Tall Ships Festival - 8.28.10 - Post 2 (Tall Ship Windy, Post Beta)

Okay, these are the shots I took from the Windy.  I think we've all dealt with the problems of standing still while trying to shoot something moving.  Your kid, your dog, a dragonfly... whatever.  There are times it isn't easy.

Let me just say, for the record, if you think that's hard, try reversing it.  Your subject is standing still, but you aren't.  And you have no warning for when the 'ground' beneath your feet will pitch and roll.

I can't tell you the number of shots I had all lined up and ready just to find that as I hit the shutter we'd hit a swell and I'd get a whole different shot than I planned for.  Not to mention, you'll almost never get your horizon right.  I spent more time correcting the horizon on these shots than anything else I needed to do to make them blog-able.

This trip wasn't too bad because even though the sun was setting, I still had enough light to use reasonably quick shutters.  That wouldn't be the case when I got on the Red Witch, but I'll talk about that when I get there.

Anyway, Chicago sure is pretty at sundown...

Here's an example of one shot before I corrected the horizon.  It's off just enough for me to notice it and be bothered by it. 

 I literally corrected it by 1 degree (which meant I had to recrop, due to the way my editing program works), but it makes a noticeable difference.  So here's a shot of Chicago through the ropes.  I was trying to get enough back-light that I'd get absolutely black silhouette of the city, but it didn't quite black out enough.  I could probably play with it in post and get the effect I wanted, but it's still a pretty cool shot of the city.

Sun Seen Through the Ropes

Chicago in Silhouette

This one was closer to giving me that 'cut out' effect, but I got the weird sun rays.  I have no idea how or why those happened.  I do love the way the light bounces off the water.

Light Powered Lighthouse

This is the lighthouse on the way out from the pier. If you look on the far right side of the platform you can see the solar panels that power it.

Lighthouse as the Light Disappears

Same place on the way back in.  Look at that gorgeous sunset behind it.

Roseway Behind the Rocks

This being Tall Ships Week, there were a number of, you know, tall ships out there.  This is the Roseway.  It stood out for quite a ways with those dark brown sails.

End of the Day - Chicago Style

 I may need to get a print of this one.  I've got the rigging in the foreground, the city behind and the sun is *right* on the horizon.  Though before I do, I may have to futz with the horizon just a little bit more.

Chicago in Light and Shadow

 
A few minutes later (and with a telephoto lens this time) The light and shadows are doing whole different things.







I'll do the Red Witch shots next.  That trip didn't even leave until 10:15 p.m. and there were fireworks, so it was a whole different shooting experience.