Hey, thanks Jack. Nice to hear from you.

Glad you like it Charles. It was fun to make.

Thanks Phil. I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Interestingly, I bought a graduated lens just for that reason but, unfortunately, it didn't really make taking the picture any easier. I don't think they work at night the way they do in the daytime. Thanks for passing along the information. I needed the filter for my wide angle lens anyway for slow shutter work during the day, so I'll make good use out of it.

Thanks John.

Thanks Al.

"Mirror, Mirror on the Water" Nikon D850, F/4, 1/160th, ISO 100, Nikkor 70-200mm @ 70mm, just won a Merit award (awards are merit or not) at the Ventura County Camera Club. Fun stuff.

Mirror, Mirror on the Water

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Nikon D850, f/22, 15 seconds, ISO 50, Nikkor 24-70mm @ 24mm.

Moon over Los Angeles

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I did all that. I think the trick to this picture is to shoot it during the golden hour when the car and building lights come on and the sky is still bright enough to cast more light. I'm going to try the shot again tomorrow night. I also want to try a wider-angle lens. I'll nail this sucker yet...LOL.

Thanks for that great information. I'm going to re-shoot it on Thursday. I'm also going to get there earlier so I can catch the view during the golden hour. Might make it much easier to get the right exposure!

Good to know. I don't feel quite so bad now

Thanks for the speedy answer. Here's what I got in PP. Not bad, but I'm still wondering how to get a better exposure result in the camera?

Some PP to bring out shadows, etc.

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In the attached photograph I'm trying to capture the skyline and use a slow shutter to create the lights in the road effect, but in order not to blow out the extremely bright lights on the building near the center and to get good focus throughout the image I used f/11. The EXIF data is f/11, ISO 100, 29 seconds, Nikon 24-70mm lens @ 24mm. No filters. I've seen a lot of your pictures where you manage to capture the shadows and still not blow out the bright lights. I managed to get a pretty good correction in PP, but I should be able to get a much better image straight from my Nikon D850. Your help and advice would be most appreciated. Thank you all in advance.

Straight from the camera.

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I recently wrote an article which I supported with 4 photographs, copied below for context. I'd like some opinions. I wanted to show the dead fish to add urgency and reality to the story, but the picture is pretty awful. Anyone have any ideas as to how I could have made it better?


"Residents worry that Channel Islands Harbor is going stagnant

"USPA NEWS - Residents are expressing concerns following the shut down of the Mandalay Generating Station and its circulating pumps that used to feed 10 million gallons of "once through" cooling water into the Edison Canal, which connects the generating station to the harbor. Algae, odors, dead fish and discolored water could be, according to Dianne Merrill, a long-time resident and member of the Channel Islands Yacht Club, the "canary in the coal mine." After a hastily called meeting by Mayor Tim Flynn on June 18, 2018, The City of Oxnard Director of Public Works, Rosemarie Gaglione stated "œThis isn'™t something we a™re taking lightly."

"In response to recent reports from harbor residents, the City of Oxnard announced a series of immediate steps, given the potential seriousness of the problem, including hiring a contract marine biologist to determine the causes and, depending on those findings, propose a remediation plan. The City has also set up several monitoring stations and will test an aeration system to increase oxygen in the water. On July 1, 15,000 juvenile white sea bass were released from the "grow out" pens located in the harbor. According to Frank Sullivan, the pen manager, almost 3000 of the original 18,000 fish died before release, much higher than usual. Mr. Sullivan said "While the science isn'™t in, the closing of the Mandalay Generating Station and the shutting off of the pumps is partially causing the lower oxygen levels and higher water temperatures. These and other factors account for the higher mortality rates." A number of residential, commercial and recreational interests will be impacted if the water quality in the harbor deteriorates. The Channel Islands Harbor is a major Southern California attraction and concerns are running high. This is a developing story."

Unusual number of dead fish.

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Channel Islands Harbor in happier days

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Edison Canal connect harbor and power plant

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Mandalay Generating Station

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Sweet Bill.