"The Awakening" (Long Exposure)

Found on Digg.

Favorite comment from Digg: "This is going to confuse the f--k out of whatever intelligent species comes after man is gone."

4 minute, 21 second exposure of THIS notable sculpture in Washington, D.C. Note the streak of lights from an airplane landing at Reagan National Airport on the other side of the Potomac River. Also, first posted photo with my new Tokina 12-24 mm.

You can only really even tell what's going on when viewing this BIGGER

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Comments

Random and Odd says:

This is beautiful! Fantastic. Wonderful. Is there more words I could use?
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

Ray Byrne says:

Excellent
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

Cristian Bucata says:

How you do this without noise?
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

christopherdale says:

Thanks everyone.

@cristian: The D50 has a built-in noise-reduction feature/process for long exposures, in which after the original exposure it closes the shutter and exposes pure black for exactly the same amount of time as the original exposure. Also, because I was on a tripod (naturally, given the long exposure), I shot this at ISO 200 which keeps noise levels as low as possible.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

donnacv says:

Very very very very nice.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

pixthree says:

Yikes. That's amazing. The lights across the water look like fire and give this a real apocalyptic feel.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

Jan Richard says:

The sky is amazing!! I think it would work even without the sculpture there. You captured some outstanding colors but my eyes are fighting between the giant leg and the sky, if that make sense??
The little lights on the horizon are also great.
Will you do one for me without sculpture sometime?
I know you have sooooo much free time for personal requests.
Ha!! Bye!! Gosh I wrote a book....
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

christopherdale says:

Thanks donnacv, pixthree, and Jan.

@Jan: I totally see what you're saying about the eyes fighting thing. I struggled with how to best compose this and think I didn't get it quite right. It was tough to get the sky and the sculpture without a boring composition and also somehow convey a discernable perspective of the sculpture since it's in the ground facing up. I'll see what I can do about that request :) Now I've written a book in return!
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

airport sleeper says:

Awesome exposure. The colours and blurred clouds are really wonderful.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

crolaydyslexia says:

I have been here. Once when I was a small child and then again when I was in middle school.

Amazing photo.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

Mauricio Mejía says:

simply outstanding; the composition, the colors. excellent!
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

Werewolf Puppy says:

The yellow sky is pretty. Thanks for sharing the photo of the Awakening.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

ram.rom82 says:

WOW - great night capture!

Please consider adding this to my group - "After the Sun Has Set"
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

ram.rom82 says:

Hey, also how do you get the D50 to do that - I have not been able to figure it out - guess I could read the manual, but just thought I would ask.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

mike.irwin says:

beautiful exposure, great subject and composition - nice job

Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

christopherdale says:

Thanks everyone! It's hard not to get some cool effects when doing long exposures around D.C., I think.

@ram: As far as getting the D50 to do "this", I'm assuming you mean a long exposure. For anything up to 30 seconds, you can set the shutter in shutter priority or manual mode. In manual mode, you can also set the shutter speed to "bulb", which opens the shutter with a first press of the camera and closes it with a second press.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

mossko says:

really well done.. you can see a plane come in to land too!
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

Andrea Dal Max says:

Great capture!
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

L8o says:

.....Oooooohhh! .....Aaaaaaaahhh!

* * Follow the " topvaa " tag * *
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

bratan says:

I like very much fantastic images. I like very much this one!
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

joewilsondallas says:

Hey -- GREAT photo... and THANK YOU for your 'how to' comments. Not everyone 'shares' this info -- but it is a great attribute of our fellow Flickrites! So, thanks for sharing!
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

christopherdale says:

Thanks, people. @Joe: I've never understood why some wish to keep their techniques secret. That said, what I've shared is rather common information, available in the D50 manual and a million other places. I'm definitely not good enough to have any of those special techniques/secrets, but if I did, I'd be more than willing to share.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

innusa says:

Brilliant night shot!! Great work, Chris...
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

carola's look says:

Awesome capture and great colours! :)
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

salnunzio says:

great colors here! you're a master at the long exposure.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

Stevacek says:

Freakin A!!
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

shawhouse says:

Ni-ice. This is one picture that really does need to be viewed LARGE. And thanks for sharing tips. Everyone benefits. We'll get more beauties like this shot.
Posted 41 months ago. ( permalink )

Vincent.Vega says:

Expect a little increase in views:
digg.com/odd_stuff/Fantastic_Statue_of_a_100_ Foot_Giant_E...
Posted 23 months ago. ( permalink )

nspitzer1 says:

For those who don't know, the statue is called "The Awakening" It used to be in Hanes Point in Washington, DC but was recently moved to the new National Harbour project in PG county, MD (about 5 miles south). The airplane streaks in the background you see are landing or taking off from National Airport and the background city lights are Alexandria, Va, and the Crystal City (and possibly Rossyln) areas of Arlington county.

BTW, this is a REALLY cool statue. I used to go during Cherry Blossom time to see it because you went down a cherry-blossom filled street to get there. Kids can play in the hand, overall it was a really cool statue and I was sorry to see it moved.

One other thing is that both at Hanes point and its new location, in case of flodding or very high tides the statue will be partly submerged in water. You should be able to get a great shot at that time to.
Posted 23 months ago. ( permalink )

Synthetikid says:

i remember many nights after buzz bringing friends to hanes point and waiting for them to sober up enough to realise we were sitting on a statue of a giant man.
Posted 23 months ago. ( permalink )

Paul Mayne says:

congrats on the DIGG
Posted 23 months ago. ( permalink )

luku says:

Cool shot!
Posted 23 months ago. ( permalink )

BY-YOUR-⌘ says:

For some sense of scale...

www.flickr.com/photos/aparejador/2194473810/i n/set-721576...
Posted 23 months ago. ( permalink )

callrob says:

love it, love dc at night
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

Heroicos says:

que hermosa foto, muy muy linda!
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taken in Washington, District of Columbia (map)
Taken with a Nikon D50.
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Taken on September 14, 2006
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"The Awakening" (Long Exposure)

Comments

Random and Odd says:

Ray Byrne says:

Cristian Bucata says:

christopherdale says:

donnacv says:

pixthree says:

Jan Richard says:

christopherdale says:

airport sleeper says:

crolaydyslexia says:

Mauricio Mejía says:

Werewolf Puppy says:

ram.rom82 says:

ram.rom82 says:

mike.irwin says:

christopherdale says:

mossko says:

Andrea Dal Max says:

L8o says:

bratan says:

joewilsondallas says:

christopherdale says:

innusa says:

carola's look says:

salnunzio says:

Stevacek says:

shawhouse says:

Vincent.Vega says:

nspitzer1 says:

Synthetikid says:

Paul Mayne says:

luku says:

BY-YOUR-⌘ says:

callrob says:

Heroicos says:

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