Advice needed: Cityscape at sunset

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bombfrog

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Any pros out there able to give some advice on how to take a photo like this?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/NYC_Top_of_the_Rock_Pano.jpg

I know how to stitch together panoramas but ignoring that I'd like to be able to take a photo as good as that at sunset. No EXIF data unfortunately but it's obviously late enough in the day for everybody to have their lights on, but the sun is still peeking over the horizon.

Therefore, I'm guessing that the shutter speed must have been fairly slow and a tripod was probably used. I'm a relative beginner though and haven't tried doing much stuff in low light. No idea what lens might have been used but it's a fairly wide depth of field.

I'm going to New York next year and would love to be able to take a photo like this. If anybody could give me any tips I'd really appreciate it.
 
If you look at the people on the very right hand side there is a lot of montion blur so it must be fairly show shutter like you say. The quality also suggests a compact camera. I am not sure what the restriction somewhere like that would be, but I wouldn't be suprised if tripods werent allowed. I am guessing the camera for this was just resting on something (similar the glass screen the people on the right are behind) and just carefully roated to keep the centre point rought the same.

Settings would depend massively on the light at the time, but I personally would be set up with as wider lens as I have, on 400iso, f11 (in Av mode to get a shutter speed then change to manual using this shutter speed). Shoot in portrait and just try and keep the camera in one place while rotating it. Try and overlap a good 30%+ of the shot and shoot more than you need. Shooting wide and in portrait should give you plenty of image to play with and crop :)
 
To get the sunset like that i wouldn't be surprised if that was taken on a specialist ((read: very expensive) panoramic camera.
 
Blue Eagle said:
To get the sunset like that i wouldn't be surprised if that was taken on a specialist ((read: very expensive) panoramic camera.
Click to expand...

You looking at the same photo as me? look at it full size...it is quite pixelated and not very detailed.
 
Technically it's very easy - just a regular panorama, and all that goes with that technique. Nothing tricky in terms of exposure or lens or anything.

The difficult bit is getting that view in front of your lens, at just the right moment of twilight.
 
HoppyUK said:
The difficult bit is getting that view in front of your lens, at just the right moment of twilight.
Click to expand...

Yep. Like comedy, timing is everything. :)

e2a:



Canon 5D, 35mm f/2 lens. iSO 100, 1 second at f/10. On a tripod. Mirror lock up and a cable release.

The right weather helps a lot too.
 
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All about timing!

You'd want to be there for a while and wait for sky:city light ratios to get just right.

Probably only a 10 minute time slot.

Then just point and shoot pretty much!
 
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