Obstacles

This is a shot of the Han River in Seoul, South Korea taken from the tallest building in the country. We had tried to make it up in time for sunset, but the sky was so hazy that we couldn't even see the sun. But, when it got dark, the lights of the city proved to be just as spectacular. I brought my camera and was ready to take some great shots of the view, but I quickly realized that the thick panes of glass I had to shoot through were going to be a big problem.

Because it was a night shot, I had to set the exposure for around 12 seconds to capture the lights below. So I set up my little travel tripod and found a spot in front of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and took a couple test shots. The exposure was working well, but the reflections in the glass were ruining the composition. I ended up crawling underneath a built-in table and piling my jacket and hat around the camera to block out the reflections. I sat there for at least ten minutes crouched on the floor trying not to shake the camera. It was a good amount of work for one shot but definitely worth it.