Trees and the City

[Jenny]

HI,

Interesting video - ALL TREES NO BIRDS!!!! I wanted to incorporate some of the buildings around Central Park in this series. I mostly have tried to hide the buildings, so time to look at the trees in a different context. I think I need to reveal some of the realities....

These pictures were taken over a period of 2 days, there was intermittent snow and it was late afternoon/evening. When it started to get dark, that's when the pictures became very interesting. The ambient city light reflected of the snow so that I didn't have to use a flash. Then when I did use a flash this cool burnt orange sky appeared that wasn't there at all to the naked eye. And with the flash you can see the snow flakes.

I fell in love too much with the orange sky pictures, so they go on a bit. I edited out about 5.

I hope that it is interesting in these videos to see the characteristics that make up this almost completely artificial landscape (the park construction was completed in 1873.)

Jenny

http://vimeo.com/19598508

[edfrank]

Jenny,

Very nice. I always enjoy watching your videos. Please continue to produce them and posting them.

Ed

[James Parton]

The orange glow reminds me of that produced by high-pressure sodium street and area lighting.

[Jenny]

James,

Is that what makes that orange??? It would make complete sense. And the snow must be a factor in enhancing the light through the camera. How do you know such things?

Jenny

[James Parton]

Jenny,

I have had to deal with HPS lighting for years behind the eyepiece of a telescope plus I work at a place that manufactures HPS lighting fixtures. GE does manufacture full cut-off fixtures, like our " Dark Sky " luminares.

Sodium lighting always has that familiar orange glow. That will start to disappear in upcoming years as the new LED luminares take hold.

[edfrank]

Jenny,

I think the orange color was there all the time. Your eyes adjust to the color balance of the scene and perceive it as simply "light." The flash is brighter and bluer in color temperature. The different color temperature make the ambient street light appear orange in comparison. It really is orange, as James says, but you don't see it. Most digital cameras have an automatic color balance that adjust the color that appears in the photos. The camera will make the orange look white, unless there are two different sources of light at different temperatures, then it will try to adjust to the brighter one.

You see this in your home, or someone's home where one area is lit by normal incandescent bulbs another is lit by daylight bulbs. Incandescents look orange or red, daylight bulbs look blue, fluorescent tubes look green. Compact fluorescents look either slightly greenish or bluish for the daylight bulbs.

Ed