Posts tagged ‘space needle’

February 3, 2013

Wake Up, before it is too late …

Last November (2012) got a chance to get up the Space Needle at Seattle. It is one of the best places to get the amazing city view of Seattle. Given the season and altitude, the chillness was quiet expected, but the night being so crisp and clear was a pleasant surprise.

As I was going up, I was cursing myself to have left the tripod at home. Luckily I was at least carrying the gorillapod and it turned out to be a blessing. The odd shape of the fencing at the watching balcony renders the tripod useless, unless you are using a long zoom. The gorillapod just snug to the rails and helped capture the nightscape in all its glory.

I was pretty surprised on how much details my nifty canon 10-22 mm lens was able to capture – if ur keen u can read the apartment names & ‘now leasing’ ads complete with phone numbers :)  The lower Temperature (one of the key setting you can play with when shooting RAW) aided in enhancing the bluish futuristic glow. Though I like the beauty of the night lights, for some reason, this shot reminds me of the aimless pursuits that we manage to partake in our daily lives, systematic yet chaotic, with a goal but not knowing what next, so focused on the destination that we forget all about the journey … Wake Up before it is too late -  oh well may be it is just me !!!

Camera : Canon 7D
Lens : Canon 10-22 mm
Filter : 3 stop ND Filter
ISO 100 : 22 mm : f8 : 15 sec

Buy Print   Living Nightlights, View from Space Needle 
Seattle, Washington, USA
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January 4, 2012

Space Needle Fireworks with Seattle Skyline – 2012

A bit of fireworks, some snow, a trip to the rainforest, throw in some waterfalls on the way and a drive thru amazing 101 pacific coast highway. What a way to start a new year. Not all happened as planned, due to mother nature deciding to join us, in the last minute, in form of lashing rain. Nevertheless it was an awesome trip encircling the Olympic national park, Washington.

This shot is the first one I had taken for this year 2012 & am very pleased with results. It is a high dynamic range shot with multiple exposure to capture the reflections, highlights and fireworks. I really love to watch fireworks up and close at space needle-Seattle, but did not want to be spending 2-3 hours getting out of the downtown traffic once the show was over. Hence after a bit of help from Google Earth, settled for a spot from Hamilton View point park, West Seattle. But as we were driving to the park, the view from harbor avenue was so breath taking, that we decided to settle there for the fireworks show. Arriving at the spot early always has an advantage. As we strolled down the harbor lane, was able to locate a secret sweet spot just behind the parking lot of Salty’s seafood grill. The view was probably better than the deck at Salty’s. Of course we were not served beer ! To make it easier for you, here is the actual spot (47.586095,-122.375566). Just be careful of loose rocks. I had always wanted to shoot the Seattle skyline and this is probably the best view of the Seattle skyline that I had come across. Though an urban setting, it indeed was serene, with the cool breeze, reflections and background effects from sea lions.

If you are still reading … Sorry I had been away for almost a month with unplanned hiatus over here at the blog. I really did not want to start the year’s post with an apology hence pushed this to the later part of the post. It always makes me wonder how something that happens in one part of your life has so much of impacts on your actions, thoughts and eventually how it reflects on almost all other phases. Anyway life just goes on … For the last couple of weeks, I had not been very active here, but had been making changes slowly. You can now see that LikeTheOcean.com points to this very blog and photo.LikeTheOcean.com points to my smugmug portfolio site. Much easier to remember, right :).  Hopefully, the new-non intrusive theme allows, to enjoy the photos directly form the blog. As before am definitely planning to share atleast one amazing travel photo, if not more, every week of 2012 too.

Thanks for sticking around and travelling with me ! Happy New Year to all.

P.S: Definitely best viewed at large. Seattle Skyline is available in Print as such or with customization. This would make a great wall frame as such or with a inspiration quote on the the bottom. Just drop me a note with the request if u want any customization.

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Fireworks @ Space Needle, Seattle Skyline
Seattle, WA, USA

September 16, 2011

Sleepless in Seattle

If you had been following my blog, I bored you last week with my Seattle trip. Continuing that … … … With Sunday still left, decided to pursue the Seattle skyline shot. Decided that probably staying near downtown would help. Being Saturday evening and given the fact that all the hotels were booked, started looking out for options. That is when I came across Airbnb. Pretty interesting concept, where folks rent out their vacation homes or part of their homes. Stay options, with no frills. Though I was initially skeptical, worked out pretty good. Especially the vacation homes at the prime coastal areas are pretty good deals. May be should give it a try some time. Are you aware of this service ? Have you used the same ? what are your experiences ?

After researching a bit, the only option that seems to work out, with out a car, was Kerry Park, which was just 6-7 blocks away. That sounded pretty good and thought I could even walk down if the I decided to stick around, way past sun set. But, I did not realize there would be so many steps across each block, with such a elevation gain ! Lesson Learnt: When in Seattle, check altitude difference along with distance, if planning to walk :)

The overall walk or rather hike up was fruitful. It was indeed a peaceful stroll once you get to Kerry Park. The views were quiet awesome. As for the shot –  it was 30 second exposure, taken few hours after sunset. This is indeed an HDR, to capture the low light and warmth of the scene.

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Space Needle @ Dusk
Seattle, WA, USA

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