How to Photograph Manhattanhenge

Twice a year, approximately  three weeks both before and after the summer solstice, the sunset lines up with the street grid of Manhattan.  The term for this, Manhattanhenge, was coined in 2002 by astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson of the American Museum of Natural History as a reference to Stonehenge in England.  It only applies to those streets beginning with 14th and going to upper Manhattan that were laid out in 1811.

The edges were allowed to go dark to enhance the effect of New York as a canyon of buildings framing the setting sun. See the photo at the end of this blog for a different interpretation of this same image.

Although the exact date for Manhattanhenge is when the sun is a full ball centered on the street as it sets on the horizon, it is possible to obtain great photos for at least five days before and after the main event.  

Be sure to allow plenty of time in advance of actual sunset.  You will have approximately ten minutes from when the sun peaks around the corner of the southern building until it finally sets.  So get to your shooting site at least a half hour before the time listed for actual sunset.

Photographing the sunset event is not too difficult, if you don't count taking your life in your hands to dodge street traffic.  The three things you will have to deal with are:  finding the right location, selecting the proper lens for what you want to capture, and setting the proper exposure when shooting directly into the sun.

Location:

While any cross street on the grid above 14th Street will provide the proper vista, a good choice is usually one of the wider streets, such as 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, etc.  Two streets that make particularly good vistas are 34th and 42nd Street.  That is because they contain two important New York buildings that look distinctive in silhouette.  The Empire State Building is on 34th Street at Fifth Avenue.  The best place to record its silhouette and the sunset is from the East side of Park Avenue.    

A similarly dramatic view can be had of the Chrysler Building, which is located on 42nd Street at Lexington Avenue.  The best place to include it in your photograph is from an overhang that crosses 42nd Street near First Avenue.  Unfortunately, this is one of the most popular views and is very crowded with people, some of whom show up in the early afternoon to reserve a spot.  Another view of 42nd Street including the Chrysler Building is from street level where 42nd crosses Second Avenue.

The shooting spot happens to be right in the middle of the Street.  People wait for the "walk" signal and then quickly take a few photos before scurrying back to the safety of the sidewalk when the light changes to give the traffic the right of way.  Large groups also gather on the 42nd Street overhand that goes up Park Avenue to Grand Central Terminal.  The problem with this view is that the Chrysler Building is not in the shot so you have to be content with a simpler shot.

Whatever location you choose, it is best to scout it out ahead of time.  The Sunset event happens quickly in less than ten minutes.  When you couple that with all the traffic and crowds, you really do not have much time to prepare on the spot.  

Lens choice:

There are basically two types of shots to this event: One is a wide view that includes some of the story-telling detail of the city.  The other is a tight, telephoto shot of the ball of the sun, perhaps combined with some to the city traffic to add interest.

In this case a moderate wide angle focal length of 35mm includes a full view of the city with the Chrysler Building on the right framing the setting sun.

Here a long telephoto lens of 400mm compress the space.  This enhances the congestion of traffic and provides a solid circular shape to the sun.  The refracted blurs over the traffic were caused by shooting directly into such a powerful light.

 

For a vertical wide angle view you will need the equivalent of a 24-50mm lens.  (All focal lengths here are expressed for full-frame format cameras.  On a camera with an APS format divide the focal length numbers by 1.5.  For instance a 24-50mm in APS size would be approximately 16-33mm).  To obtain a horizontal shot like the first one on this blog entry you will need a lens between 16-28mm.

To capture the ball of the sun takes something between 200-600mm, with 300-400 providing a good combination of full sun and some compressed areas of the city traffic and buildings.

Exposure:

Shooting directly into the sun, especially with a telephoto lens will usually fool the camera light meter into under-exposing the image, resulting in a very dark silhouette with no detail.  It is best to put your camera on manual exposure mode and take a light reading.  Do not read the light with the camera pointed directly into the sun.  This will result in an under-exposed image.  Instead, point your camera to an area of the sky where the sun is just a tiny bit out of the frame, and take a light reading of this area.  Use that as the basis of your starting exposure.  To play it safe, bracket your exposure by shooting one full stop lighter and one darker than the correct exposure.

You probably do not need a tripod because you will be shooting directly into the sun.  This will provide an exposure with plenty of motion-stopping shutter speed.  An ISO setting of 200-400 should work fine for this, and should be sufficient to allow a fast enough shutter speed to hand-hold the camera at a lens opening of f/4-5.6.  

Special effects:

The exact same six-sided star filter was used to create these two photos.  The lens on the left was set to 24mm, while the one on the right was set to 44mmm.  This resulted in a much more exaggerated star effect.

 

A star filter can enhance the effect of the sun with a wide angle lens.  On a lens of normal to telephoto length it can become a bit over-powering.  

Conclusion:

In a situation like Manhattanhenge where you include a very bright light object and dark areas of shadow, it is best to take the photograph in RAW format.  This will give you a wider color and exposure latitude to make corrections and adjustments afterward.  All of the photos used above were done in RAW and enhanced later in Photoshop to bring out the color and details where desired.  

This is the same photo as the one at top that opened this blog entry, but it shows far more detail in the shadow areas and a different tint to the sunset.  Bringing out an image like this was only possible because it was shot in RAW, providing plenty of color and detail with which to work in Photoshop.

Filters: Using a polarizer

The ability to alter images in post-processing of digital photography has eliminated the need for most of the enhancement filters that had been so popular in film photography.  In fact, the digital sensor is so much more sensitive to optical quality that placing any filter -- especially one of poor optical quality -- in the optical path will most likely be detrimental to the quality of the final image.  One filter effect that does not lend itself to complete obsolescence in the digital age is the polarizer -- although one of the more common uses of the polarizer, darkening blue skies, can usually be done with simple post-processing.

A popular use of a polarizing filter is to darken a blue sky.  With modern digital photography and post-processing this is not as important a use as it once was.  In the photo above a polarizer was not necessary.  The sky was simply darkened and contrast added afterwards in Photoshop.

What to look for:

Polarizing filters come in two varieties: linear and circular.  On a camera incorporating either AF (auto-focus) or built-in metering -- which is to say all modern DSLR cameras -- use a circular polarizer.  A linear polarizer will disrupt the AF ability of the camera and give false readings to the built-in light meter. 

A polarizing filter must turn to produce its result.  This necessitates a filter mount that may be thicker than an ordinary filter, and can cause vignetting with wide angle lenses.  Better quality polarizing filters are specially made with thinner mounts.  As with any filter used in digital photography, it is best to spend a little extra for a higher grade filter mount, optical glass, and coating of the glass.  This will have the least negative impact on the optical system of the camera.

Darkening blue skies:

A polarizing filter can be used to add punch to a landscape or travel shot by intensifying a blue sky, particularly if there are interesting cloud formations present.  The clouds will stand out more dramatically against the deeper blue.

The photo of the Empire State Building on the left is without a polarizer; that on the right is with.  Notice how the sky is darkened, plus additional color and contrast are added to the building in the polarized image.

 As already mentioned, much of this darkening can also be done in post-processing of the image.  Nonetheless, when you combine the ability of the filter to also add deeper color to other reflective surfaces in your shot, using the polarizer may be a better solution that post-processing.  Keep in mind that a polarizer will only work on a blue sky.  It does nothing for a cloudy sky. The ability of a polarizing filter to darken a sky depends on the type of sky and your shooting angle in relation to the sun.

 

A polarizing filter has its greatest darkening impact on a sky when the section of the sky being photographed is at a 90 degree to the sun, as in the illustration above.  At sunset, with the sun directly behind you at 180 degrees a polarizer will have no effect whatsoever

The polarizer works best when it is used closest to a right angle (90 degrees) from the sun.  With the sun behind you or overhead, turn the polarizer in its mount until you see the darkening effect in the camera viewfinder.  A polarizer can darken the exposure by as much as 2-stops.  Be aware of this and make any necessary exposure adjustments in your cameras, if you are in manual exposure mode.  Your camera meter should be able to compensate for this adjustment automatically.  

This image illustrates two potential problems with adding a polarizer to a wide angle lens.  First, the filter mount was too thick for the 28mm wide angle lens on this full-frame camera.  This resulted in dark, vignetted corners in the image.  Second, the sky varies in darkness from left to right resulting in uneven exposure.    This is amplified more through use of the polarizer.  Here is an instance where no polarizer would have been better.

Using the polarizer in conjunction with a wide angle lens may cause other problems.  The blue sky changes intensity as it moves from the 90 degree angle in relation to the sun.  A polarizer can negatively emphasize this exposure contrast when using very wide angle lenses.  

A second thing to look for with a polarizer on a wide angle lens is vignetting, which is the darkening corners in the image.  This is caused by the lens actually seeing part of the filter mount and recording it as a dark out-of-focus area.  Be aware of these problems.  You may not actually be able to see them occurring through the viewfinder.  When using an extreme wide angle lens, it is best to also take a backup shot without the filter in place.

Restoring color to foliage and other reflective surfaces:

One of the most useful implementations of a polarizing filter is in landscape photography for bringing out the saturated color of foliage.  A polarizer also cuts down the exposure, sometimes by as much as one or two stops.  This can be an aid to photographing moving water where you want to create a blur of the water by using a slow shutter speed.

Without a polarizer to cut the reflections the leaves in the top photo are completely washed out through over-exposure.  In the bottom image the full color and saturation of the leaves is restored by turning the filter to eliminate the unwanted reflections.

A typical example of where a polarizing filter is important.  It was used in conjunction with a neutral density filter to lower the exposure to 1/2 second which added a blur motion to the moving water.  At the same time the polarizer cut out the reflections on the foreground leaves and rock surfaces to result in a deeply saturated photo with plenty of color and detail.

One of the most important reasons to use a polarizer is so you can restore color to reflective surfaces.  This is particularly prevalent when photographing landscapes with foliage.  The surface of leaves are pointed skyward.  Since the leaf surface is glossy, it will reflect the pure light falling on it from the sky.  This will result in loss of color and actual over-exposure of the bright, reflective surface on the leaf.  A polarizer can eliminate this reflection and restore the natural color beneath it.  

This is a dramatic example of how a polarizing filter can eliminate the sky reflections in foliage and bring out the true colors of the leaves and flowers.

Here the polarizer is doing double duty by darkening the blue sky and also bringing out the colors in the autumn leaves.

Eliminating unwanted reflections:

The ability to remove unwanted reflections can be beneficial when photographing any reflective surface, such as glass, metal, water surfaces, or even shiny skin. 

The polarizer works best at a 90 degree angle to what is being reflected.  The photo on the left of a store window reflects the street scene to such a degree that the sign in the window is almost illegible.  On the right the polarizer almost completely eliminates the distracting reflection and now the sign behind the window is clear

Use of the polarizer on the right image eliminated the white sky reflections in the statue and brought out more color in the metal.

The only difference between these two images is that the polarizer was used for the photo on the right.  Color saturation is restored, glare is eliminated.

 The polarizing effect can sometimes be overdone.  It is not always necessary to turn the polarizer to its full effectiveness.  This may eliminate reflections that are integral to the final photo.

In this instance, the polarizing filter totally eliminated the reflection of the sailboat in the water.  Including some degree of the reflection would have made the shot more interesting.

Here the polarizing filter was only partially turned -- just enough to deepen the colors in the water and the shiny skin of the model, but not so much that it eliminated the important reflection of the girl in the sand.

As always, proper use of an aid to photography should enhance the creative outcome of the image, not detract from it.  Know the limitations and abilities of your equipment and accessories.  Sometimes knowing when not to use a piece of equipment is as important as knowing when to use it.

All content copyright 2011, Tom Grill Images, LLC

How to Photograph Fireworks

Obtaining colorful and exciting photographs of firework displays is not difficult, but it does require an ability to work a camera in manual mode with a remote release. Digital cameras have made photographing fireworks much easier and fun to do.  Here is how it is done.

You will need a steady tripod for your camera, a remote release to hold the shutter open, and a lens that will enable you to fill the frame with the fireworks display.   A zoom lens is best because you can modify the cropping as you go by zooming in or out.

Fill the frame with the bursts for the most dramatic effect.  On a dark night you can even leave the camera shutter open to capture several bursts in the same exposure.

 The first thing you need to do is determine where to aim the camera.   Fireworks displays usually go off from a fixed location and cover a limited area of the sky.  You should be able to see the individual fireworks trail as it shoots up from the launch area.  Fix you camera so that it covers the area of the sky where the  full burst occurs.  It is usually best to fill the frame with the burst.  Including too much of the dark sky is dull and uninteresting. 

 

Set your camera to manual exposure mode.  You will need to also set the shutter speed to B, or Bulb, which will keep the shutter open as long as you are holding in the button on the remote release.  Choose a low ISO setting -- preferably the base ISO of your camera.  This will usually be ISO 100 or 200.  Set your camera menu to turn off the noise reduction for long exposures. This will only slow your camera down and is unnecessary where the dark areas are pure black. 

Your lens should also be set to manual mode.  The auto-focus mode may have to hunt for a focus point that will result in many out of focus images.  Note that on most modern auto-focus lenses the actual infinity setting of the lens is often not at the very end of the focus ring range.  You will need to set the infinity symbol on your lens by eye.  Set it for the very center of the symbol.  The focus ring can easily be bumped off of its setting so it is wise to tape the ring securely in place while shooting.

Over-exposing the photo will result in a colorless image, like the one on the right.  Close the aperture down another f/stop or two until you can see some color on your camera display.

The proper selection of lens aperture is a bit of a variable.  Fireworks differ from one another in terms of brightness.  So you will need to do some on the spot testing to determine the best f/stop to use.  The range is usually between f/8 and f/16, but can go as low as f/22.  With an ISO of 100, I would recommend starting with f/8 (f/11 for ISO 200).  Overexposing the fireworks results in washed out bursts lacking in color.  So it is best to keep the exposure toward the darker end and bracket by at least one full f/stop, or even more.  For instance, you could begin with f/8, then try f/11 and f/16.  Check your camera display to see if the color is in the burst. 

To avoid your fireworks photos looking like the bad example above you need to keep your shutter open long enough for the bursts to record in the frame.  When the exposure is too short, the burst does not have enough time to "paint" itself in your picture.  That is why the burst streaks in this photo are so short.  There is also far too much dull, black sky in the photo.  This photo needed to be cropped tighter.

Here the crop was tighter and the shutter was open long enough to capture several bursts of fireworks that allowed them to create long, bright streaks that completely fill the frame.

Timing is very important.  You want to keep the shutter open long enough during the burst so that it "paints" itself on the camera sensor.  This will give you the fullest color. Too short a shutter speed will only record a small part of the burst.  You want to record as much of the burst as you can without over-exposing the photo.  The length of exposure depends upon the brightness of the burst and the sky.  If you have set your camera up properly, you can release the shutter as soon as you see the firework begin its upward motion.  Keep the shutter open during the full burst.  This is usually between three and eight seconds, but could be longer if the sky is really dark.

If your camera can double expose, you might want to experiment with capturing more than one burst in the same photo.  Alternatively, you can capture a number of bursts and combine them later into one frame during post-processing.

 As the display goes on, the sky begins to fill with smoke.  This smoke reflects the light from the fireworks and can affect the exposure.  You may need to darken your exposure by stopping down your lens aperture by another stop or more. 

 

These rules should give you a good starting point.  Experiment by varying the lens aperture and the time the shutter is open.  Above all, be aware of where in the frame your bursts are recording and tighten up the crop if there is too much black area from the night sky.

 

Composition: Making clouds work for you

Every year over 3 million people visit the Statue of Liberty in New York.  It is a safe bet that all of them have a camera and take one or more photos.  That means that over 3 million images of the Statue of Liberty are taken annually.  With odds like these you may wonder if it is still possible to obtain a unique photograph of the famous statue of the lady in the harbor.  

The photo on the left is what anyone can achieve -- and millions do -- on a nice, cloudless day.  The photo on the right was taken from a scenic boat tour at sunset.  The uniqueness of the clouds and careful timing to include the sun just peeking out from behind the statue make this shot a one-of-a-kind composition.

You will need to shift your main focus from the static subject of your scene and concentrate instead on the changing landscape around the subject if you hope to create a composition that is uniquely your own.  Keep in mind that while the subject is fixed in space two things are not: you and your position relative to the subject, and the weather.  Taking advantage of these changing elements will result in an image you can call your own.  One thing is certain: the weather as reflected in the cloud formations over your subject is constantly changing and will never be exactly the same twice.  Make a compositional design relationship between the weather and the subject and you will have something you can call uniquely your own. 

This photo is of a statue at the Gettysburg Battle Field monument.  Careful placement of the clouds create a swirling effect that emphasizes the running motion of the soldier. 

 

First you must train yourself to look beyond the subject to the surrounding area.  Too often photographers "see" only the main subject they are photographing and ignore the subject's environment. 

These samples show the difference that a cloud formation can make to a photo when it is incorporated into the overall composition.  In the left photo the castle is centered in the frame without much relationship to its background.  In order to incorporate a large cumulus cloud formation into the right image, it was necessary to place the castle down towards the very bottom of the frame.  Inclusion of the cloud formation dictated compositional placement and lens focal length, both of which make for a much more interesting shot.

 

Working with clouds can often make a bad day look good.

I arrived at Stonehenge on an overcast winter day at mid-day.  This is usually the worst time to photograph a travel scene.  There was just enough blue sky peeking through the clouds to provide some color.  I decided to create a shot that would illustrate how the monument would look in relationship to its bleak landscape. A 28mm wide angle lens allowed me to include the upper limit of the sky.  This is important because the sky is a deeper blue higher up.  The actual subject takes up very little space in the frame.  Nonetheless, it stands out dramatically against the sky and surrounding plains, and further emphasizes the important relationship Stonehenge had to the environment.  About 80% of this photo is taken up by a rather humdrum sky.  Relating it to the main subject gives it a new meaning and makes this shot unique.

Sometimes you luck out with an unusual cloud formation.  Here the clouds form a halo effect above the church cross on the Island of Mykonos.  All I had to do was change my position to align the clouds with the cross.

Two completely different cloud themes of western scenes: On the left a small, single cloud suggests a dry, remote desert area.  In the example on the right a huge cumulus cloud formation over the Grand Tetons in Wyoming emphasizes the grandeur of the mountains and the landscape.

 

The weather does not have to be sunny to provide an opportunity for dramatic cloud compositions.

The church was placed over the bright area of the stormy sky to help define its silhouetted shape.

I found this storm cloud formation while driving though the South Dakota plains.  Pulling off the road at the next exit, I was able to grab a shot of the immense storm over the landscape.  The plains themselves take up a very tiny area at the bottom of the frame, and further emphasizes the relationship of the landscape to the sky.

These oil tankers were anchored off the shore while I was sailing in the Aegean Sea just before dawn.  A typical shot of this scene would be to make a horizontal composition by coming in tight on the ships with a telephoto lens.  To make the photo more unique I included the tops of clouds over the scene and changed the composition to a vertical.

 

Forming your composition by incorporating cloud formations in relationship to your main subject is a great way to give your photos a special look, and one that is impossible to duplicate ever again.  The photo becomes a reflection of your personal experience with a scene at a particular time and place.  Isn't that what good photography is all about?