Chicago Winter Nights

[marcr1230]

Last night I went out to try some skyline/cityscape photography

just sharing my thoughts and conclusions

1. it's colder than you think, most people in cities are not dressed to stand outside in the cold for an hour. outfit yourself like you are going skiing or hunting, gloves , hats, layers and snow pants are not a bad idea. Gloves open fingertips make a lot of sense
2. it's dark out there, you might want a small flash light to check/change your settings.
3. Tripod - it's time to bring out a tripod, you are not going to hand hold this one. FYI - Aluminum tripods get cold and suck the warmth out of your gloved hands when you carry them
4. know your camera - this is not the time to figure out how to lock the mirror (SLR) or set the shutter speed etc...
5. Moon position - I'm looking for a visual moon simulator, so I can know where it will be in the sky and how high. I did a brief search and found http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/AltAz.php
which calculates altitude and azimuth vs time. useful if you understand. I found the moon on the wrong side of my image (east instead of west), looks like I'll wait 2 weeks for a western moon over the city.
6. RF notes - my damn RF shutter speed started doing strange things - not shooting at 1 sec when set for that. I tried different speeds, seems like the slow speed settings were messed up. when I got home and let it warm up, it was fine
7. Zoom vs prime - prime lens much better for landscapes, less distortion, at least in my case

here's one boring and slightly unfocused image from my outing:

[robklurfield]

nice shot. I grew up there, but have lived away from Chicago for so long now that I no longer recognize much of the skyline. the city still has the most beautiful urban waterfront in the world, imo. I am old enough to remember when the two tallest buildings in the city were the prudential building (dead center in your lovely image; once tall enough that one would need to pay to visit its observation deck) and the palmolive building (later, the renamed the playboy building), famed for its rotating beacon. times have changed.

[robklurfield]

forgot to mention: stay warm. it gets nasty there, especially on the lake. keep shooting.

[1joel1]

Very nice! Curious about the specifics, camera, lens, settings, etc... I grew up in Milwaukee so I can definitely understand the cold part.

Joel

[nikon_sam]

The cold winter wind in Chicago actually hurts...been there done that...I don't know why you guys even go outside in the winter...I been a lot of places in the winter...I remember being in Chicago because it was so cold...

[wgerrard]

Chicago winter nights... are best spent indoors, preferably with appropriate company, music and a libation or two.

[marcr1230]

The camera was a Nikon D300 , lens 50 mm AF-D @ ISO 400, F3.2, 0.4 secs - just love the EXIF header data - also have GPS tags in the image :-)

But my heart is with film...