Blog 21 04 02 Roofs

Other people’s homes are always fascinating, so being able to observe them from the 40^th floor of my apartment was a constant joy in New York. This view extends across 5 streets from W 65^th to W 69^th streets. The image is somewhat fussy, being full of detail, but I like the effect that it has, reminding me of a completed jigsaw puzzle.

This is helped by the fact that using a long focal length lens “flattens” the look of an image from the foreground to the background. I liked that effect in this image, since I was seeking to highlight the pattern, rather than indicate distance. Equally the very sharp focus configuration adds to the quality of “flatness”.

Technical

I improved the “reach” of my 200mm zoom lens with a 1.4x converter, allowing a theoretical increase to 280mm. Seeking a quality print meant limiting ISO to 250 and obtaining front-to-back focus led me to use the narrowest of apertures at f32. Despite excellent Summer light, this combination reduced the exposure speed to 1/100s. When the problem of exaggerated camera shake from viewing a distant subject through long focal length lens is added, the camera had to be stabilised on a tripod.

Settings

Camera: Nikon D300

Lens: Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 with attached Nikon AF-S Teleconverter 1.4x

Focal Length: 220mm

Drive Mode: Single Shot

Auto Focus-Area Mode: Single

Aperture: f/32

Shutter Speed: 1/100s

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Exposure Compensation: -0.7 EV

Metering: Pattern

ISO Sensitivity: 250

Format: Raw

Tripod mounted

Place : 64^th Street, New York

Year: 2008

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