I took this photo of the Baltimore Harbor in July of 2017 with my Pentax K1 and the Pentax 28-105 kit lens. It was taken at 28mm (slightly cropped in post), at f22 with a 4 second exposure on a tripod (no filters).
I focused on the huge mooring cleat as a foreground element, and put my tripod down low. I liked the sense of scale the low position gave, and felt it exaggerated the leading lines of the one point perspective. I chose f22 because I knew that a smaller aperture would give me more depth of field, and would also give me sun stars around the lights. That is actually about all I knew at that time. I didn't know about refraction, or focus stacking, or much of anything else at that time, so I did what I knew. I would shoot this shot differently today, though I sometimes wish I didn't know any more now than I knew then - I think photography was more fun then!
Currently I own a Sony a7rv, and a Nikon ZF. Both of these are incredible cameras, but neither bring me the joy of that K1.
Growing up in the early 1960's, in North Carolina, most people who watched Pro Football were either Washington fans, or Baltimore Colt fans, though Colt fans were in the minority. Neither the Atlanta Falcons, or the Carolina Panthers existed then, so the closest teams to North Carolina were in Washington DC and Baltimore.
My Dad was a big Baltimore Colt fan, so I too became a huge Baltimore Colt fan myself. I have such fond memories as a young boy of sitting on the couch beside my Dad in the early 1960's watching Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts on Sunday afternoons after Church! I was so obsessed with the Colts that I wished I could live in Baltimore so I could hang out with Johnny, Lenny Moore, John Mackey and the guys! There was nothing better than spending time with my Dad on those Sundays watching the Colts - everything was right with the world! In retrospect it wasn't the Colts that made that time so special!
Fast forward many years, and I frequently had to go up to Maryland to do presentations for my company in Silver Spring, Columbia, and Annapolis. Usually I would stay in the city in which I was doing the presentation for convenience, but on one trip to Columbia, Maryland, I decided to stay in Baltimore. For all the childhood love I had for Baltimore, I actually had never been there!
So, I booked a hotel down on the Harbor in Baltimore. I got in late in the afternoon, and met up with a colleague to have supper. After supper, I walked outside by the harbor with my K1, kit lens and a cheap tripod. I was excited to actually be in Baltimore (even though the Colts were long gone), as it brought back memories of those Sundays. It was getting dark, but I really liked the scene looking back toward the ship, and felt it may make a good shot in the blue hour light, and strong one point perspective. I liked the huge mooring cleat, so positioned the tripod low just in front of the cleat, as I mentioned earlier, and took the shot - f22, 4 seconds, 28mm.
This shot of Baltimore Harbor is one of my favorite shots I've ever taken over the years with any camera. It's not my favorite because I think it could win the World's Most Perfectest Picture Contest - it couldn't. It's not my favorite because I think it could inspire other photographers due to its perfect composition - it doesn't. It's not my favorite because I've made a lot of money from it - I haven't.
It's my favorite because whenever I look at this photo of Baltimore, I think of Sunday afternoons as a child sitting beside my Dad watching the Baltimore Colts. But, the fact is, it's not really about Baltimore, or the Colts. Thanks, Dad!