![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bismarckmandanblog.com\/images\/capitol_2011_9165.jpg\")
<\/center>Yes, I was one of the many people wandering around the capitol grounds last night in the cold to get snap a few photos of the capitol tower with the windows lit for the new year. There are always a lot of people driving through and taking photos, and it always puts a few questions in my mind:<\/p>\n– What kind of photos are people getting by shooting handheld with a flash? Shots like the one I took above take 30 seconds on a tripod.<\/p>\n
– Why do I always attract security? Is it my camera gear? No worries, I passed at least two background checks last year alone.<\/p>\n
– Can it be that there are so many people who take pride in our cities and our state like I do? That’s an encouragine one.<\/p>\n
It’s a challenge on these long shots like the one above, because I have to time it for a 30 second chunk of time when there aren’t cars driving through my shot! Otherwise I’d have white and red streaks of light along the road as the car travels through the frame. Sometimes that’s a really fun effect, but not one I want in a shot like this. When it’s bitter cold like it was last night, that can be a chilly wait!<\/p>\n
As I watched others work their way around from place to place and take their snapshots, I wandered to a few locations of my own around the capitol grounds. I even found a new one that I don’t think anyone’s tried yet. Of course I’ll post them here, once I get the chance to hop into Photoshop and prepare them.<\/p>\n
This was the last shot in the series, where I decided to take advantage of the mostly clear skies and capture the Big Dipper, part of the Ursa Major constellation. I had to combine a couple of shots because I needed to expose for the sky separately from the capitol tower itself. I almost gave up on this shot, but then I had an inspiration for making it happen the way I envisioned it. Then I froze for a little while as a few more cars of onlookers came through, finally nabbing what I needed and hopping back into the nice, warm truck.<\/p>\n
I call this one the first Big Dipper of 2011, because Friday night was far too cloudy to spot any stars. Once again…Happy New Year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yes, I was one of the many people wandering around the capitol grounds last night in the cold to get snap a few photos of the capitol tower with the windows lit for the new year. There are always a … Continue reading