Edinburgh Cityscape from Calton Hill – At Night

Canon 5D Mark III, 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 32mm, f/11 for 1/4s at ISO 100

Background

This photo was taken around 1 hour after the sunset shot I posted earlier in the week.

How to get this type of shot

The period where the sun has set but the afterglow of the day’s light remains and the lights of the city start to turn on is my favorite time to photograph cities. Like eyes on living things, I feel that the lights in the buildings give them life. The key is to find that balance between the light remaining in the sky and of that coming from the city. Usually this means around 20 – 30 minutes after sunset in Southern California, but as I found out, on a summer day this far north in Scotland, it meant around 50 minutes after sunset.

The composition and technique are similar to the sunset shot around an hour earlier. I still had to use a 3-stop graduated ND filter to tone down the light from the sky. An f-stop of f/11 gave me a shutter speed of 25s. Up on the hill it was quite windy, so I waited until there was a lull and also did my best to shield the tripod with my body from the wind.

Location

Edinburgh cityscape taken from Calton Hill (Coordinates: 55.954983,-3.184214)

Tags: Cityscape, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle, England, Landscape, Photography, Scotland, UK

29 thoughts on “Edinburgh Cityscape from Calton Hill – At Night”

Tanja Schimming on July 18, 2013 at 8:21 am said:

Oh, wonderful Picture – brings back memories when I went there as a Student. Greetings from sunny Berlin!

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 18, 2013 at 1:19 pm said:
  
  Thanks Tanja. I be joining you in Germany soon!
  
  Reply ↓
dalo2013 on July 18, 2013 at 8:28 am said:

Beautiful shot Mark, I agree with you on photographing in the blue hour…such great lighting.

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 18, 2013 at 1:19 pm said:
  
  It is truly difficult to take a bad photo during this time of day isn’t it.
  
  Reply ↓
onelifethislife on July 18, 2013 at 8:55 am said:

Great photo!

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 18, 2013 at 1:19 pm said:
  
  Thanks!
  
  Reply ↓
Chillbrook on July 18, 2013 at 9:19 am said:

Another smashing picture Mark!

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 18, 2013 at 1:20 pm said:
  
  Thanks you for your comment and for continuing to visit my blog!
  
  Reply ↓
bryanallo on July 18, 2013 at 10:02 am said:

Great catch at magic hour!

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 18, 2013 at 1:20 pm said:
  
  Yes indeed. Good reason to call it the golden or magic hour.
  
  Reply ↓
teamharman on July 19, 2013 at 3:18 am said:

this is just beautiful!

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 19, 2013 at 7:27 am said:
  
  Thanks!
  
  Reply ↓
Kongo on July 19, 2013 at 5:07 am said:

Mark, this photograph is stunning. I love the way the clouds on the right side of the photograph balance the sky with the rest of the frame. The triangle formed by the points of golden light keeps the eye grounded where you want it. This is just wonderful.

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 19, 2013 at 7:28 am said:
  
  Thanks for the insightful reply. I must admit, all by accident or luck. Better to be lucky than good most of the time.
  
  Hope you are having a great time in NM. I am sure you are learning tons under McNally.
  
  Reply ↓
Steven Blandin on July 19, 2013 at 6:57 am said:

Really nice work Mark!

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 19, 2013 at 7:29 am said:
  
  Thanks for stopping by Steven and taking the time to leave a comment.
  
  Reply ↓
Heather on July 19, 2013 at 7:25 pm said:

the lighting in this shot is beautiful…an interesting contrast with the rest of the photo…

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 22, 2013 at 1:26 am said:
  
  Thanks for continuing to stop by Heather and for letting me know why you like a particular image.
  
  Reply ↓
  - Heather on July 22, 2013 at 12:26 pm said:
    
    I have to admit I enjoy visiting…your photos and detailed information are always so inspirational…besides…I learn something new every time I visit…to it is I who should be thanking you!
Mark Kertesz on July 20, 2013 at 2:31 pm said:

Awesome photo, great tone and colour balance. Thanks for the description

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 22, 2013 at 1:27 am said:
  
  Thanks for stopping by Mark.
  
  Reply ↓
fotoeins on July 20, 2013 at 3:28 pm said:

Mark, your photo takes me to the all-too-short visit to Edinburgh last November. From Calton Hill, Edinburgh Castle, or Holyrood Park, this city is “begging” to be photographed. And you weren’t going to turn down that request: great skyline shot at dusk! :-) If you don’t already have the information, you might consider looking up times for civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight to help with your estimates of the “blue hour”, depending upon location and season; I’ve been using VelaClock on my devices.

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 22, 2013 at 1:28 am said:
  
  Thanks for the tip on the blue hour calculator. Obviously I had no clue. This will definitely help my planning.
  
  Reply ↓
enmanscamera on July 21, 2013 at 5:03 pm said:

I do like your image. and I a pleased you included your thoughts on it’s production. As I read I nodded my head thinking of course, hmm..yep thats right..then ya got me. I wouldn’t have thought of a ND filter. Dang! Thanks.

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 22, 2013 at 1:32 am said:
  
  Thanks. I took both a photo with and without the 3–stop ND filter basically back-to-back. I liked the one with better since it darkened the sky. But I probably could have achieve a similar shot, but with use of the grad ND filter in LR. But it is much more fun getting it right in camera :)
  
  Reply ↓
Rhys Jones on July 26, 2013 at 1:09 am said:

Great shot! I have stood at that same spot but without a camera!

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 26, 2013 at 3:39 am said:
  
  Thanks for stopping by Rhys. Many a time have I stood in a spot and wished I had a camera!
  
  Reply ↓
adohertyh on July 29, 2013 at 8:48 am said:

I love the interplay between the rough texture of the stone and the equally complex detail in the city below.

Reply ↓
- markshimazuphotography on July 29, 2013 at 9:43 pm said:
  
  Thanks for stopping by and providing your insightful comments.
  
  Reply ↓