Urban heights

6. Access to medieval towers, balconies, and rooftops of cathedrals. These are usually located in or near the center of the city.

7. Hotel rooms on upper floors with great views

8. Pedestrian bridges

9. Funicular or cable car that transports you to an elevated viewpoint

10. A large ferriswheel from which you can gain an elevated vantage

The pictures I’ve included in this article exemplify what I’m suggesting you pursue. For example, I took the picture on the previous page from the public observation deck of the Montparnasse Tower, the tallest building in Paris. The photograph above is the stunning scene visible from the observation deck on the 94th floor of the John Hancock building in Chicago, and I captured the view of Rome, below, after climbing a few hundred steps in St. Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican.

On page 11, the remarkable view of Hong Kong is seen from The Peak, a mountain that rises above the city. It can be reached by a funicular or by road. When I was first there in 1972, there was a parking lot at the top. Now there is a large mall, and from the roof of one of the buildings in the complex you get this view.

PERU PHOTO TOUR

Sept. 24 - Oct 4, 2021

Sometimes great vistas like this can get crowded, and I advise doing research before you go. Find out if you need to stake out the best location to get the ideal picture. Because social media is so pervasive and, in places with high population density like China, you may have to arrive an hour or two before the best lighting occurs to lay claim, so to speak, to the best picture-taking spot.

Below, the dramatic view of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, was taken from my hotel room. I was able to open the window because it’s an older hotel. One of the criteria I use in choosing a hotel on the photography tours I lead is whether or not there is a photogenic view from anywhere in the property. This makes it easy to get amazing pictures at various times of the day, from sunrise and sunset to twilight.

One of the most astounding views I’ve had the pleasure of photographing is from the observation deck on the 100th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center (commonly referred to as the ‘Bottle Opener’ building), next page. The picture looks like I had a drone hovering above the city but I was shooting through glass. The close proximity of the foreground building gives this image a tremendous sense of depth, something not commonly seen when shooting a distant cityscape.

When photographing a city from an elevated vantage such as the top of a hill, a park, an open roof, or a pedestrian bridge, you have unobstructed views and you don’t have to shoot through glass. However, if you are taking pictures through the window of a modern hotel with sealed windows or the observation deck in a highrise, you will normally be photographing through glass. This isn’t a problem per se; you can take high quality images assuming the glass is clean. The problem, though, are reflections of interior lights, especially at night.

If you shoot through a window where you are standing back from the glass several feet to even a few inches, the lights from inside the room will reflect in the glass and, therefore, appear to be superimposed over the outdoor scene. Turn the lights off if you are shooting from a private area, such as a hotel room; however, if you are photographing from a restaurant, bar, or observation deck, you don’t have control over the lights. You have to place the camera lens up against the glass. This eliminates all reflections . . . with one caveat.

If you are shooting downward and the windows are vertical, there will be a small space between the lens and the glass. That means some reflections can show. In addition, if the windows are angled due to the design of the building, the same problem will occur.

In these cases, the solution is to carry a scarf with you. Wrap the scarf around the lens such that any space between the rim of the lens and the glass will be covered. In this way, reflections of lights in the room behind you won’t show up in your pictures. §

The Two Subject Focus Rule

Emotional expressions like a lion baring its fangs always make a great image. However, there is one very big thing that’s wrong with the picture below. There are two subjects yet only one of them is sharp.

This is a problem. Your eye goes back and forth between the cats, trying to see detail in both and, probably, you feel somewhat frustrated that only one of the subjects is sharp. Detail you’d like to see in the lion on the right is forever lost.

I made up a rule that I call ‘The Two Subjects Focus Rule.’ This states if there are two subjects in the frame, they both should be sharp. In art and photography, the eye of the beholder ultimately determines what is visually pleasing, and some instructors and photographers may disagree with me on the position I’m taking here. I can tell you, though, that the lion