{"id":1114,"date":"2009-01-15T12:48:23","date_gmt":"2009-01-15T03:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-01-15\/1114"},"modified":"2009-01-16T22:03:01","modified_gmt":"2009-01-16T13:03:01","slug":"pushing-lowlight-photography-limits-the-atta-terrace-hotel-at-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-01-15\/1114","title":{"rendered":"Pushing Lowlight-Photography Limits: The Atta Terrace Hotel at Night"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1 sec handheld (braced)<\/span>, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOne-Second Exposure, Handheld<\/span>\nHotel Bar  ·  the Atta Terrace Hotel  ·  Okinawa Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

After getting my Nikon D700 and putting its low-light capabilities to the test\n(see:\n“Impossible Photography: No Light, No Tripod, No Hope. D700 and a 50mm<\/span> f\/1.2<\/a>”\nand\n\n“A Few<\/span>\nMore D700 f\/1.2 Night Shots<\/a>”) I quickly<\/span> expanded my understanding\nof the lighting conditions in which I could<\/span> do handheld photography. In exploring<\/span> this new territory, I often<\/span> pushed too far and ended up with poor\nresults, but surprisingly often I got<\/span> results that would have been\nconsidered impossible just a couple<\/span> of years ago, such as Anthony blowing out\nbirthday candles<\/a>, or riding his bike at\ndusk<\/a>, or doing silly dance play<\/a>\nwith friends in the dark.<\/p>\n\n

These new capabilities allowed me to continue a story<\/span> into night (such\nas “The Real\nShougunzuka Kyoto Overlook<\/a>” or “Mountain Drive to Hiyoshi\nDam<\/a>”), or do nighttime shots on the spur of the moment without a\ntripod,<\/span> such as “More From the Eikando Temple\nFoliage Lightup<\/a>”.<\/p>\n\n

Such was the case last weekend during our jaunt to Okinawa. As I posted<\/span>\nthe other day in my In the\nBallpark of Hope: Okinawan Grave In the Dark<\/a>, I was able<\/span> to get a\nreasonable<\/span> spur-of-the-moment shot under a dark<\/span> clump of trees, at ISO 6400\nat 1\/5th<\/i> second. The low-light capabilities of the D700 increases\ndramatically the range of situations where I can<\/span> at least hope to get a\ndecent<\/span> shot.<\/p>\n\n

Later that evening before dinner, I took a<\/span> stroll around the grounds of\nour hotel, The Atta\nTerrace Club Towers<\/a> snapping pictures. I didn't<\/span> have my tripod as I did<\/span>\nwhen we visited\nMiyajima<\/a>, and would still need one to get a rich<\/span> evening shot like this<\/a>, but for\nan unplanned spur-of-the-moment stroll, I came back<\/span> with a lot<\/span> to show for\nit, I think.<\/span>..<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 45 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>40 sec freestanding handheld<\/span>, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 6400<\/span> —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPath to The Pool<\/span>\nfrom the rooms\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>30 sec handheld (braced)<\/span>, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 6400<\/span> —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPool and Restaurant<\/span>\nThe restaurant is the first floor; the second floor is the hotel lobby.\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 0.4 sec freestanding handheld<\/span>, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nReverse View<\/span>\nwith the room towers in the far background, and the library\/lounge\/bar just behind the pool\n( pretty freaking amazing results for 0.4sec handheld ! )<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>4 sec handheld (braced)<\/span>, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPoolside Lounge<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The middle three pictures from Japanese Attention to\nPresentation<\/i><\/a> were taken here – you can see the little\narrangements on each table.<\/p>\n\n

This next shot looks down the corridor between the pool and the lounge,\nand is much more along the lines of what I expected<\/span> to get (that is, it's\nmuch lower quality)....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>13 sec handheld freestanding<\/span>, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAwaiting the Evening Crowd<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I include it here mostly as a point of comparison to the others, which\ngenerally came out just as you see them (although ones that were “handheld\n(braced)” generally had to be rotated a bit,<\/span> to compensate for not being\nable to set the camera level when bracing it against a wall<\/span>). The one above<\/span>, though, was severely underexposed because the candles completely\ndominated the exposure. Even though I used<\/span> spot metering away from the\nflame, and added +2EV in exposure compensation, everything but the candles\ncame out really dark. I brought<\/span> it back a bit<\/span> in Lightroom, but you can see\nhow mushy the result is.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 31 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>5 sec freestanding handheld<\/span>, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFlowers and Towers<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I thought I was wasting my time to even attempt shots of these flowers,\nmuch less also incorporating the even-more-poorly-lit towers.<\/p>\n\n\n

I ventured further outside to get a shot<\/span> of the “grand” entrance...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>15 sec handheld freestanding<\/span>, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUnassuming<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

When we first drove up to the hotel in our rental car the previous\nafternoon, guided by the in-car navigation system, a van<\/span> happened to be\nparked in front of the little sign with the hotel name – pictured\nabove – and as such, we only saw the gates (at right in the picture\nabove) that look more like where you'll find the trash dumpster than the\nentrance to a hotel,<\/span> so we were a bit<\/span> confused until someone came out to\nmeet us.<\/p>\n\n

It's on an out-of-the-way road, and not one to garner drive-by impromptu\ncustomers. Children are not allowed, so all in all, I guess<\/span> they're taking\nan understated approach. This differs greatly from the main hotel in the\nchain, which is 15 minutes up the coast, The Busena\nTerrace<\/a>. Driving by, it was hard to miss the Las Vegas style bright and\nflashy entrance.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, at our hotel, once you're ushered inside and you look into the\nlobby, you realize that you're in a classy<\/span> place...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>25 sec handheld freestanding<\/span>, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMain Lobby<\/span>\nas seen from the valet dropoff\n<\/div>\n\n

The main lobby is on the 2nd floor, above the restaurant, and offers a nice<\/span> view of the pool...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>5 sec handheld (braced)<\/span>, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPool and Nothingness<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Built overlooking a steep slope, the far end of the pool is one of those\n“edgeless” kind, were the water just ends<\/i> and nothingness begins. It's a cool<\/span> effect, but even in Okinawa, it was too cool to swim in\nJanuary. The lights<\/span> in the background darkness are of another hotel a mile<\/span> away. Most of the rest of the blackness in front and beyond that hotel is the East China Sea.<\/p>\n\n

The grounds have various water features that are all lit up at night. Some are shallow pools with plants...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec freestanding handheld<\/span>, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRocks · Pot · Water · Leaf · Air<\/span>\nin that order\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 56 mm — 0.5 sec handheld (braced)<\/span>, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nShimmery<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After getting my Nikon D700 and putting its low-light capabilities to the test (see: \"Impossible Photography: No Light, No Tripod, No Hope. D700 and a 50mm f\/1.2\" and \"A Few More D700 f\/1.2 Night Shots\") I quickly expanded my understanding of the lighting conditions in which I could do handheld photography. In exploring this new territory, I often pushed too far and ended up with poor results, but surprisingly often I got results that would have been considered impossible just a couple of years ago, such as Anthony blowing out birthday candles, or riding his bike at dusk, or doing [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,2,22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}