Auckland City from the Shelly Beach Road overpass.
Auckland City from the Shelly Beach Road overpass | 35mm | 3.2sec | f8.0 | ISO100
This was shot after an early rise yesterday morning, the morning after the coldest night in Auckland this year, and no, I'm not going to mention the temperature for fear of ridicule from those who actually live in cold climates. But it felt damn cold.
Imagine my surprise upon arriving to find another photographer already there and soon we were joined by another. We're a mad bunch, almost as mad as all the morning joggers that were around, but at least none of us were as miserable as all the saps trapped in their cars below, though at least their cars were warm I suppose.
Turns out it's almost impossible to get a long exposure shot that's pin sharp from the Shelly Beach Road overpass. You never notice how much a supposedly solid surface is moving until you set a tripod up on it, and let me tell you, this bridge moves. Cars going over it, of which there are many, cause the bridge to shake wildly. Trucks and busses going underneath could be felt, even a light footed jogger passing me on the footpath could bring to mind a stampeding elephant. My own humble shuffling from foot to foot in an effort to increase blood circulation in my lower limbs would even set the camera shaking. I'm sure the bridge engineers knew what they were doing when they built it.
All this results an an image that might look quite good squished down to 1500px wide and presented to you here but any bigger and the cities skyline in the background looks woefully fuzzy.