A long look at the lights

My friend Mike Boening was in Austin a few weeks back, and he wanted to get some shots of our sorta famous bridge.  It's name is the Pennybacker Bridge, but everyone here calls it the Loop 360 Bridge since the road there is called Loop 360.  It's a popular spot for photographers and non-photographers alike, especially around sunset.

Most folks clamber up to the viewing area at the top of the ridge on the West side, but we opted to avoid the crowds and headed up the East side.  In fact, Mike recorded the climb up and you can see that video here.  Although I love the big tree on the West side, in many ways I prefer the view from this side, at sunset at least.  It allows you to capture the bridge with the passing lights from cars, as well as a view up the lake towards where the sun is setting.

This photo is a single exposure, shot at f/22 for 30 seconds.  It was nearly dark and of course we were shooting the light trails, which is a popular option up here.  There is a stop light a few hundred yards out of frame to the right.  All you do is wait for the light to turn green, and the accumulated traffic to start moving, and then time your shot to start right before they enter the frame.  Easy as pie, lots of fun, and you get a nice photo when you're done!

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100 completely random observations about photography