The Idea:

Last year while in Seattle, I went for a walk with a camera, tripod, flash, and off camera flash trigger. The goal was to make a photograph that would capture Seattle as a feeling rather than just a location. Everyone has different feelings about different places, but pictures of famous cities seem to have the same image or idea used over and over again. I knew I wanted to do something different, something that had emotion. I knew I wanted the image to have the Space Needle in it, but I’d have to use it in a way I hadn’t seen done before. So I walked. I tried out lots of ideas, shooting the needle reflected in shop windows, popping out from behind street signs, and few other ideas. The images were okay, but they didn’t convey a feeling, the feeling I was going after. Then I found myself in this park, with this bench, and looked up to see a clearing in the trees and the Space Needle in clear view. Finding the location was half the battle.

The tricky part: there was loads of sunshine even in this wooded park. For me sunshine doesn’t scream Seattle. So I’d have to get rid of light. The grass around the bench was GREEN. I mean really green. It was beautiful, but distracting. I knew I was going to go black and white with the image. I did a couple test shots and found that I could get the sky’s exposure pretty close and cast the park and bench in near complete blackness. Nice and moody. I brought the bench up with a spot from the flash zoomed to 105. Next thing you know, Bob’s your uncle. An image of solitude and self reflection in a big city - at least that’s what I was aiming at.

The Tech:

“Needle Over Bench” was taken with a Canon 5D and the 24-105 L at f11 1/200 sec. I made sure there was just enough ambient to get the tree shadows on the ground around the bench so I wouldn’t have just a spot from the flash. I didn’t have a light stand with me, but I had a tripod, so once I had the composition down, I put the camera on self timer and ran over to hold the flash. Not the best way, but it worked. Also, I was zoomed in all the way to compress the space between the bench and the Space Needle. Here is a photograph of the lighting setup:

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