I really do have a fascination with shooting street lamps. They can be majestic, grimey, utilitarian, ornate, everything. They also stand in as great models – they don’t move, blink, twitch, complain, or have high fees. They’re rarely prima donnas.

My approach here was to capture a majestic, if over-powering, view of a street lamp. The shot was late afternoon, with some whispy clouds in the background. The deep blue of the sky would (and may yet, still) make for a powerful color shot. However, in pulling it down to monochrome I was able to get more of the silhouette feel I was after. Wide angle was the best choice when standing very close and looking up. I didn’t want to be directly under the lamp, however, to keep some interest in the bulb housing and light-play that was going on with the shading there.

Everything else was pretty straight forward for me. Line up the shot, take a few exposures to make sure I had one in sharp focus, and tweak a bit in post-processing. If you have any questions or ideas, share them in the comments section!

Happy shooting.

EXIF data

Canon 5D Mark ii body, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens

Exposure: 1/160 second

Aperture: f/8.0

ISO: 100

Focal length: 35mm

Manual exposure mode, Auto white balance mode

Strobist data: none