Failure, Beers, Victory!
by Andy on Apr.16, 2008, under Ballard, Night Photography, Seattle, Vistas
Salmon Bay. Seattle, WA. April 13, 2008. 12:27 AM.
Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR @ 70mm.
10 sec. @ f/10. ISO 200.
When driving across the Ballard Bridge I often look out into the bay and admire all the boats. Places like this remind of Lake Macatawa in Holland, Michigan where my grandpa lives. I spent a lot time growing up around boats and marinas; and Seattle with its lakes, bays and sound certainly feels like home. Or maybe I just love water.
On a recent night time crossing of the Ballard Bridge it occurred to me that it might be a good spot for a photo. A little before sunset on Saturday night I parked on a side street just north of the bridge and lugged my camera bag and tripod out onto the structure. It was a beautifully clear (and unseasonably warm) night in Seattle. I fired off shots for about an hour while the sun slid behind the Olympic Mountains. There was not one shot in the 130 or so pictures I took that I liked. To attempt to make up for this I buzzed over to Kerry Park in Queen Anne as dusk turned to night, but I got there too late. The decent shots of the skyline and Mount Rainier were long gone.
It’s not that I needed another Kerry Park vista to hang up in my house, but I wanted to salvage the expedition by at least getting one “ah-ha” image. Nope. No luck at Kerry Park either. Of course mingling with all the tourists, point-and-shoot’ers, amateur photographers and Queen Anne denizens stopping by to enjoy the view made up for not getting a good picture. I especially revel in checking out the uber-photogs. You know these guys: they roll up with a couple of tripods and simultaneously shoot multiple cameras and lenses. They almost always are rocking a Canon Mark II or III with some obscenely fast gray glass mounted on it. The very first time I went to Kerry Park I setup my modest D40 next to a Japanese guy with two pro Nikons on tripods. Each camera had a long telephoto lens and he tinkered with his gear endlessly. It was a pleasant February night; I was comfortable in a fleece, hat and gloves (as most people were). This guy had on a full length down jacket with the hood up and drawn tight. About the only way you could tell a person was in there was the steady plume of smoke emitting from his hood—he puffed away all night.
About when I was ready to call it a night, Ben called me and told me to come to Keely’s. Earlier I had gotten a text from Kate saying the same thing, so I figured it was about time to bail on photography and tie one on at McIlwain’s. Jon, Dana and I drove over in my Explorer and I intentionally left all my gear in the truck. After a few beers at Keely’s everyone headed for a bar in Fremont. Since I was still haunted by the 150 or so lousy shots I took earlier that night, I proposed to Jon and Dana that we skip the bar and head to Ballard for some night photography. Woo hoo.
Jon and Dana humored me and we headed west to the Ballard Bridge. I’m grateful to have such amiable friends willing to accompany me on boondoggles like this—it really makes it more fun. Plus, it’s nice to have people to joke around with while your waiting for a minute or longer exposure to wrap up.
Using the same vantage point from earlier, I adjusted the D300 in Manual and experimented with several different settings over a few dozen frames. This shot is custom white balanced, but I did make substantial color corrections later using Curves in CS2. This picture is looking southwest towards Magnolia. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks are to the right of the frame. And yes, I am pleased with the shot. This time victory only needed three setups, 176 shots, a few friends and four beers.
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April 16th, 2008 on 12:10 pm
Now that you are hanging with the uppity Canon shooters, it’s time to get a Holga (and load it up with some gaudy Fuji color film) or try that Argus C3. Both cameras have “bulb” settings for long exposures and the latest Holga model even has a tripod socket. Don’t forget to get a vintage-looking cable release with a lock for the Argus. That will definitely get their attention.