Help with night time city skyline photos, please

Hello everyone. I live in Columbus, Ohio, and have been wanting to shoot the skyline for awhile. I had planned on taking the camera during daylight hours, just to scout out a good position or vantage point. I got a late start, and ended up downtown not long after the sun set. I tried a few different settings, and upon getting home and downloading them, I was satisfied with my first attempt- not only how the phots came out, but I happened upon a spot with a great view, which to me was half the battle.

Anyway, I think they look pretty good, but the lights on top of the "Empire State Building" looking building, and the sign to the right of it- the Huntington building, is way too blown out.

I am not sure how good of a "happy medium" I can reach, but is it possible to get this shot without the blown out areas, and still be lit up enough?

My settings were...
TV- 3.2 sec.
AV- 9.0
ISO-500
evaluative metering, auto white balance, manual focus...

What would you suggest trying? I plan on going there again Saturday or Sunday night to try it again. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You, and have an absolutely awesome Thanksgiving!

Greg

I'd take multiple exposures and then combine them in photoshop/photomatix.

I did something similar with this shot which is an HDR from about 7 exposures and even then the building is still a little bright in one corner.

Your shot at sunrise/sunset could have good potential too I think.

I'm guessing you were using a tripod here so there's no reason not to use iso 100 for the cleanest possible image.

You might consider taking the shot just after sunset and before the sky becomes completely dark.

I like this photo. Shooting a little earlier will help the sky, but I would not want to lose the colors on and under the bridge. MAYBE tone down the bright lights on top of the tower.

But while it would be fun to return and shoot again, this is fine as is (IMO).

bob_r wrote in post #15275721
You might consider taking the shot just after sunset and before the sky becomes completely dark.

This. Shooting when the sky has some color in it will allow you to capture the buidings plus the lighted top without blowing out the highlights. Usually when it's dark enough for the lights to be on, but not so dark that the sky is black.

Try again and post the results.

Thank you for the suggestions. Mike, you are correct- I had the camera on a tripod. Funny, because I was driving around, and would just get out of the truck and snap one or two, and was messing with the settings to get the shot brighter...when I found this place, I was a bit nervous setting everything up, as it is not the best part of town. The ISO never crossed my mind. I also actually wanted to take several shots in AEB, and never thought the first thing about it while I was there. lol

Bob, NCSA, and gibbit- I will do just that. I'll get there a little earlier and be set up and ready. This photo is facing East- it would be cool if were facing west, just for the colors. I will try it with a little light left in the sky and see what I can do.

Thanks everyone- and again, have a great Thanksgiving.