This is one of those shots.

I live near an office park with a pretty reflective building. I’ve been thinking about trying to get a sunset photo reflecting off the building for a while now, but I have younger kids and sunsets and bedtimes coincide with each other for a good portion of the year. One morning I noticed that sunrises were fairly colorful, but instead of getting a reflection standing in a field I was now in a parking lot.

Reasons why I’m not a fan of this shot:

  • parking lot! I could crop it out, but then there would be nothing in the foreground and I’m not sure I would be a fan
  • I shot this with my 35mm, which means that I was fairly close to the building and looking up. This means less sunrise in the reflection (oh, you mean that’s what the color in the bottom right is?). I should have probably used the long end of my telephoto, but I didn’t have it with me and also didn’t have much time
  • The joys of architectural photography without a tilt shift lens
  • I should have squared up to the building a bit better so at least one line was vertical

Live and learn. I’ll try again this summer when the sun goes down after the kids are asleep and I have more time.

  • @IMALlamaOP
    1•2 days ago

    Thankfully most of my shots that I don’t get are usually a composition miss or flawed idea. Sometimes even both.

    I’ve found I don’t require a ton of gear anymore. Currently I have four primes and a telephoto to go along with an A9II. The primes are actually focal length pairs - two smaller/lighter versions and two bigger/faster versions

    • Sigma Contemporary 35mm F2 DG DN. This is a great lens
    • Sigma Art 35mm F1.4 DG HSM. This is the old version of the lens, but it’s perfectly serviceable. It is a bit chunky though
    • Sony 50mm FE 1.8. If you’re a Sony shooter and don’t have a 50mm prime you should grab this lens. It’s very cheap new and used examples cost even less. It’s also pretty compact/light. It might not be the absolute best lens, and it’s focus motor is pretty loud, but it’s a serviceable walk around
    • Sony 50mm GM 1.4. This was my splurge
    • Tamron’s 150-500. Great for outdoor sports. My subjects are small (young) and the extra 100mm over Sony’s 100-400 are worth “only” getting 15 FPS

    The fast primes, combined with my 8 year old sensor, handle low light just fine. My shots are nearly all candid, so I don’t find myself wanting for a flat

    There are some shots I just can’t get because I don’t have the right gear, but I don’t fret too much about those.

    I am considering picking up a macro lens this spring since I’ve sold my OM-1 and enjoy taking bee photos. In the future I might pick up a 70-200 zoom, but that’s not really a strong want right now.