Landscape Shot -

[canoli]

The Spuyten Devil Amtrak station on the Harlem River.


40D 70-200 2.8 IS @ 70mm 8sec @f/8


C/C welcome. Thanks for your thoughts.


/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.29.05/spuyten800x534ACRweb.jpg

[Oren]

What is this silver thing in the water? is that ice?

[GSPhoto]

Very nice shot. Line through the water brings me to the beutiful cliff under the bridge.

[Rodger]

I'm a fan! Great shot! :)


-Rodger

[Rodger]

I'm a fan! Great shot! :)


-Rodger

[canoli]

silver thing in the water


not sure what you mean...


take a look at this one if you will, see if you see the same thing...


same place, 5 months earlier in May '09. same rig but at 0.3s @ f/22 - both ISO 100.


Biggest difference - this one was captured about an hour after sunrise, wind calm but overcast, very low visibility. The previous shot was about 20 minutes before sunrise, breezy and remarkably clear.


can't tell which one I like better...love that there are no dang ducks all over the place in this shot!


/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.29.05/spuyten_5F00_may_5F00_web.jpg

[canoli]

Thanks you guys! I like this area a lot - been trying to recapture that bridge reflection for months now. Trying to "luck into" a day that is both calm and clear, to give me the bridge reflection and the Palisades in the distance...


Thanks again!

[Oren]

It's pretty simple - in the first picture, the ducks are standing on something - is that ice?

[Fast Glass]

Looks like ice to me. Ducks can't stand on water if it isn't frozen.

[canoli]

I have other shots from that day and the ducks appear the same way: standing on the surface of the water. Yet they're not even near that section.


The glassy look to the S curve isn't hard to explain; wind and current can produce some strange effects on the surface of water.


As for the way the ducks look to be standing on top of it... I suspect it has to do with their movements and the shutter speed. In the first shot the shutter was open for 8 seconds, so maybe that explains it. My theory takes a hit in the other shots I mentioned - those are much quicker - 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 seconds. But maybe that's enough time to produce the effect we're seeing...


In any case it's not ice. We haven't had so much as a frost here yet.

[Alan KE]

looks like low and high tide to me. the "silver thing" is the water that is left. take a look at the jetty and other landmarks in the photo and look at the water level between shots.. is this river affected by tides?

[canoli]

that'll teach me to check my notes - first thing I wrote that morning was "Tide extremely low"


yes, there's a big difference between high and low tides at that point of the river - though the water covers the entire area, not just the silvery "S" curve part.


ps - first low tide was at 5:23AM that day and it was 1". ONE inch! High tide came at 11:24 and it was 5'7". So yes, there's a remarkable difference between the two.


Though of course none of this explains how the ducks appear to be standing on the water...

[Alan KE]

:-) well the tides might explain how they can be "standing on water" if there are rocks etc that become exposed when the tide is out. suggest (if you are very interested) looking at a larger crop of the image..

[canoli]

oh believe me I've checked the 100% (and up) views. Unfortunately the shutter speeds I needed in such low light produced motion blur on the ducks and most of the shots are unusable.


As the morning went on and the shutter speeds came down, the "S" curve disappeared (as the tide came in I guess) but most of the ducks moved off. There are still a few however who look like they're still standing on top of the water.


It must be the shallowness of the river there, that's all, and the low tide.


Anyway, would you care to comment on the shot(s)?


In any case, thanks for your input.