PotD: 2010.10.21
Date Taken: 2010.10.18
Photo Specs: Nikon D3 + 24mm/1.4 lens @ 1.4, 1/200 sec, ISO 1400
Lighting Specs: Ambient only
Why it’s cool & how I got it: My family and I were up in San Francisco this Monday for a mini vacation with our good friend Erin Brummett and her two rugrats Austin and Faith. We’d just had an amazing dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse and were walking back to our hotel Parc 55 when I snapped this shot. I was shooting with Nikon’s AMAZING 24mm/1.4 lens, the sharpest lens I’ve ever used wide open. It defies logic. Typically you’d be shooting this photo at, I dunno, ISO 6400+ to get a 1/200 sec shutter, but shooting at 1.4 opens up a lot of possibilities – and since it’s a wide angle lens you get much more depth of field (aka “forgiveness”) than you would with, say, the 50 or 85mm/1.4.
I like the candid nature of the shot, the silhouettes of my wife, youngest daughter and Austin, the orange lamplight, the shadows, the city in the background. It is dark and mysterious, yet touching and lighthearted at the same time. Thanks for reading!
