Rochester Skyline

Setup for the shot - taken with iPhone

We've finally had a stretch of good weather here in Rochester, NY and Amy and I took advantage of it while it lasted.  On Wednesday evening after dinner we drove to downtown Rochester and walked along the riverside for some skyline shots as the sun set.  Rochester's skyline may not be as interesting as the one I shared back in November, but it is our home city.  Several years ago the city rebuilt the bridge over the Genesee River, adding to the landscape of Rochester's skyline.

Frederick Douglas - Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge

The Frederick Douglas - Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge adds another landmark to the city scape as one looks north from the river near the Ford Street bridge.

We arrived around 6:30 and I had mistaken the time of sunset by 3/4 of an hour so we needed to stay a little longer than expected.  Amy made the best of the time by walking the length of the Genesee Riverway Trail between the memorial bridge and Ford Street.  I started out with my 50mm fixed focal length lens and found the scene to be a bit too wide for the view I was looking for.  I did bring my main camera bag with me, but I did not have all my gear packed.

Nice trail along the Genesee River

My 70-200 f2.8 zoom lens would have been perfect for what I was doing, but it was still at home. Another lesson on always being prepared but in my defense that lens is heavy.  I did, however, have my 105 mm macro lens in the bag and it's focal length was close to what I was looking for and to show that its not just for macro scenes I used it to take this week's main photo.
I took several shots from the same location as the sun set lower and lower.  I had the white balance setting on the camera to daylight (I often use auto white balance) and this allowed the warm glow of the golden hour to show in my chosen photo.  You can compare that photo to the one taken with the 50 mm lens that shows the skyline and the path which has a more traditional daylight look, indicating the golden hour has not yet arrived.  In contrast, notice the cooler (bluer) lighting of the post golden hour shots taken closer to the bridge.

Four frame panoramic of the bridge.

After the sun set and the magic glow of the golden hour was gone, I packed up the camera and we started our walk back to the car.  Before returning to the car, I asked Amy if she wouldn't mind walking up closer to the bridge for a few more shots.  It was a perfect evening to be out for a stroll so she agreed and I took a few more hand held shots of the bridge, including a series to stitch into a small panoramic shot.