Night Images

Last night we had a light snowfall -- about an inch or a little more. Much of the snow melted from roads and sidewalks, but there was still a fresh white layer on the grass and trees. I thought I'd try taking some night images hoping the light reflecting off the snow would create some interesting effects. I got a few shots that turned out OK.

Downtown Blue Ash has a veteran's memorial with statues around the perimeter of the bricked area around a monument. This is a shot of a few of the statues that are still covered with a bit of snow. There was a slight breeze moving the flags. I like the effect created by the long exposure.



The City of Blue Ash restored the Hunt Road House. You can read more about the house's history here. The house has lights simulating candles in each window and the large pine tree is covered with lights for the holidays. I took several shots with different exposures and created this high dynamic range (HDR) image of the house. The sky was overcast and the city lights were reflecting off the clouds. The HDR effect really brings out that reflected light. If you're not familiar with HDR images, compare this photo to the single exposure image at the bottom of the post to get an idea of what the HDR processing does.



While I was there, I also tried my first attempt at light painting. With a long exposure (about 30 seconds), I ran in the frame and used a flashlight to write "Merry Xmas." Since I was moving, you don't even see me in the photo. I tried it a couple times and this was the best even the "X" didn't turn out very well. I also forgot to write backwards, so I had to flip the image on the horizontal. Compare it to the shot above -- I didn't move the tripod. Oops. I have a couple more night images I'll post later.