[diesel007]

Originally Posted by Gripster

So, with imitation being the most sincere form of flattery, I totally copied your idea.

I took a class locally in Encinitas and needed to take a night shot as part of my assignment. Inspired by your original image, I set out to take something similar for my coursework. So I loose marks for originality, but I think it came out quite well overall.

Interestingly, to get the streaks, I had to wait for a lot less light than I thought, even though I had the camera stopped down to f22. Also - did you apply a warming filter for the color?

I did not use a filter for this shot. I am not a fan of filters whe you have the right light, colors are much more vibrant without filters IMO but you have to be patent. Your angle on the hill was a different spot then ours, no offense but I prefer our crop. In your shots the bridge is not the main focus and the light streaks are, the shot would look better with less of the Tory Pines hill and more of the La Jolla Coastal Cove. Also if you could make the bridge pop more it may help.

The reason for having to wait so long is because the horizon lighting the scene has no obstructions such as mountains or trees. The dusk light is much brighter on the coastal horizon then inland mountains. I parked my car down by the beach and was walking back in pitch black darkness lol. Keep up the good work and if you ever want a shooting buddy let me know I am always looking to pick up a few new tricks from a fellow photographer.

[Gripster]

I agree your composition was better - I was so focused on getting the streaking lights (this is to be submitted as a night shot) that I didn't pay attention to the right side of the image and cropped the coast. That and there is also way too much foreground.

I guess I'll be out there again later in the week for take two.

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fwiw - Just before the holidays I started the photography fieldwork class listed here http://sdadulted.com/cgi-bin/display...63&dept_id=art

It was inexpensive ($81) and the guy that runs the course, Steve Gebler, is great. I took it because there's only so far you can get on your own without learning from someone that really knows what they're doing. While I can't say I learned a lot of new things - it's the little pointers here and there that can make a big difference. Up until now I have not had any coaching in photography technique.

The only bad thing about the class is that they don't stratify the students, so there were people who are just starting out with a P&S digital mixed in with others like me that have been shooting SLR for a while. All that said, for $81 I couldn't really go wrong.