Very nice image. James you could get same or even better result when shooting during midnight. Use tripod, remote release and shutter speed over 10 sec. Use small apperture like f/16 or f/22 for star effect from lights, Mesure light amout with spot meter from bright objects, and sky, make compromise, and do your shot with full manual mode.
James, bracketing simply means making a series of exposures where the first is exposed normally, the second is overexposed by a certain amount, and the third is underexposed by that same amount. Depending on your camera, you can do this manually through timing or exposure compensation settings, or the camera can be set to do it automatically. (Click once, get three shots).
Bracketing does use the film up more quickly, but especially with film it guarantees you at least one perfect exposure, so it's a useful technique under difficult lighting conditions. (Sometimes I like all 3 exposures.)
If you always bracket in the same order, (normal, over, under, or whatever order you choose) you also get a feel for how your camera responds to similar lighting. If you consistently prefer one of the three, you can just go with that setting in future.
As I said, I really do like this photo. Nice work!
deb.... as a newbie at night photography, i shot a roll of film the night before when it was much darker. none of the photos turned out. so it was suggested to shoot earlier, at dusk. and everything improved 100%.
Very well done. :) I like it all - the different colored lights, the reflections, and the sky.
I like the time of day you chose; having the color in the sky really improves this. Some of the lights have burnt, so perhaps this is a tad overexposed, but frankly, I like it the way it is. You might try bracketing next time to see if it helps or hurts.
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