"DEATH ZONE"

Gallery: LandscapePosted December 23, 2011527 views28 comments

I am finally getting the time to do some catch up processing work! This image was taken back in the spring 2011 down in Death Valley NP, hence my title

I was very remote in a joshua tree meadow at 5000 ft. Being around March 29th, it was very cool up there.

I waited until almost dawn to get the partial phase of the moon to rise behind this foreground joshua tree to create a strong silhouette effect.

This is a single image that I reprocessed twice and blended together to control the moonlight, and bring out more detail in the Milky Way.

I was surprised at how much Milky Way detail I was able to capture while shooting with the rising moon.

Nikon D3s, Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 lens, ISO 4000, F2.8, 30sec

Any comments are always welcome

Happy Holiday!! I hope you all get some cool Photo Gear for Christmas

Comments

28 comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on December 23, 2011 at 2:43 AM

A wonderful night scene James!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you too!

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on December 23, 2011 at 3:02 AM

Man...Canon needs to get there shiz together for the high iso shots. Great work here. Awesome color

aF

Registered on October 26, 2009, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on December 23, 2011 at 3:21 AM

Thanks for the kind words

Aaron, I specifically went with Nikon when I decided to give up on Sony back in the spring of 2011, because if this exact reason. I wanted to do night photography and also with my Yukon trip to shoot the northern lights, I decided on the Nikon D3s. I just wish it was 16MP, but who knows what is coming from Nikon, I need a 2nd backup body with higher megapixel. Maybe the long awaited D800 will arrive with 24 mp, because spending the big bucks on another pro body (D3x) is out of the question

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on December 23, 2011 at 4:23 AM

This looks great James,

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on December 23, 2011 at 9:50 AM

Really well done.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on December 23, 2011 at 11:50 AM

Great processing James. This looks really good. Happy Holidays!

Michael

Registered on June 18, 2009, 86 Posts, 2317 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Budliger on December 23, 2011 at 11:52 AM

Wonderful image James, balanced comp, perfect subject matter for this type of shot. I love that sky! Happy Holidays to you!

Registered on June 11, 2006, 113 Posts, 2116 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on December 23, 2011 at 11:55 AM

I love how defined the milky way is. Great job on capturing it so perfectly. I can't wait to visit Death valley next year.

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments

Comment posted by Phillip Noll on December 23, 2011 at 12:37 PM

Most excellent!!

Registered on November 17, 2003, 207 Posts, 1083 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Stough on December 23, 2011 at 12:49 PM

Outstanding night shot James. Very well seen and captured.

Registered on November 20, 2010, 26 Posts, 273 Comments

Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on December 23, 2011 at 12:50 PM

I'm a sucker for silhouettes...This is a knockout!

Right outta the park. Wish I'd been there!

Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on December 23, 2011 at 12:58 PM

James, this is stunning! I love the silhouettes along w/ the colors you caught within the milky way. I would love to see a larger version of this as well. Beautiful work!

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on December 23, 2011 at 1:19 PM

Beautiful, James. I've yet to attempt this kind of photography. This encourages me to do so.

Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments

Comment posted by Joseph Campisi on December 23, 2011 at 1:27 PM

Very well done James! I like that detailed sky!

Registered on November 24, 2008, 304 Posts, 3211 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on December 23, 2011 at 1:37 PM

Tonia, Unfortunately the system here will not let me post a larger version after the first posting.

Thanks for all the great feedback

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on December 23, 2011 at 2:37 PM

Beautiful night shot James. Pretty amazing looking at this! Merry Christmas!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Nathan Apodaca on December 23, 2011 at 4:02 PM

This is very cool! The detail in the sky is breathtaking. I am curious---how do you get everything in focus at F2.8?

Registered on November 16, 2011, 67 Posts, 1127 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on December 23, 2011 at 5:17 PM

Wonderful shot James. I really like the way the Milky Way is placed.

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on December 24, 2011 at 12:29 AM

Sweet Silhouette.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on December 24, 2011 at 12:12 PM

Beautiful James. Nicely composed and I love the colors of the Milky Way.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on December 24, 2011 at 12:29 PM

Great placement of the milky way, and the comp feels very balanced. I know how tricky these night shots can be, nice execution and processing, James. Happy Holidays to you as well!

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Abdullaziz Bin Ali on December 24, 2011 at 1:15 PM

the milky way is really amazing here, wonderful scene

Registered on May 31, 2009, 112 Posts, 1590 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Siggins on December 24, 2011 at 1:34 PM

Wow, excellent shot. Your planning and preparation paid off. You did a nice job on the blending.

Maybe Santa will bring me something that can take images like this is ISO 4000.

Registered on October 11, 2007, 115 Posts, 223 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on December 24, 2011 at 2:02 PM

Richard, I am closer to the North Pole, I will put a good word in for you

Thanks again

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by Sandipan Dutta on December 24, 2011 at 2:23 PM

Beautiful frame !!!

Registered on March 9, 2009, 171 Posts, 493 Comments

Comment posted by Hillary Younger on December 24, 2011 at 4:19 PM

Wonderful silhouette and starry sky!

Registered on October 2, 2011, 17 Posts, 167 Comments

Comment posted by Basil Greber on December 28, 2011 at 1:55 PM

Wow! Crazy good! Love the composition with the milky way as backdrop against the plant silhouettes.

Registered on November 8, 2005, 219 Posts, 1340 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on December 28, 2011 at 4:57 PM

This is beautiful James. You did an excellent job designing your composition and waiting for the right conditions.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

&quot;DEATH ZONE&quot;

Comments

"DEATH ZONE"