of course it is you! gorin-images...

Beautiful in it's simplicity....nice work.

Hey thanks for the comments everybody. I really appreciate the feedback as always. In this case I am a little puzzeled at some of the comments vis a vis "this isn't obviously a long exposure" though.

As background, this is in fact a 30 second exposure of the streetlamp on a very foggy night. That "spray" is light from the lamp itself diffusing through the moving fog, which renders as a uniform white spray due specifically to the long exposure. As far as I know, long exposures and fog are the only way to get that particular effect (i.e. without the fog, there would be no "spray" of light like that, you'd only have the streetlamp. The rest of the metal structure that supports the lamp is illuminated by light cast by the lamp itself, which registers a dim reflection that is captured as a result of the long exposure.

So, we have an artificially lit structure, clearly at night, and surrounded by near-complete blackness, and with a lighting effect that can only be accomplished with fog present...and a long enough exposure to register these dimly lit subjects clearly. That leads me to ask two questions: 1) Why isn't it obvious that this is a long exposure?; and 2) How else can you capture a shot like this other than by using a long exposure?

I'm not trying to be argumentative or defensive...I'm actually curious because if there's a way, I would love to learn how....so that I wouldn't have to wait for dark foggy nights to do shots like this ;)

Well, now that ypou've read through my essay/comment, thanks again everybody for the excellent feedback and for taking time to leave comments.

Excellent composition, a shower of light.

Sorry, I was one of the people that said that it isn't imediately a long exposure. To clarify: as a photographer, I know that this is the best way to capture the effect that you've caught here. It's why I love this series of shots that you've done. What I was thinking (but is not necessarily a disqualifier) is that some long exposures really show the passage of time, or an event of motion. An example might be the stars turned to streaks over a 30 minute exposure, or the sweep of a minute hand across the face of a watch. This does not make your shot any less relevant - I gave it a 5. But there are typical long exposure shots that are more obvious to non-photographers. That's an observation, not a criticism.

Ahhhh Flatline. Thanks for the clarification. That makes perfect sense now.

I love it. After many years in the lighting industry, it's fantastic to see a photographer portray light so simply and competently. You deserve a prize!

Flatline seems rather amateur and the stock comment is "this doesn't look like an obviously long exposure" try shooting from the camera rather than the hip, then perhaps you'll realise...

Perfect contrast, perfect light, perfect angle=PERFECT SHOT :)

Wonderful!