Matt Conti  


Winter Street Lights by Matt Conti

January 2021 - Winter Street Lights

About the Image(s)

It is winter here and I was reminded of visiting Moscow at this time
last year where it was also dark much of the day. Helping to brighten
the mood, the center city streets were all lit up with remarkable
lights.

I was trying to capture the depth of the string lights against the sky
along with some of the hustle and bustle of the city. I suppose this
is more of a streetscape than a cityscape image. Since the people were
moving, I used 1/40 sec exposure at 1600 ISO, f/5.6. Processing was
mostly in Lightroom to balance the highlights and shadows with
gradients from the top and bottom and final denoise in Topaz.

Camera: Sony a7riv
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm f2.8
Focal Length: 52mm
Exposure: 1/40 sec at f / 5.6
ISO: 1600


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




Sherry Icardi   Sherry Icardi
I love all the leading lines in this image. Just beautiful lighting and still managed to keep the buildings visible, crisp and clean. Love the colors as well. I am a little confused though, was this taken at home or in Russia? It makes no difference but just curious. Was this taken on a tripod or hand held? And finally what do you think the 28-75 lens. Haven't decided to get a landscape for my 7r4 but considering.   Posted: 01/10/2021 15:25:22
 
The photo is from Moscow, Russia taken at this time last year. I was on a tripod but used 1/40 shutter speed because the people were moving.

I switched to the Tamron trinity of lenses (17-28, 28-75, 70-180) for my Sony a7riv because they are half the weight and size (and nearly half the cost) of the Sony G masters. I love them for for traveling and use them now even at home since they are so easy to carry. The sharpness is as good as the Sony lenses and the reviews/tests have shown that. The only real difference is the slight difference in the focal lengths and the Tamron are hard plastic vs. metal for the Sony so they are not as sturdy (but they are still ok at waterproof).   Posted: 01/11/2021 06:04:40
Sherry Icardi   Sherry Icardi
Matt, I really need the longer reach (which is why I have the 100-400mm). for birds because the Sony AF outperforms anything Nikon has....I just wanted some flexibility to be able to have something should a Landscape present itself when I had the Sony with me. Perhaps I'll give either the 17-28 or 28 -75 a try. Of the two do you like one better than the other? I'm thinking maybe the 28-75   Posted: 01/13/2021 13:16:53
 
If you were going to just get one of the two, I would start with the 28-75 because of its range. I sometimes miss the 24mm from my Sony 24-70, but only rarely and enjoy the extra 5mm on the long end. The 17-28 is super lightweight, sharp and a great alternative to the 16-35, but obviously more limited as a wide angle.   Posted: 01/20/2021 08:16:07
Sherry Icardi   Sherry Icardi
Thanks!!!   Posted: 01/20/2021 16:29:54



Dave Ficke   Dave Ficke
Matt
Th leading lines are great, but they are much more dramatic as they are lights - great job. As I enlarged the image the people walking look verily clean so even at 1/40 second they turned out well.

A difficult shot to balance the luminosity of the street lights and the hanging lights - the street lights look a bit over exposed on my screen -

The lighting from the buildings is interesting but gosh it would be interesting to have all the lights turned off in the buildings and see how the above lighting would have worked. Nice image.   Posted: 01/10/2021 17:01:22



Janos Demeter   Janos Demeter
I like particularly the angle you have chosen. The color of the sky is also outstanding, it is indeed a "winter-blue"   Posted: 01/22/2021 10:41:25



Peter Cheung   Peter Cheung
Wonderful image. The colors are particular beautiful. It looks a little bit like a painting. Great composition. The lady near the middle is a bit distraction. I would crop her out if possible, but I think it could be very difficult. Very nice image.   Posted: 01/24/2021 02:01:24