Sunrise at Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy

Ken Chan January 10, 2013 1 comment

Venice has a gorgeous waterfront. The location is absolutely magical because you can view the sunrise and sunset from the same place. Makes absolutely no sense, right? What happened to the sun rises in the east and sets in the west?

So, in the early morning, I headed out to Piazza San Marco. All the gondolas were parked along the water’s edge with the sun lighting up the sky behind San Giorgio Maggiore. This is why we hit the road early in the morning.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 29mm, f/2.8, 1/15s

At the right time, the buildings around Piazza San Marco are still lit, as the day awakens.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 35mm, f/18, 10s

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 1600, 35mm, f/8, 1/8s

Then the sun washes across the campanile with its lush, radiant rays. Ciao bella!

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 24mm, f/4, 1/100s

Pantheon Night Photography

Ken Chan January 6, 2013 2 comments

The Pantheon in Rome, Italy has a gorgeous facade. During the day, the former Roman temple is overrun with tourists. The real treat was returning to the Piazza della Rotonda after the crowds had cleared so that I could focus on the Pantheon without distraction.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 28mm, f/4, 1.6s

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 32mm, f/8, 3.0s

Hoover Tower at Night

Ken Chan October 15, 2012 0 comments

After the Full Moon on the Quad photos, I strolled down Serra Street to the fountain between Memorial Auditorium (Mem Aud) and Hoover Tower.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 14mm, f/5, 20.0

At night, the wide angle of the 14-24mm lens can pick up glare from off-image light sources. Avoiding the bright peripheral lights from street lamps prevents the appearance of UFOs hell bent on attacking Hoover Tower.

Full Moon on the Quad

Ken Chan October 14, 2012 1 comment

Mid-Autumn Festival or the Moon Festival at the Stanford Quad. I think I was testing ISO at this point. The image is pretty clean for ISO 5600.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 5600, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/25

Architecture