Atlantis, a photo from New Providence, North

Photographer's Note

Another shot from the Atlantis Hotel on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. This is the main hotel or Royal Towers. The "Bridge Suite" (the room with all the sky below it in the photo) being one of the most expensive rooms in the world (actually considered third most expensive at $25,000 USD per night). Sadly, I could not even afford an hour, but I got over it. There were two other full hotels attached when I was there and I believe there is another now for a total of four hotels in the complex.

Some of the technicals:
Step 1) Take a Canon G2, tripod and a 3 stop ND filter if I remember correctly.
Step 2) Find a good place on a perfectly still day and take 10 or 15 photos of varying exposures to get it just right (free of charge - you gotta love digital).
Step 2 1/4) Remember to time the lighting of the day with the tides if you use a pool attached to the ocean and keep the shutter speed as fast as possible.
Step 2 1/2) Have incoming hurricane to get grey clouds, just make sure it's far enough out to sea as not to bring the wind with it...yet.
Step 3) Spend about 5 minutes cropping and 15 minutes with some touchups in Photoshop. Including contrast, sharpness, etc, etc.
Step 4) Spend about an hour and a half trying to frame it correctly.
Step 5) Go back and cut the photo in half and reposition because it really didn't look right.
Step 5 1/4) Clone out some of the ripples in the reflection of the sky to make it look smooth.
Step 5 1/2) Figure - what the hell - Spend 10 more minutes cloning some of the area under the bridge suite to really make the reflection look unreal.
Step 6) Just say screw it and post the one with the white frame.
Step 7) Notice you really don't like it as much as you thought after posting. Probably because of the framing.
Step 8) Complete note and hope someone else does.

As I said, gotta love digital.

Hope you like,
John

claire526, watercoolant, dospordostres, berseph, siolaw, afshin339, rigoletto, lilimih33, axiotea, Dpbours, scobert, mphotographies, richwm, luisafonso, euryan, linask, cherryripe, jmcl, ViktorVaughn, IgorDeleze, nomadgraphics, Mistral, gokanlam, v_vicky, IsaiasCaetano, Monziii, Blairfraser, syrus_persia heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

claire526 (1267) 2007-07-07 19:15

Wow! John..this is amazing! Beautiful reflection. Great colors, sharpness, composition. It's simply perfect. Good one.
TFS
Cheers,
Claire

watercoolant (96) 2007-07-07 19:21

Hi John!

Incredible shot! The reflection was so clear that it is almost the same as the real hotel! And thanks for the notes!

Wilbur

dospordostres (1170) 2007-07-07 19:24

Hi John
really amazing reflection. Your picture catches the eye instantly. Great job.
Cheers,
Daniel

maguero (327) 2007-07-07 19:46

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

magnifica!!

edbemst (131) 2007-07-07 20:04

Hi John

Superb reflection, it is perfect ! And the notes are very good, specially describing the details how you got this picture.
Congratulations !

Emerson

berseph (1758) 2007-07-07 20:58

I was here a long time ago. I was little, and I loved the aquariums and the water slides. I'm sure I'd get a different perception now.
I really like your photo, especially the crystal-clear reflection. I can't get over how clear it is.
The colors are very vibrant.

grantlp (2113) 2007-07-07 21:05

Hi John,
An absolutely perfect mirror image, which is crystal clear....just like the lake, and the colours are excellent. A very good photo of a very nice hotel.....pity about the price. If I remember correctly this hotel was developed by Sol Kersner, the South African who built the Lost City in South Africa.
Cheers Grant

testmaniac (13508) 2007-07-07 22:10

Hello John,

Great shot on a great place! Excellent POV, colors, reflections and sharpness!

TFS

Philip

siolaw (38294) 2007-07-07 22:25

Hi John
Amazing mirror like reflections of the extravagant hotel in a superb light giving nice warm colors... could rotate it 180° without noticing anything!
Superb
Laurent

jjcordier (79299) 2007-07-07 22:28

Magnifiques couleurs et superbe effet miroir.
Amicalement
JJ

afshin339 (306) 2007-07-07 23:23

Hi John
Your shot is very amazing and beautiful.especially reflections are wonderful and good moment you have taken this shot.symmetry and harmony is excellent and dreamy.and also cadre selection I think is perfect.and also your note is very complete and is a nice educational subject for us.
Thanks for sharing this nice shot.
afshin.

Clementi (52514) 2007-07-07 23:30

Ciao John ,
spettacolare con dei riflessi incredibili , come anche i colori .
ottimo lavoro
Giorgio

DarkoG (8) 2007-07-08 1:15

Attractive, very clear reflection looks almost unreal.

rigoletto (34279) 2007-07-08 1:26

Hi John,
Impressive reflecitons with perfect colors and excellent sharpness. I am not that much into this huge, post easternalist architecture, but with its geometry and colors it becomes a winner here. But the real winner is the photographer himself with his perfect choice of POV, framing and use of light. Square format is well suited here. Congrats and have a nice Sunday :)
Deniz

lilimih33 (9918) 2007-07-08 2:38

Hello John!
Wonderful colours and grat light in your composition!
Perfect reflexion and good claroty!
Nice perspective!
Excellent done!
Lili

axiotea (21651) 2007-07-08 2:45

Bonjour John
Great light illuminating well the Atlantis and its superb reflection in the water with the clouds adding a plus in the compo. Nice colors and good framing as well.
Thanks for the technical advices :)
Marilyn

Dpbours (222) 2007-07-08 4:12

Hi John,

Yes, that ís a great photograph! Have to say, the place looks incredibly "kitch". Not that it looks unnatural photo-wise, but this place looks so over the top!
What Wikipedia says: Kitsch is a term of German origin that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior copy of an existing style. And this gigantic place surely has copies of existing style elements. Whether these are inferior copies is personal; They look real though hahaha.

The picture is great!! Sharpness, contrast, sharpness again and then the reflection. Perhaps... I might have taken the shore line out of the middle. Just a feel. ;-)

Great shot!!

Greetings, Dennis

rozy975 (3047) 2007-07-08 6:07

Great clearity!
This is an amazing photo.
Loved it.
Well done!

scobert (5355) 2007-07-08 20:36

Hello John,
This is really an amazing reflection photo of yours! Almost as amazing as the the $25,000 per night fees for a hotel suite here. That is half of my annual salary! Your photo doesn't even look real. Simply a fabulous image!
Stan

mphotographies (1976) 2007-07-09 18:27

Hey John,

Those prices are outrageous but I don't think you can't go wrong with the service that they could offer(if you can afford) by just looking how the place looks!

As for the image, UNBELIEVABLE. It looks this was taken from a 'kaleidoscope'. Perfect clear reflection, looking like a reverse shift of symmetrical imagery when the end is rotated exactly as this. Colour contrast explodes, the technical artistry is superb work!

Best Regards!

Jom

saigon (6443) 2007-07-10 7:11

hello JOHN.
fantastique POV!
good shot!
bravo!
aldo.

richwm (1215) 2007-07-11 14:21

Hi John,

Hang on a minute, what date did you take this? September '03... let me think, I'm sure.... no, that's incredible. I was staying in this hotel in that little bridge room for most of September '03. You should have come up and said "hello", shared a glass of champagne and an oyster or two! What, you don't believe me? Oh, ok then - actually I went to Morocco for 2 weeks in September 2003 and I think my shoebox of a room probably cost about $2.50 a night!

Anyway, terrific photo and a great note, very funny and some familiar frustrations with how and whether to go about editing an image much in Photoshop. You get so carried away sometimes in the intricacies of post-processing that you completely lose track of what you were initially trying to achieve! Or is that just me?! ;)

Anyway, photo is excellent, the reflection really is so smooth and sharp that I don't think many people would have realised if you'd posted this one upside-down! Lovely details in the building and nice cloud formations in the sky.

Only negative remark is that it's a pity the palm trees to the left of the frame are so dark, almost all detail has been lost in this area but I know there's very little you could have done about this.

Regards,

Rich

shevchenko (20560) 2007-07-11 21:07

Hi John,
A perfect shoot, great reflection on the water, like a mirrow, amazing silent modern world here, good contrast of a distinct and colouful image.
Ally

vincz (19113) 2007-07-12 0:34

Fantastic picture with stunning colours and reflections. Could be right out of a dream or a fantastic movie.

luisafonso (862) 2007-07-12 6:48

Beautiful reflection from Paradise John. It's nice to see that someone still uses the G2 with such great results. Colors are outstanding and so is detail. ISO 50 really produces marvels on that little thing. Very beautiful exposure with perfect balance between shadows and lighten areas. Very good indeed.

euryan (8442) 2007-07-12 10:32

This photo is a real pleasure to just sit and stare at. I love the perfect reflection and the complementary colors of blue and orange make this photo even more esthetically pleasing. Your note was very funny and creative as well. Great work.
Regards,
Ryan

Lilly716 (240) 2007-07-14 21:17

Hi John,
I know you don't like the usual ooh aah critiques. So here goes, (I'm sure everyone is going to disagree), but I think the reflection looks too fake. Maybe if there were more ripples in the water, it would look more real. But it looks almost as if you flipped the picture upside down to create the mirror effect in the water. I'm sure the original photo was already spectacular, you don't need all the photoshop work to make your pictures even more spectacular. I think the ability to take a great picture makes a photographer, not the computer work done to the photo afterwards. Just a thought. Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Liz
P.S. Don't get me wrong, I am no photographer, so my opinion may be irrelevant, but I think you are a great photographer and you don't need the help of photoshop!

cherryripe (21033) 2007-07-15 0:58

Hi John
The format works so well here enclosing the building and it's perfect reflection so nicely. The way it's lit and the animated sky help to make it dynamic.
I love your note. Hmmm, it would have been interesting with the hurricane too ;-)
Regards
Nikki

rbcy1974 (20758) 2007-07-15 3:59

Hello John
Incredible composition. The hotel seems to be floating on the water and sky,
great capture of the reflection.
Very well done
Regards
Daniel

capthaddock (28790) 2007-07-15 16:19

Great work John, normally I don't find these kitschy Vegas style resort hotels appealing (which does not mean I wouldn't enjoy a stay there on an expense account), but the light and mirror reflections here are irresistable.

jmcl (14535) 2007-07-16 20:09

Hi John,

The matched tone of the sky and reflection is almost surreal .. maybe the place amplifies that quality .. wonderful image.

take care,

John

ViktorVaughn (1525) 2007-07-17 20:08

Been quite busy lately finishing up my work in Japan (did you ever get my msg about Tokyo in response to your questions?) and it seems I've missed a couple great photos by you.

This one has absolutely beautiful colours. And indeed an excellent reflection. You've composed it perfectly, horizontally, and not cutting off any important parts of the building.

I remember this hotel well, when I visited (definitely didn't stay, just visited the grounds after staying with my Bahamian friend) yet my photographs are terrible compared to this...lol.

TFS

jbweasle (9393) 2007-07-22 10:32

Hello John, an increadible reflection. Yes, a little unreal and I'm sure the photoshop work added to this impression, but the overall effect is stunning. I'm sure you got the result you wanted from this one!

Jonas_Schmitt (3074) 2007-07-24 11:57

Hi John!
Amazing picture with an excellent reflection and nice colors!
Jonas (Two smileys!!!)

crhieatt (5347) 2007-07-28 15:36

John,
As reflection shots go, this one's about as close to a "perfect" reflection as you're going to get. What with your exhaustive notes on the subject, I was starting to wonder whether Step 9 was: use only top half of photo, flip vertically and add ripple effect! :)
Great shot.
Regards
colin

rminkow (1556) 2007-08-03 21:56

Hi John...fabulous shot with great color and perspective...

Roger

IgorDeleze (585) 2007-08-07 4:10

Hello John,
What an incredible reflexion!
Fabulous ligthing.
Great shot.
greetings.
Igor

Bruno40 (6662) 2007-08-29 0:27

Hi John
I just saw this in the front page of TE.... indibulous!!
well done
funny note
TFS
Jorge

irfanat67 (223) 2007-08-29 0:38 [Comment]

Show Comment +

gtv12c (830) 2007-09-14 6:41

I have been to this Hotel a few times , you have caught the Beauty of this place

Mistral (15416) 2007-09-24 13:23

Hi John,
little to add to all the comments but really your image is eyecatching and reflections and composition are great!
Stunning work!
A smile
Luca

colibriav (2208) 2007-11-03 9:07

Hola.
Magnifica fotografia. El reflejo es perfecto, no entiendo los pasos pero me imagino que algun truco tiene.
Un saludo desde España:
Pablo

flatwin (2181) 2008-01-08 1:56

bonjour,

superbe prise de vue de réflexion et un excellent travail de prise de vue

Arnaud

gokanlam (6605) 2008-01-26 1:15

Hi John,
Great Hotel.. The reflections and the colors are very very beautiful.. Framing is nice..
Congratulations,,
ReLa

norman_isaure (4) 2008-01-26 1:52

Hello John,
On a du te le dire et répéter, mais j'aime beaucoup la symétrie graphique mais aussi colorimétrique.
Amicalement.
Georgy

pinakie_slg (861) 2008-05-11 11:37

superbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb.

elendim (69) 2008-07-20 5:36

Hello John!
Great job and beautiful place!!
Congratulations !

Elendim..!

francio64 (39888) 2008-07-20 5:59

Hi John,
very very expressive!
Excellent POV and reflection!

Goooooood!
Well done!

Francesco

tpstrek (2168) 2008-08-14 19:42

Hello John,
Excelent composition/pov with great contrast, sharpness, colours and great symmetric reflections.
Tfs,
Henri

Blairfraser (849) 2008-09-26 2:28

John, Wow!

That was some note! I like it! :-)

I also like the picture very much. You have really good colours here and the reflection is very good. I also like your positioning in the frame as well.

Good Job!

Blair

kschanna (6) 2008-09-26 2:44

Hello John

The shot is so clear that even if you rotate it on its head, viewers would not be able to tell the difference.

Thanks for sharing

Regards
Kamran

blogmerit (0) 2008-10-07 22:48 [Comment]

Show Comment

bakyy (741) 2009-01-17 12:49

hi John
wanderful
regards Bane

LALWANI6 (34) 2009-03-15 9:19 [Comment]

Show Comment

syrus_persia (2270) 2009-06-26 21:51

Salam John
Superb reflection, it is perfect ! Wonderful colours and great light in your composition!
Nice perspective!
Excellent done!
Congratulations !
cyrus

fotka (9007) 2009-08-06 13:09

Hi John,
It is well composed photo. You show here beautiful reflection.
Excellente colors, sharpness and framing. I like your technicals info.
Great shot.
Best regards,
Zbigniew

kasianowak (17676) 2014-04-16 2:55

Hi John
A truly eye-catching image this, with a perfect mirror-like reflection and beautiful colours. Great composition and crop.
Best wishes
Kasia

kohdarmiansali (432) 2016-05-27 20:51