John Roach  


Winter Night in Milwaukee by John Roach

June 2020 - Winter Night in Milwaukee

About the Image(s)

This is a view looking southeast on the Milwaukee River from one bridge on a winter night in Milwaukee captured with Nikon D700 with 28-300mm lens at 50mm, ISO at 200, 20s exposure, f/18, Manual exposure, Lightroom and DxO Nik Silver Efex Pro using a tripod and remote shutter release. I adjusted the clarity, blacks, highlights to achieve what I think is a pleasing contrast and luminous with quality of detail and tonality. I chose an Ilford Film simulation for the monochrome choice and made some selective adjustments as well as some lens correction to achieve good vertical lines with in the scene.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
14 comments posted




 
I think it's beautiful as is, but I'd find it more dramatic if it was cropped to a portrait featuring the main building and reflection.

I wonder if you could have achieved the same result at f8 and a shorter exposure? Maybe, someone more knowledgeable than me can answer that?

I am very happy with DxO Photolab 3 for noise reduction, because it enables me to hand hold shorter exposures at very high ISOs.   Posted: 06/09/2020 14:23:58
John Roach   John Roach
I actually want the symmetry of the bridge and the more panoramic view. I doubt that I could have gotten the depth of field I wanted at f/8, but could have at f/13. In this case, it doesn't really matter, in my opinion.   Posted: 06/09/2020 14:37:48
 
No, the f stop doesn't matter in this case but I'm trying to learn without experimenting with my hand held routine.
Yes, your more panoramic view is very appealing too.   Posted: 06/09/2020 15:19:35
John Roach   John Roach
All I can say is a 20 second exposure with sufficient depth of field stop down can really only be done on a tripod, unless someone is trying to achieve an impressionistic view point with some sort of blur.   Posted: 06/09/2020 15:43:24
 
No, the f stop doesn't matter in this case but I'm trying to learn without experimenting with my hand held routine.
Yes, your more panoramic view is very appealing too.   Posted: 06/09/2020 16:32:05
Stan Bormann   Stan Bormann
The 20 sec exposure would tend to flatten the water and eliminate any moving cars on the bridge. The f/18 helps create the starburst from the lights. It is also good for depth of field so I think it was a good choice.   Posted: 06/09/2020 21:24:05



Jerry Snyder   Jerry Snyder
The contrast and sharp focus on the tall building in the center is striking. My eye keeps going back to it, so that must be the main subject. The reflections on the water form a stable base for the building. This is a very nice image.   Posted: 06/09/2020 19:30:19



Don York   Don York
You choose the magic combinations of exposure to achieve a stunning image.   Posted: 06/10/2020 10:58:15



Don York   Don York
You choose the magic combinations of exposure to achieve a stunning image.   Posted: 06/10/2020 10:58:15



Stuart Ord   Stuart Ord
I think that if you crop off enough of the central building to isolate it, then you'd also crop off the ends of the bridge which I think would spoil it. However the central building is the most attractive in my opinion, so cropping enough to leave the bridge intact makes the central building more prominent and perhaps a stronger photo.

The long exposure would have been expected to smooth over the river, but it doesn't seem to have done that. Maybe there was little movement. As there are no cars in the photo to spoil it, I would have tried a long exposure to get that.

Apart from that, I think it's a really nice photo, ideal for mono, although I prefer the cropped version, such as.....   Posted: 06/11/2020 16:25:31
Comment Image
 
This is what I had in mind too.   Posted: 06/11/2020 18:10:29
John Roach   John Roach
There was a thin sheet of ice on the water with natural swirl effects in the texture of the ice and how it reflected the light. The crops are alternates of some interest, but still as I said earlier in this thread, I wanted the complete bridge as a framing tool and placement of the building in context of the entire scene of this slice of the city.   Posted: 06/13/2020 09:19:06
Stuart Ord   Stuart Ord
I don't think there's a right or wrong way, both variants of the picture are very interesting.

It's a long time since I saw ice on a big river here. It happened in my childhood, but not in recent decades I think. Some people think the climate isn't changing, but they are wrong, it definitely is!   Posted: 06/13/2020 15:49:18



Bev Caine   Bev Caine
(Groups 24 & 48 & 58)
Visiting from 48 & 80
My first look at this photo said, don't really need that big building on the left.l As I read the previous discussion, I realized that I didn't have to do the crop, it is already there and in my opinion a better finish. Overall well done; and, as always the final decision is yours.   Posted: 06/13/2020 08:45:11