Click on the image for licensing terms
During Liz and my few days break in Florence Italy, almost all of the photos I took were impromptu hand-held affairs.
Ryan Air's luggage arrangements were such that taking my usual Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod was out of the question, so I invested in a heavy duty Gorillapod instead. (Cheaper than flying my Manfrotto to Florence and back!)
So Gorillapod and Canon in hand I set off one evening for a 'proper' photoshoot.
Pre-planned and pre-scouted during the day, I knew this view would work during those magical twenty minutes after sunset when the blue ambient light of the sky is in harmony with the golden glow of streetlights.
A long exposure (thanks to the Gorillapod) allowed me to blur the movement of water along the river and capture reasonable reflections of the streetlights and the famous Ponti Vecchio (a smaller version of the Rialto Bridge in Venice).
I quite enjoyed the impromptu photo opportunities that presented themselves while wandering around in 'tourist' mode, but at heart I much prefer the pre-planned approach, so long as you have the right kit to do the job.
Filename - florence river arno 04.jpg
Camera - Canon EOS 5D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 40mm
Exposure - 25secs @ f16, ISO100
Location - Florence, Italy
This image - 800x450px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Gorillapod, mirror lockup and cable release used to prevent camera movement.
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.