Tough choice for this challenge. I spent about 90 minutes shooting across the river, getting some really nice smooth reflection shots of the Key Bridge and office buildings in Rosslyn. Then I looked to my left and saw this view. I decided to go with the unusual vs. what I think is a prettier shot.
I nearly lost my camera to a slippery rock while walking along the shore to the right vantage point. It was mounted on the tripod, and I was holding the collapsed tripod in my left hand until my foot slipped. I let go of it and it flew over to my right hand, where I caught it. VERY lucky catch, and completely automatic - never even had a chance to think before my hand closed around it.
It's amazing how a long exposure smooths out ripples on the water - it looked nothing like the shot above or my outtake.
This entry takes advantage of the allowance for multiple shots to do HDR. This was manual, not automated, but has the same idea. I shot them intending to combine them to allow for a greater dynamic range.
The brightness of each was a combination of the exposure time and how I converted from RAW:
1) The bridge: 30s exposure and bumped 2 stops in the RAW converter
2) Most of the stuff within the arches (real and reflected) plus the upper left corner: 15s exposure and bumped .85 stops converting from RAW. I blended this in at about 45% opacity just to darken the main subject area - it was too bright in the first exposure.
3) The Kennedy Center (the bright horizontal building on the right side of the arch): 4s exposure, not changed converting from RAW. I blended this in at 100% opacity to show details in the columns; it's a very bright building and was blown out in the other two exposures.
After combining the exposures, editing was the usual: sharpening of the first exposure, cropping, a little rotation, and a little noise reduction.
For anyone in the DC area: park as far upriver on K St. as you can go, then walk a bit further until you go under the bridge and see the grassy area to the left. Walk over there and then maybe 20 yards further upstream and go down to the river. Look left.
Post-challenge: Woohoo! New personal best (first 7+ score, too!), first honorable mention, and third-most faves during a challenge. :) Thanks!
Post-DQ of the 1st-place shot: wow. Now it's my second ribbon on top of everything else. :)
Statistics
Place: 3 out of 208 Avg (all users): 7.1262 Avg (commenters): 8.8636 Avg (participants): 6.8690 Avg (non-participants): 7.3033 Views since voting: 7566 Views during voting: 449 Votes: 206 Comments: 96 Favorites: 20 (view)
WOW .. this is the most gorgeous image .. so much going on and so much to admire ..
the crisp definition in the city and the reflections in the water ... beautiful ..
the tree with its stark branches .. beautiful ..
the bridge and its soft blurred reflection forming a perfect frame .. beautiful ..
and the colours ... stunning ..
this photograph is something special ..:)
a very beautiful photo! love the light here, just perfect. very well deserved a ribbon. the light under the bridge is fantastic. thank you for taking the time to explain how you did it.
While I'm sorry that Structor's beautiful photo got DQ'd, I am glad to see yours ribbon as it was one of my fave's and truly worthy. Great job, and great save on the camera apparently!
Beautiful image congrats on your ribbon. And I think it great how you took the time to put all the description in on how and where took your image and plus your process.
Glad you have such great reflexes.
Hey Jeffrey! First I am seeing this one! Simplistic yet fabulous & beautiful image!! Congrats on the Ribbon & new PB, we;; deserved-you are so clever & creative in this art medium!!
So, umm, this was the one to pick then, huh? :-) 'Grats on the score, the favs, the PB, and all that good stuff. Neat idea about using the different exposures, too - you're really good at figuring that stuff out - something I'd never even think of. Way to really "see" the potential in a shot!
Jeffrey, congratulations on the wonderful score and new PB. And just missed a ribbon, too. Way to go! I like how you combined the three shots. It was masterfully done!
This is simply a outstanding picture. Just a quick browse through the entires, I would have put this at #1 myself. Subtle yet well composed. I like the fact that the composition carried the photo rather the the post. Congrats.
A well deserved 7 for a shot found, planned, and carried to completion in stylish fashion. It's a beautiful scene as well, with the vignette of the bridge arch around the cityscape, and the reflections as a perk. Congrats on the new PB, and the high score.
Congrats Jeffrey #4 of 208 is absolutely fantastic. And the composition is perfect. 7.12 is a pretty darned spectacular finish.
Didn't you learn a lesson about NOT slipping in the DC area?
Woo hoo, Jeffrey! Congrats on an HM! I wish you'd gotten your second ribbon, but I'm quite sure it isn't far behind. And look at that score from commenters! And a personal best! You really hit this one out of park.
Wow, you broke the 7 barrier. Congratulations, Jeffery. Great shot. It reminds me of a large eye reflecting a view of DC. I particularly like the light on the bridge in the upper right.
Great shot, the reflection is spot on. The only thing that I can see to alter is to go for a lightly tighter crop at the bottom, so that the reflection of the bridge matches what you can see of the bridge itself. 9
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!! The arch of the bridge is a stunning frame, and the Washington Monument and Kennedy Center are perfectly positioned in it. The movement from dark to light across the frame is beautiful, too.
Cool! Must be a shot from under a bridge in DC.. Virginia to be exact, close to Crystal City. A little Dark around the edges, but that works for this shot. You get the eye to focus on the monument. I am pretty sure I rode my bike through this area before.
Reflections on the Potomac
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