San Diego Parade Of Lights

[Chris Dodkin]

Every Christmas, the locals do a parade of lights on the bay - with a flotilla of small and medium sized boats all lit up with Christmas lights, and drunken crew!

First year I've ever tried to take pictures - figured a high ISO and wide aperture on the 50mm lens might get a result.

Here's a few shots from this evening.

Sun setting as we pick our viewing spot

San Diego looking magnificent

It was damn cold!

Parade kicks off as the flotilla sales down the bay towards the city

The theme was 40 years of the parade, Back To The Future

Party on the Bay

 

[Kev Pugh]

Well the 50 certainly did you a good job Chris I particularly like the 2nd and 4th, both being the same shot but they work for me. think the 4th would fit nicely in a 16:9 crop to chop chaps head off and even a BW would work with it.

Bet it was a good time too

 

[Hamish Gill]

you gotta love the glint of the building in the second one!
so what settings are the night shots at then?

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Thanks Hamish - had to crouch down to get the angle on that glint!

ISO 6400 - f2.2 - shutter speeds around 1/50 for the night shots - also used AI Servo to track the moving boats as a bit of a test - seemed to work really well.

If I do much more of this high ISO photography, I'd have to by some proper noise reduction software - maybe Topaz De-Noise

 

[Ralph Thornton]

Nice set Chris. I like the first shot with the boat's list reflected on the water and the city skyline in the background.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Thanks Ralph - knowing what I know now, I'd take a tripod another time, and have a proper crack at that shot.

Will have to scout a location a little closer to down-town I think, so I'm closer to the buildings.

 

[Paul Lange]

Fab set Chris. Maybe someone has slipped me a stiff drink but I'm sure that the sea looks like its moving out the corner of my eye when I'm looking at the rocks!

 

[Chris Armstrong]

Looks like a nice way to spend an evening...great shots! My personal fave is the first one. It has an "old-timey" feel to it. Maybe its the older motorhome in the backround, or the old-timer in the foreground! I like the short depth of field too...always liked how that makes the subject pop and makes the whole image more 3-D.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Thanks Chris - I agree, the shallow DOF does give shots a 3D quality