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In my opinion, the absolute best time to view or photograph in cities is the few minutes after sunset, while there is still light in the sky, balancing the artifical lights in terms of intensity, and providing a great contrast of colour temperature from the blues of the ambient light to the yellows and reds of the floodlit buildings.
This balance of natural and artificial light only lasts quarter of an hour or so, before the sky becomes too dark and fades to black in a photograph.
On our last night in Chicago and in the U.S.A. Liz and I chose to spend this best time of the day at the 'Coffee Bean', just off Michigan Avenue and close to our hotel.
The Coffee Bean, for me, was the visual highlight of our two day stopover and I wanted to photograph it at the best time of day, with the stunning Chicago skyline reflecting off its crazily curved surface.
I wasn't alone, as a few other photographers had the same idea so we all sat together, photographing and watching as the sky light changed to that beautiful shade of blue, the experience of which is part of the joy of photography.
Filename - chicago bean 03.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 100-400mm zoom @ 100mm
Exposure - 25secs @ f16, ISO100
Location - Chicago, U.S.A.
This image - 800x533px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Self-timer used to allow me to get out of the reflection.
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