New York Part III: Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Skyline by Night

Brooklyn Bridge I

The Manhattan skyline seen from Brooklyn at night. Quite impressive.

You are looking at the main reason for this New York visit. Well, maybe not the main reason but at least it was on the to-do list. And important enough for me to take the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan and back (a 1 hour trip) just to get my tripod. Btw, my apologies to The Roots for leaving in the middle of their concert to get the tripod in time for sunset… OK, I’ll admit, it was one of the main reasons for going to New York.

These shots were taken on and just next to the Brooklyn Bridge. With shutter speeds up to 25 seconds it would have been impossible without a tripod. The tricky part in post production was to get the white balance and colors right. However, after a while I just got fed up with all the colors and chose to go b/w instead.

Should I have kept the color versions? I added two color photos at the end. You’ll be the judge – leave a comment!

Brooklyn Bridge I Brooklyn Bridge II Brooklyn Bridge III Brooklyn Bridge IV
Brooklyn Bridge V Brooklyn Bridge VI Brooklyn Bridge VII Brooklyn Bridge VIII
Brooklyn Bridge X Brooklyn Bridge XI Brooklyn Bridge XII Brooklyn Bridge XIII
Brooklyn Bridge IX Brooklyn Bridge XIV Manhattan Skyline Brooklyn Bridge & Me (x4)
(click thumbnails to view larger images)

Check out the first two parts of this series:

New York Part I: Skyscrapers anyone?
New York Part II: Street Art

Evening light, water and reflections by Kungsholmsstrand

Kungsholmsstrand I

Kungsholmsstrand II Kungsholmsstrand III Kungsholmsstrand IV Kungsholmsstrand V Kungsholmsstrand VI Kungsholmsstrand VII
(click thumbnails to view larger images)

Kungsholmsstrand on a warm summer night. Just a few blocks from where we live. The reflections on the water looked amazing and the bridge construction was kind of cool.

The colors of the three “reflection” photos are almost left as they were (I’ve made them a bit lighter). However I decided to reduce the saturation of the three bridge photos in order to put more focus on the construction.

Is that a camera in your pocket…?

Is it true what they say? Is the best camera really the one that is with you?

Since I just received an iPhone (yes, I know I’m the last one in Sweden – no it doesn’t have the retina display) I’ve been using extensively. Sure, it’s with you all the time so it really gives you the opportunity to snap photos you otherwise would have missed. And even if that is true for every cell phone out there, this is the first phone I’ve had that’s been good enough. Plus it let’s you edit photos using anyone of the many, many photo apps in the app store.

It’s easy to get blown away if you just review the photos you take on the phone. They look great. But upload them to a computer and you’ll be running to get that DSLR again…

I guess there is a time and place for the iPhone as well as for the DSLR.
Here’s my first batch of iPhone photos – and more will follow.

Flowers Grass Balloon Konstfack by night
by George Västermalmsgallerian Sun Cars
Excavator Parked Walk Hmm... What if I...
(click thumbnail to view large image)

World Cup: HD Broadcast goes ASCII retro (Italy – Paraguay)

Watching football is a lot of fun. And the World Cup is off to a great start.

But sitting in front of Italy – Paraguay with my iPhone I just couldn’t help wondering what the 2010 HD broadcast would look like as an old school ASCII game? Not too shabby it turns out.

Here are some of the shots I took of the TV set during the second half of the game.

ita-par_02 ita-par_03 ita-par_04
ita-par_11 ita-par_12 ita-par_13
ita-par_19 ita-par_25 ita-par_28
(click thumbnail to view large image)

Have an iPhone and want to try this yourself?
Check out Asciigraphy. Simple, free and fun!

Clear crystals – Frost or rime?

Branch I Branch II Branch III Reed
Fence I Fence II Fence III Bench
Chain I Chain II Car I Car II
(click thumbnail to view large image)

Frost is often a beautiful sight (except when getting in to your car early mornings). In the end of autumn it is also a sure sign that winter is quickly approaching. Make no mistake – winter is here now. It’s -13° C outside according to my thermometer.

I took some of these shots with a 90mm macro lens. The ice crystals really pop when you nail the focus.

(By the way, who knew frost could be so much more than just plain old frost: Wikipedia)