Signature St Petersburg Condo skyscraper - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 5-bracket HDR (handheld)I had been thinking a lot the past few days how long it had been since I went out and just shot for fun, for myself. Last week photography friend Wade suggested we join NPPF's meetup in downtown St. Petersburg. I said sure, let's do it. Then when one NPPF member said we can shoot from the top of the condo building he lives in, equivalent to the 28th floor, I thought wow, can get some new shots of an area I have photographed already almost every which way.
Downtown St. Petersburg waterfront 6-shot panorama - click to view LARGEI had also been wanting to give Photoshop CS5's great Photomerge action another try, but one cannot just easily create a compelling panorama just anywhere. However, an open wraparound viewing area twenty-eight stories up is certainly a compelling area.
Nikon D300 with Tamron XR Di II 17-50mm f/2.8 lens @ f/11 ISO 200 5-bracket HDR (handheld)The rooftop we were on was adjacent to downtown St. Petersburg's newest skyline addition, Signature St. Petersburg, a very aggressive modern condo skyscraper that dominated our southern view, and thus received a lot of lens attention from myself and everyone else in the group. I taught a DSLR Photography Lesson on architecture back in March using the skyscraper as a subject matter.
South of Downtown St. Petersburg 6-shot panorama - click to view LARGEI like having a high view. For four years in Tokyo I lived on the 11th floor of a building with views of downtown Shinjuku and the sunset. I liked being able to step out onto my balcony and survey all the land before me. There is nothing quite like having a sweeping, bird's eye view.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G lens @ f/16 ISO 200This was the second time in a week of being high up in a condo with a view of downtown St. Petersburg after never being more than a few stories off the ground in a year and a half. Beholding such a view is starting to feel contagious, although living so high up with a thirsty puppy needing half a dozen bathroom breaks a day would not be so convenient.