This is the world's first (self-proclaimed) 7 Star hotel, which opened in 1999, when the city was a very different place to what it is now.
I have been thinking about getting a shot like this for ages so decided to jump in a cab from the hotel this afternoon and head to the beach, with my camera and my newly purchased tripod.
Now without wanting to fish for compliments (because I really hate that sort of thing! :) I still haven't got what I wanted, and I like it but I am not really happy with it.
I was trying to get smooth water but I am not sure if my exposure was too long, and maybe I have overcooked the sensor a bit. I was trying to get the star lights hence why the exposure was quite a long time.
Maybe it's just that I need to get better lenses, or some filters, or perhaps I just took it a little too late for the right light, but it isn't as good as I wanted.
I have felt a lot over the last few months during the project that I am very aware that I don't quickly see a shot in front of me like a pro would. But it's frustrating because I feel like I am aware of this, without quite knowing how to fix it.
I think I perhaps would have taken this from the other side of the building with a lot more sun in the sky, but I wanted to have some of the lights in the building visible which only happens after the sun is way down. And, the beaches around the hotel charge a fee for you to use them and this was taken on the free public beach. I wasn't going to go that far for an hour on the beach. Maybe I should next time.
If anyone who takes low-light, long-exposure shots has any tips then please do let me know.
Well, if I come back from Dubai with a shot like this on my camera, I'm going to be WELL chuffed! I know that doesn't help you and your photography is in a different league to mine.... Hope you find the answers to your questions! In the meantime, fav from me......
omg! You wil never give yourself a break, wil you? LOL Man! This is stunning! The water looks amazing, the sunset was painted for this shot, the building is awesome and unbelievable. What else anyone could ask for. I would be thanking God for this opportunity during the whole week! FAV!
It is a great shot, which I never would manage, I kno little about long exposure night time photography. You should have a look at the the work of Alexis Birkill @abirkill ( funny with the Alexis ) he does very good night time or twilight time shots and most of all he explains a lot about his setups and camera settings. If you have the time
Hi Steve, Carter-Bresson said that our first 10,000 shots are our worst !! My 365 project shows a body of work in progress as I learn more about photography & my camera every week.
I don't own a graduated ND filter, which would have helped here, so I would have shot RAW & used a digital grad filter in editing to darken the sky a little, but boot the highlights on the building that are there. IMHO darkening the sky (which is stunning) makes the building 'pop'. Looking at the shot my eye was a little lost as to what you were liking most about the shot - the lights, sky or building.
The exif has f22 - I would have dropped it back to 16 for sharpness of the building and skyline, - but at the cost of softening the star a little. Not sure about the sensitivity of the 7D sensor and maybe it would have coped with 20 sec??
A great shot does not always have to be 'perfect' or exactly what you set out to shoot! This is a great shot :))
@ltodd
Lyn, thank you for the detailed comments. I did think due to the fact that my lens isn't a high quality L Series that f22 was probably a bit too far but I was thinking of the star lights. And yes, less time exposing would have probably made for a nicer exposure. I'm not really sure what I was trying to achieve except that I knew I wanted the sun down, the lights of the building on, and the smooth blurry water. I guess with everything, you need to practise. And I rarely take these kinds of shots so it's not too bad for a nearly first attempt. But thank you very much for your comments :)))
@jackie8 Thank you Jackie very much. I really don't think my shots are in any kind of league...! I am being a bit touch on my own outlook and I know it;s a god shot. I guess I'm a perfectionist.
I have very little to add to the advice and comments already -- and it's a few days late, but first, I do love the shot. For me, I think the advice I agree with the most is darkening the sky. The only other thing I might have done is included a little more sky above the building. It kind of goes to the top of the frame and may have looked better with the greater space above it, by a little, anyway. I also learned from the comments here. I tend to use really tight aperture when I can (f22-29) when I have my tripod. Then I'm not happy with the clarity. Good to have learned about using f16 or so instead.
@taffy Thank you Taffy. I have re-edited the shot for myself and Facebook and I did darken the sky a little with a gradient and it does improve it quite a bit. I think given my lens is not a high-quality Canon L-series lens I shouldn't be using it at the end of it's limits. So maybe f16 or under is best. And more headroom would indeed have given it a better look. Hopefully i'll remember this when composing more shots in the future.
February 5th, 2014
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I don't own a graduated ND filter, which would have helped here, so I would have shot RAW & used a digital grad filter in editing to darken the sky a little, but boot the highlights on the building that are there. IMHO darkening the sky (which is stunning) makes the building 'pop'. Looking at the shot my eye was a little lost as to what you were liking most about the shot - the lights, sky or building.
The exif has f22 - I would have dropped it back to 16 for sharpness of the building and skyline, - but at the cost of softening the star a little. Not sure about the sensitivity of the 7D sensor and maybe it would have coped with 20 sec??
A great shot does not always have to be 'perfect' or exactly what you set out to shoot! This is a great shot :))
Lyn, thank you for the detailed comments. I did think due to the fact that my lens isn't a high quality L Series that f22 was probably a bit too far but I was thinking of the star lights. And yes, less time exposing would have probably made for a nicer exposure. I'm not really sure what I was trying to achieve except that I knew I wanted the sun down, the lights of the building on, and the smooth blurry water. I guess with everything, you need to practise. And I rarely take these kinds of shots so it's not too bad for a nearly first attempt. But thank you very much for your comments :)))
Thank you for your nice words :)