A few weekends ago my brother, fellow photographer, and partner in crime,
Mike, accompanied me to downtown Orlando. Or rather, I accompanied him. He knows the ins and outs of downtown better than I do, as well as the best spots for cityscape photos.
Just after sundown, we ended up on the shore of Lake Eola, looking southwest toward the Orlando skyline.
The lighting of the evening sky was ideal. It seemed like I was in the right place at the right time, which I consider to be most of what makes a great photo. I shot a series of photos, pivoting my camera after each exposure, so I could stitch them together in Photoshop to create a panorama.
The other part of what makes a good image is an eye for detail, and one detail I missed was that, from my vantage point, the colored fountain at the other side of the lake was not centered between the two buildings beyond it. Had I chosen a spot 50 yards away, it would have been centered perfectly. By the time I realized this, the glow in the sky was gone. I was a little irritated at myself for missing that detail at first, then shrugged and thought to myself: “I’ll just fix it in Photoshop.”
That ended up being easier said than done, but I did get it done. The lesson was not lost on me, however: Taking a few moments to pay attention to everything in the scene would have saved me much trouble. If one is trying to capture an action shot, that can “make or break” the photo.
I hope you enjoy viewing this photo! You can see the full panoramic view I captured by
clicking here.