subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 7 September 2019 19
Embracethetwilighthourandmakethemostofthebluetint
Best time to shoot
correction of converging verticals in
processing. It’s an annoying sacrifi ce of
pixels, but Fujifi lm doesn’t have a tilt–shift
lens option and I don’t have room here for
a third-party lens and adapter.
Weather conditions
The weather on the day of my shoot didn’t
help but it could have been a lot worse. It
stayed dry, but there was very little light
on the Friday, and an unexpected sunset
caught us by surprise when we were in
the completely wrong place to make the
most of it. Overnight, the heavy clouds
dispersed leaving a clear sky at sunrise,
devoid of any interest or colour.
Disappointment like this knocks you. It
seems to sap your energy, enthusiasm and
confi dence in equal measure. You can
normally brush it off , but it seems far
Emirates Airline at dusk using a slow shutter speed to capture movement
9.40pm Fujifilm X-T2, with 10-24mm lens, 15 seconds at f/18, ISO 200MY FAVOURITE time for shooting urban landscapes is the blue hour. That time after the sun
has set and the sky starts to go dark. It’s also the time when the city lights come to life, adding
a whole new dimension to the scene in front of us (reverse the above for the pre-sunrise blue
hour). Any clouds that are in the sky add texture and provide options for varying shutter
speeds. Increase the ISO and deal with the noise later to freeze an image or increase the
shutter speed and get creative.
The Emirates Airline pavilion at Victoria Dock was the perfect location for the latter. An
exposure time of 20 seconds was just enough to smooth out any disturbances on the surface
of the shallow water (helping with the terminal refl ections) and create the perfect-length light
trails, made by the strip lights onboard the gondolas. It’s a long enough speed to magically
remove fast-moving pedestrians from the scene, yet not so long that it would cause the sky
to lose its defi nition.8am
Borough Market early
in the morning with the
light streaming through
Fujifilm X-Pro2 with 35mm lens,
1/80sec at f/7.1, ISO 800Food in Chinatown
just after midnight
Fujifilm X-Pro2 with 35mm lens, 1/200sec at f/4.5, ISO 3200
12.30am