another attempt from Seattle's Kerry Park

greenpea

A pano of Seattle from Kerry Park.

This is probably the most well known and most photographed view of Seattle. There are probably dozens of posts on dgrin from this same view point (I think at least one other by me). However, I'm pretty happy with this take on it.

I went out there at 5:45 AM, by the time I left at 7:15 AM (just before sunrise) there were at least 6 other photographers set up with tripod taking the same shot. Here's what you get if you show up before sunrise...



as always, C&C welcome. And do you think the airplane should stay or go?

W.W. Webster

greenpea wrote:

And do you think the airplane should stay or go?

I say "go"!

Tejanos

Hi!

Great shot ... what gear and settings used?

Mark

http://photoblog.tejanoscatfish.com/
http://photography.tejanoscatfish.com/

greenpea wrote:

A pano of Seattle from Kerry Park.

This is probably the most well known and most photographed view of Seattle. There are probably dozens of posts on dgrin from this same view point (I think at least one other by me). However, I'm pretty happy with this take on it.

I went out there at 5:45 AM, by the time I left at 7:15 AM (just before sunrise) there were at least 6 other photographers set up with tripod taking the same shot. Here's what you get if you show up before sunrise...



as always, C&C welcome. And do you think the airplane should stay or go?

schmoo

Andrew,

I don't care if it's an oft-shot view. It's popular for a reason. I wish I lived out there, it's so beautiful!

I love the warm glow of the city lights that are held in check by the mountains. I'm not particularly fond of the airplane because I prefer star trails. Is it possible to see stars from this vantage point or does the ambient light drown them out?

There may also be some slight lean to the left in this image, or maybe my eyes are confused because of the presence of tall buildings on the left versus on the right.

Great job

greenpea

So I took the image, removed the plane, and tilted it about 1.5 degrees CW...



better?

The equiptment was a tripod, Nikon D200, and the 18-200VR (I was too lazy and cold to put on a proper lens).

And yes schmoo you can (kind of) see stars. Lots of light polution, but you can see a couple stars in this over exposed picture (the first shot of the morning). it would be interesting to try and do star trails using some graduated ND filters and really long exposures (maybe tomorrow morning ).

schmoo

Beautiful! I gotta move to Seattle.

greenpea

schmoo wrote:

Beautiful! I gotta move to Seattle.

Thanks schmoo, but you would hate it, no abandonded buildings to photograph

SirArmstrong

This is a very cool shot. I worked downtown for 7 years but live accross the water (Illahee) and did not even know this park existed. Good job and I also like the warm tone.

Elaine

I really like your latest version (straightened, no plane)! I would be very proud of myself if I had taken this shot! Great colors, the position of the Space Needle is very nice, and the silhouette of Mt. Rainier is wonderful. Good for you, getting up so early to grab this shot!

swphoto

The picture looks alot better without the plane. The warm glow from all the lights look great!

PwF

Much better now with both changes.
Now I have a problem with so much empty sky.
If you don't mind using whatever manipulation it takes to create a good image, I'd now take some moon shots, both full and cresent, and add one of them to the sky. Matbe about where the plane was.

greenpea

SirArmstrong wrote:

This is a very cool shot. I worked downtown for 7 years but live accross the water (Illahee) and did not even know this park existed. Good job and I also like the warm tone.

Thanks Steve! This is one of many great scenic vistas in the city, but this one is probably the most photographed.

Elaine wrote:

I really like your latest version (straightened, no plane)! I would be very proud of myself if I had taken this shot! Great colors, the position of the Space Needle is very nice, and the silhouette of Mt. Rainier is wonderful. Good for you, getting up so early to grab this shot!

Thanks Elaine!

swphoto wrote:

The picture looks alot better without the plane. The warm glow from all the lights look great!

Thanks swphoto!

PwF wrote:

Much better now with both changes.
Now I have a problem with so much empty sky.
If you don't mind using whatever manipulation it takes to create a good image, I'd now take some moon shots, both full and cresent, and add one of them to the sky. Matbe about where the plane was.

I might have to give that a try. I'm more tempted to go back and try and do a shot w/ stars in it. Maybe a REALLY long exposure.

PwF

It would be a whole lot easier to find a dark area and just shoot star shots,
and then use that for the sky over the city. Mask out the whole sky and replace it with the new sky, OR use a gradiant to fad the stars from top to bottom and blend in with the existing sky, but I don't think that this image would work that way. It's too bright to blend into a dark star filled sky. I'd try the masking way, get rid of the whole sky & sunset, and just go with the city lights and adding a stary sky. (and moon) In fact you don't even have to use stars and stay warm too. Just punch a bunch of holes in some black paper using a pin, and then photograph the paper backlit.

Rhuarc

Very nice shots! I moved to Seattle about a year ago and have been looking for places like that to shoot from. I'll have to check it out! Thanks for sharing!