Wonderful
How far those 2 lights extend in sky ?

erich6

I like the way you captured the people in this shot. Way to go Shay.

Erich

Flyinggina

This photo absolutely takes my breath away. So sharp. So poignant, especially with the people on the benches in the foreground. Thanks for sharing.

Virginia

Shay Stephens

Awais Yaqub wrote:

Wonderful
How far those 2 lights extend in sky ?

There are basically two visual modes. When there is cloud cover, the beams hit the clouds and light up so strongly that it casts shadows on the ground. When the it is clear, the beams go all the way up into space and look like they converge at infinity.

The beams are also visible from very far away. We were driving into the city we started noticing the beams from maybe 30 miles out or more. Depending on where you live, you could probably see it from farther away.