PHOTOGRAPHING MANHATTANHENGE AND WORKING A SHOT.
If you recall a past blog post called “Plan B.” I talk about my failed attempt due to poor weather to photograph the event known as Manhattanhenge. But I did have two other nights to get the photo that I wanted to take.
In the blog post “Plan B.” I talked about how I was still able to get some street photography in since the weather was not good to photograph the sunset on that particular evening. But it also allowed me to continue, on “working a shot.”
“Working a shot” is basically going to the same location for a few days and photographing your subject until you get the shot that you want. And that was what I did to get the photo that I wanted to achieve. It took a total of three days, but each day gave me insight on how to take the best photograph that I can possibly take. It allowed me in this case to set up my framing to how I wanted it to be and it allowed me to adjust my camera settings so that I could get a shot that I would be very happy with. And the three days did allow me to check out different locations for my shot as well. As the old saying goes. “Location, location, location.” As well if you ever photographed a sunset you know that you only have a few minutes to do so. With the Manhattanhenge sunset you only have three minutes to get the shot that you want. And if you miss it, you have to wait until next year to try again. The photos below are from my two-day outing in New York City to photograph the event.
My camera configuration was the following: Canon EOS 600D with a Canon EF 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II lens and a Canon 55-250 mm f/ 4-5.6 IS II lens. Both with an ultraviolet-coated (UVC) filter.
As you can see lots of people showed up for the Manhattanhenge sunset. Since I was there an hour early so that I can plan my location and framing of my shot. Other photographers were there as well in advance just waiting for the sun to go down. At one point it became a game of “peek-a-boo, I see you.” As me and other photographers started photographing each other as a way to kill time.
During one of the two days, they was so many people out on the street that the police had to come by and clear some of the people off the street so that traffic can get through.
This police officer knew something was going to happen on the west side of Manhattan.
A wedding couple as well wanted to get a photo of them and the sunset when it was happening.
I should mention that this street wedding photo that I had taken did not work out as expected for the two, for it was a day that low clouds blocked the sunset. But they did make the best of it and continued to pose for the wedding photographer.
But after planning, framing and working my shot, I finally was able to get a photograph that I was very happy with.
Working a shot does take time and a little effort. It can take as little as 30 or as many as 600 photos to get the photo that you want. But it’s worth doing so for a photograph like the one above.
JPEG IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY 