Monday, May 20, 2013

Boston Nights on the Charles

One of the things I love shooting most is city night photography, and Boston is right up there for being one of my most favorite places to capture the lights and vibrance of a city from sundown on.

A great spot a good friend told me about, for shooting the night skyline with the Longfellow bridge in the foreground and the John Hancock and Prudential Center in the background, is the top of the parking lot at the Museum of Science.

To view my entire gallery of Boston Nightscapes please visit my website:




This was taken right after sundown using a tripod and a long exposure which makes a train passing on the Longfellow appear as a long yellow streak.  Different timing on your exposures, if only by a few seconds, can change your light from blue to purple to black as night.  
Be sure to use a shutter remote because even the slightest movement of your finger pressing the shutter can cause the image to become blurry.  If you don't have one you can always use the camera's self timer.


If you're luck enough to get a semi-cloudy sunset, you're in for a nice surprise as the shapes and positioning of the clouds add so much more to the character of a photograph.





Now time to move across the parking lot over to the other side before losing all the light and take in the sight of the Zakim Bridge all lit up.  Certain times of the year the Zakim is lit different colors but I have yet to get there when it's anything other than white.



If you can get your hands on a wide angle lens, USE IT!  It's so much fun to see all you can capture in the frame and it can make the most unusual images.



There are numerous resources on the web with tips for shooting at night.  Here are just a few.