Absolutely gorgeous sunsets the past few nights here in Milwaukee.
At this time of year, the setting sun aligns perfectly with the east–west streets of downtown Milwaukee such that the tall buildings frame it like Stonehenge. Which, of course, has led to this equinox event being called “Milwaukeehenge.”
NYC has “Manhattanhenge,” but because Manhattan isn’t aligned with true north, theirs doesn’t match up with the September and March equinoxes. (Or would that be “equinoctes,” if we were staying true to Latin grammar?)
If only, if only . . . I’d had a camera with a longer lens.
The actual sight of sun-gilded downtown Milwaukee last night, as I headed east on State Street with the setting sun behind me, was SO AMAZING! But I would have needed to be a few blocks farther away to capture that image, and my phone just wasn’t up to the job. I couldn’t zoom in enough with my iPhone’s telephoto lens to get what I saw. And when I moved close enough to get the buildings with my phone’s camera, I lost the tall downtown buildings beyond the Aurora Sinai Medical Center skywalk/bridge.
In the photo that got away, there would have been tall buildings in the distance looming up high beyond the bridge. As I moved closer, those buildings “dropped” away because of the change in perspective.
See the top of one of those buildings below (with the arrow pointing to it)? Imagine that building raised up quite a bit higher, gleaming in the sunlight like the other buildings and the bridge in the foreground.
To get a sense of the proportionate drop, see the photo below. I merely moved a block closer. See the nearest green light in the photo above? That’s the same traffic signal as the red light in the photo below.
But just LOOK at how much that same building (the one with the arrow) has “dropped” with the change in my position relative to the bridge. Now imagine those same buildings the same distance higher than the bridge, which is where they were when I was farther away. Plus, from that more distant angle, they were brilliant with reflected sunlight.
I actually first caught sight of this dramatic reflection two nights ago, September 22. Far closer to the actual “equinox” of “Milwaukeehenge.” Last night (9/23) the sun was already a little farther off “center” from where it had been the night before. Even if I managed to get my hands on a longer lens and tried again tonight, the angle of the sun would be even farther off, meaning more shadows from the righthand side of the street and less full-on reflection.
Sigh.
That’s the thing about photography. You win some, you lose some—often simply by being in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time with the right/wrong gear and the right/wrong awareness that the moment is now or never.
Still, despite the fact that it’s not the ideal image that got away, I like my picture from last night well enough and thought I’d share. Hope you like it, too ❤
