Ravenel Bridge

For our 34th Anniversary, Donna and I went back to Charleston, SC. We had not been back there since we honeymooned there. We had a wonderful time visiting and photographing many of the sites in the region including this magnificent bridge. After a couple tries finding a good vantage point and some help from local photographer Kate Silvia we succeeded.

When Donna and I arrived, there was a small crowd already lined up to capture sunset. It soon became apparent that sunset would be cloudless and bland. So they all packed up and left. But I thought an image during the blue hour, after sunset, would have potential especially because the bridge is well lit. I had received a 10 stop ND filter for Christmas ans I was anxious to put it to good use. The result was about a 5 minute exposure to smooth the river. As luck would have it, during the exposure a tug, lit up light a Christmas tree, passed under the bridge towing a massive crane on a barge that just cleared the bridge. The tug and barge is unseen except for the streak of light trail. I used the Long Exposure Calculator app to calculate the exposure time. There are a number of apps available for this function, but I prefer this one for the built in timer that makes use a breeze.

We had a wonderful trip don memory lane and look forward to returning someday. Hopefully well before another 34 years go by!