Santa Monica Spin #2

Santa Monica Spin #2, a photo by PatrickSmithPhotography on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
The Santa Monica Pier at sunset with the old ferris wheel. Timing the spin is everything. No HDR See a 20x30 print of this at the Four Seasons in Westlake Village near LA until January 16, 2010.


---------------------------------------------------------
Settings etc.:
---------------------------------------------------------

38-second exposure @F16 - No circular ND filters
Canon 5D, Canon 17-40L @ 28
ND soft grad 0.9 over the top half of the frame.

After getting a really nice sunset image from this spot and a 4 minute exposure from under the pier, I waited for the sun to go down. An extra long exposure and a little light still in the sky allowed the scene to become evenly lit. The wheel spun about 5 times during this exposure. The spinning wheel turned out to be the most import factor to getting a good photograph.

Sometimes the wheel stopped, and the dynamic feel of the resulting image was lost. Sometimes it would turn too quickly and become out of synch with the way the lights on the spokes worked, creating odd-looking effects. So a lot of experimentation was required to get a smooth and dynamic look without distracting features. Improvisation is often required to get the best photograph possible.

Also, the sand was reflective like this only part of the time. So that had to be factored in.

.