Houston: Day and Night

A Son of Houston, I am fortunate to see this beautiful skyline at dusk 5 days a week. I just did a web search expecting to find it is one of the prettiest skylines in the country but found, with surprise, it didn’t make the top 10. Underrated!
This shot was done on my “overgrown tripod” as Johnny Schiro from Icon Real Estate likes to call it. I set up approximately 50 feet in the air on the side of Allen Parkway with my colleague, Nick Teran there to help out as usual.
When you have your most expensive piece of equipment 50 feet in the air, you start to get nervous. I find I am constantly gauging the how much the mast is bending (even though I leveled it on the ground), where it would land should it fall, and what it would cost to replace it. It is so high in fact, you can’t hear the shutter click – we literally have to touch the mast to feel the click vibrate, “shooting by touch”
This mast is not so rigid fully extended! It sways. A lot.
So the long exposure with light tails from head lights is not possible with this equipment. No more than a 1/4 of a second is really usable. More lessons learned.
Elenor Tinsley park is a construction mess, and the spot I chose wasn’t the best. The Swaying of the mast reduced my exposure times and I had to use a wider angle lens than preferred.
Having said all that, this year’s ‘study’ on the skyline is in line with my expertise. This is a work in progress, as I am.
I will continue to shoot and study the heart of my home city – perpetually.
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