A Snowy Night at the Kiev Opera House
A Snowy Night at the Kiev Opera House
Image by Stuck in Customs
If you want to see how I made this (and how you can too!), visit my HDR Tutorial. I hope it gives you some new tricks!
The Eastern Bloc countries always held a certain mystique to me. Since I grew up during the cold war, I’ve thought going anywhere near the USSR would be like a Star Trek redshirt visiting the Klingon capitol. Kiev, of course, by this time is a much friendlier place to visit. It still held a lot of the old imposing Soviet architecture that made you feel like you are always being watched by a government official. When I would set up to take photos, I noticed many a suspicious eye looking in my direction, as if, perhaps, maybe I was a government official posing as a photographer.
It was quite icy and snowy in Kiev that night. I walked up near the opera house and found this shot. The blue lights inside along with the old Soviet car out front gave it all a very cool feeling.
from my daily photo blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
Awesome, that is really cool, nice work!
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wow, that’s grazy
. like the car.
Cool effect.
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This was really cool. Not often I say that about a photo which has been "tonemapped to hell and back"
amaZing!
Great perspective, love it.
By the way, the snow on your lens looked like the moon to me.
wow…….me encanta……
Incredible shot !!!!!
Your fantastic color picture is my winner!
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Impressive. Wonderful.. Awesome.
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Fantastic colours.
Cool! Or should I say cold? Fab colours.
Man you get around!!!
I havent got many night shots and I havent got ANY snow shots!!
Interesting combo.
Very nice!!! Fantastic colors!!!
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This is amazing my friend !!!
Superb Masterpiece group needs your wonderful picture !!!
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Looks like the opera house is getting sucked off this world by some alien force. The Trabant (or Skoda), however, seems remarkably unaffected.
Great effects!
Super shot Trey – wouldn’t have even noticed the ‘moon’. When I look at your photos I feel like I am going on a trip – can’t wait to see the next ones!
Blue lights for an unusual color of night shot… cool!
The geometry in this this shot is well captured. How did u achieve the rays of light in the sky? Is that an effect or a by-product of the HDR processing?
every new image you post just blows me away. your work is fantastic! I have voted for you – you deserve it!
Simply sublime, friend
straordinaria!
Highlights for me are the sky and the purple light in the arches. I also Like the square format – it really works with this image. Guess you’re lucky it was only one snowflake and it was polite enough to stay off to one side!
oh wow – without words!!!!
simply stunning!
really great.
I love this one, it works really well. Your productivity is amazing… well done.
This one is really cool…. Especially the blue lights, the angle and the old soviet car, Lada/Trabant?
Bravo
fantastica hdr
Incredible work…
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wow… just amazing
Absolutely stunning!! Before to see your note, I was sure there was the moon in the sky.
awesome, nice work as allways!!
awesome ( like always ; ) )
Nice!
Superba!!!
Wow!! Really seems like a painting. And the perspective is amazing!!
Wow this shot is amazing.
Gah! The showdrop would drive me MAD!
Cool shot once again, despite errant show…
as always… spectacular photo
Amazing effect!! Lovely
~I SNIFFED out this wonderful image!
You deserve this nose worthy award!
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My hubby was so excited to see this. He grew up in Kiev for 16 years and he’s been in that Opera house plenty of times. How nice.
Stunning
Wow, what colours! Nicely done.
Fantastic, the colors are great and the composition is very nice, nice job
Very nice, as always.
Thanks all! I am glad you like this one… these city-snow HDRs are coming out pretty interesting!
Well done, great perspective
Wow! I’m in awe! Really amazing!
The World Through My Eyes
Excellent Image. I’ve gotta give HDR a try.
cool
Wow!
Great shot! Was this a RAW HDR????
itz so bEautiful..
Great subject and point of view. and terrific sense of perspective coming from the building and the radiating sky.
That`s FANTASTIC! I love the colors (yellows and blues), the angle and perfect perspective.
nice one…
have a look at this one i found!
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=369760212&size=t
impressive, wonderful work, congrats!!
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Beautiful !!!!
wonderful, excellent perspective
Great work!!!!!!
Looks like Birmingham Town Hall in England though…..
Excellent!
Very nice shot. Colours are amazing, perspective too.
wonderful dramatic hdr!
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Awesome HDR!
Great pic!!! interesting angle to shoot the bldg – and the lovely colors make it seem like a jewel!
Nicely executed. The building angles are superb.
A very good HDR…Really perfect!!!
I like it!!
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Awesome! Seen on Explore.
Fantastic!!!
Strong HDR work which still has lots of graphical appeal.
Incredible light and colours…
Congratulations on front page Explore
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Almost similar San Carlo Opera in Naples !
You give a good name to HDR! Bravo! excellent work!
Amazing! I heart the colors
wonderful work!!
I like so much this Opera!
No words!!!
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that’s way cool!
Sorry, but it’s not The Kiyv National Opera House. It’s The Kyiv National Conservatory House…
P.S.: I Liked your work very mutch.
Wow – this is a stunner!
Striking! Lights and snowfall is so very cool. Good job.
Just WOW……..absolutely awesome……..you a really well travelled guy……..good for us that you take your camera..!!
Wicked shot – good luck in the Bloggies!
Thanks all! Ahh – the people I was with told me there are operas in this building.
Also, to answer the earlier question, this was 5 exposures.
And I have a tutorial up at stuckincustoms.com/?p=548 — I’ve been getting a lot of questions!
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page one of the calendar view.) Would you please add it to the Top 10
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great job !!
Once again my friend, awesome
wow great photo. You done it again.
stunning – it doesn’t look like a photo, rather a digital rendering.
Awesome!!! I have no words to describe…
Very nice effect on the sky!
I thought the snow was the moon at first glance, anyway I cannot say I am a big fan of HDR, but this one is pretty cool – well done
Nice shot but I think that the snow flake ruined the pic :p. Just kidding, astonishing.
There is just one word to describe your picture… WOW!!!!!
I See you made it to explore, congratulations. Wonderful colors the blending and the contrast of with the composition makes a materpiece of this photo. Beautifully done.
An instant fave!!
Are those rays over the roof real?
G-r-e-a-t!
Another GOOOOD work from you!
exelente trabajo con las luces no sobreexpuesto
increible
cuentame tu tecnica
Bellissima, complimenti
A great HDR photo. Well done!
Hm. This is not an Opear House, this is the concert hall of the Conservatorium.
Yes thanks – someone told me they have operas in there sometimes.
I think this photo is a
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Awesome work !
Fantastic, mysterious feel
wow this is IMpressive
Beautiful. I particularly love the amazing colours. HDR really does make for beautiful photos!
Incredible, maybe the best HDR you made!
gorgeous!
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Very cool (or should I say cold
shot!
nice shot
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Absolutely Fantastic, and we’d love to have your photo added to the group.
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Supoib!
such a cool angle!
The blue inside the building is great a effect.
Wow great image!
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Black Ribbon of Beauty (Invited Images Only – post 1, award 1!), and we’d love to have your photo added to the group.
magnificent!
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Fantastic perspective and toning.
Definitely Deserves Another
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I saw your wonderful photo at Black Ribbon Beauty
nice to see that people still like to do traditional art. cool painting. Must’ve taken you forever to paint this beautiful picture.
Good tonemapping, as always! Very nice result
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impressionante!
Seriously, why ruin a photo with effects like this?
Awesome, I love the sky. Nice composition.
very good shot A+
¡cuadro agradable aunque mira la falsificación!
nice pic but it looks fake!
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dammit, the best photo of Kyiv’s opera, I’ve ever seen!!
Только это не Opera House, а консерватория.
Espectacular la foto…
excellent work capture
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Very cool! I love the people standing under the arches.
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surreal but/and incredible
amazing shot
Потрясающе!
wooooooooooooooow>>>>>I like it
Brilliant HDR work! Tones and colours are spot on; as someone else said, it’s rare to see something so heavily tonemapped, and still have that jaw dropping look. Really well done
The only thing I’m not convinced about the way the building hits the frame edge on the left; if you can’t see a better crop either I wonder whether vignetting the edges would help with that.
this kinda looks unreal. outstanding work. Great job
Amazing HDR! The blue lighting in the arches is a very nice contrast to the yellowish buildings. I’m just starting/learning HDRs and this is so inspirational.
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Utterly Amazing, WOW
This is Art !
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Really great HDR pic !
Gorgeous photo but definitely not the Opera House. It is the conservatory, on Kreshatik street.
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This is a beautyfull picture!
I would like it if you would join in this group.
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Great HDR!!!
Wow, this is really beautiful and very well done. Great capture!
Very interesting flare. How did you do it? No matter, it will fit in our group as an echo anyway.
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Breathtaking shot!
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Эта пять!
The photos HDR… i never like so much that style but this is an exception:
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stunning capture
!! oh my..
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the car makes the picture way better. cant explain it.
I am from Ukraine!!!!!!!! This is a wonderful photo!!!!!!
Amazing work!!!!! 
Amazing! I’d love to learn ur skill:D
Excellent!!
Congratulation ! Your photo was shown in the magazin "TOMORROW" here in Germany ! It was in an articel about flickr.
Wow… Falls of chair. That certainly is epic.
CONGRATULATIONS on appearing in the April, 2008, issue of TOMORROW magazine. IN all they used three of your fantastic photos on page 31. Wow. Great stuff.
Amazing shot friend !! fave.
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I love that pic
como lo haces???? yo quiero hacer lo mismo xDDDD
HDR???
Very nice
!
that’s incredible!
Bonjour, je suis l’administrateur du groupe La GeoGraphie, et nous aimerions beaucoup que vous ajoutiez ceci à notre groupe !
WOW, amazing light!
perfect shot!!!!!!!!!!!!!
great work
AWESOME! seen in :
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Fantastic shot!
awesome!! looks so surreal! and the car adds a nice touch to the pic!
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awesome!:))
So surreal! Extraordinary…thanks for sharing!
as if you couldn’t tell by the number of responses that you have received…. this is an excellent picture.
amazing!
interesting HDR
Wonderful *City Night Lights*
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Great shot !!
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Stunning, as is the rest of your work!
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well, that is actually not the Opera House. that is the opera studio of National Musical Academy in Kiev.
This is really great. Your HDR’s are all very good.
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Catedrales de la música, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
I grew up in Kyiv and this brings sooo many memories. Wonderfully done.
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HDR-terrorism!
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Impressive…
Without that snowflake, this picture wouldn’t be the same…!
Thanks for your article
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great
this is not opera house! this is conservatory – music academy concert hall!
how absolutely gorgeous
unreal!!!!!!
))
Stunning!
Nice shot
Take a look at my photostream!
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very impressive building and excellent HDR work !!
congrats
seen at gallery :
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wonderful
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Amazing shot! I love the colors – they give a soft, painting-like feel to the pic.
so pretty and very suggestive!! bye!!
You will be disappointed but it’s not an opera house. It’s Kiev National musical academy, also known as a conservatory (see real opera here http://www.flickr.com/photos/darina_nykyforova/4694238020/). P.S. And it’s Volga near the entrance
great HDR!
Really great.
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