Statue of Ben Franklin in Franklin Square Park in Syracuse, New York was the start of the Syracuse at Night Teaching Tour on Saturday, July 12, 2014.
Nikon D700/Sigma 15mm, 30s, f/8, ISO 200, EV 0, tripod.

I am a member of two online and local photography Meetup groups.  One, the Syracuse Photographers Association, is an invitation only (just ask!) group which has an active forum and meets regularly for social and photography reasons. The other, Syracuse Area Photography Classes (now know as Camera-Ed.com), is run by local photographer Phil Spitze who teaches classes for people wanting to learn how to use their cameras and create better photographs.

In the past, Phil has done mostly classroom sessions.  This year he introduced Teaching Tours. These tours give opportunity for group and individual instruction in fun and interesting places to photograph.  He has done tours of Waterfalls and Zoo Animals so far this year. A couple of weekends back, I attended his latest one: Syracuse at Night.  The subject was night photography and tripods were required. 🙂

Phil picked the evening of the full moon in hopes of getting photos of it rising over the Syracuse cityscape.  The clouds which stuck around were both aggravating and rewarding as the moon played peek-a-boo with us.

Full moon rising over Franklin Square during the Syracuse Area Photography Classes Teaching Tour: Syracuse at Night on Saturday, July 12, 2014.
Nikon D700/24-120VR, 1s, f/11, ISO 4000, EV 0, 75mm focal length, tripod, cropped.

From Franklin Square, our group of six photographers with tripods slung over each one’s shoulders took the Onondaga Creekwalk from Franklin Square towards Clinton Square. We stopped under the Route 690 bridges and practiced using different white balance settings. I liked this one using the Cloudy White Balance under the sodium lighting along the path.

Under the Route 690 Bridges on the Onondaga Creekwalk taken during the Syracuse Area Photography Classes Teaching Tour: Syracuse at Night on Saturday, July 12, 2014.
Nikon D700/24-120VR, 15s, f/16, ISO 200, EV 0, 75mm focal length, tripod.

The next stop was Clinton Square.  A very popular place people enjoy all day and into a hot summer’s evening.  I found this group of young women talking as the water fountains and Soldiers and Sailors Monument looked on.

Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Clinton Square taken during the Syracuse Area Photography Classes Teaching Tour: Syracuse at Night on Saturday, July 12, 2014.
Nikon D700/24-120VR, 6s, f/16, ISO 200, EV 0, 24mm focal length, tripod.

The tour lasted a couple of hours and I did the last shot.  I know but I just had to get a motion photo of the cars moving north and south on Salina Street past Clinton Square. Yes, I had to.

Cars going up and down Salina Street and leaving light trails over a long exposure as they passed the Onondaga Savings Bank building and Clinton Square taken during the Syracuse Area Photography Classes Teaching Tour: Syracuse at Night on Saturday, July 12, 2014.
Nikon D700/24-120VR, 10s, f/16, ISO 200, EV 0, 24mm focal length, tripod.

If you live in upstate New York, give these two Meetup groups a try.  If you live elsewhere, check out MeetUp.com for photography and other groups in your area.