Karoo Nights

Gallery: Man & NaturePosted May 3, 2015157 views9 comments

Haven't posted in this gallery in a while - the wildlife just keeps me so busy ;)

This was taken around midnight with a new moon on a sheep farm in the heart of the Karoo desert in South Africa. The Karoo, the Kalahari and the Namib are THE spots in Southern Africa for astrophotography...with a new moon the stars actually cast shadows.

Windmills are characteristic of farms in this area, and my portfolio is seriously lacking with some shots of these structures. The flaring in the stars is the result of a mist cloud that was moving overhead. Within 10 minutes of this image being taken the stars were not even visible anymore (it was pretty cold!).

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 @ 14mm
f2.8 | 30 seconds | ISO-6400

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on May 3, 2015 at 8:16 PM

The stars are magnificent. 28mm might have served better if you wanted to correct the verical distortion. My instinct would be to attempt a correction, but that might have lost too much canvas. cool

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on May 4, 2015 at 1:02 AM

Thanks Phil. I'm one of those who don't mind vertical distortion as much as most, so I'm happy with it.

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on May 4, 2015 at 10:59 AM

Interesting effect with the flaring caused by the mist! Never seen that myself. Very lovely night sky, with a bright milky way and some nice airglow to finish it off. The windmill is a nice silhouette, and it's nice that it doesn't enter the milky way, so that they are two separate elements in the photo. Not too sure about the pole on the left, but there's not much to do about that. Great shot!

Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on May 4, 2015 at 8:31 PM

Amazing image - great colors and what a view of the outerworld. I like the motion in the windmill a lot and the angle of the shot - I would clone out the protruding antenae (?) on the left hand side

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on May 4, 2015 at 9:37 PM

Spectacular image. Great color in the sky and I like the composition a lot.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Nevesely on May 5, 2015 at 10:49 AM

I really like this image - from the composition to the great sky, everything works well together.

Registered on June 14, 2005, 147 Posts, 1550 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on May 6, 2015 at 1:05 PM

Wonderful image with the windmill tilting towards the stars and the Milky Way at a nice angle to it. First time I've seen a night photo with a windmill, and the long exposure shows it turning. Great idea and great execution!

Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments

Comment posted by D.A. Edwards on May 6, 2015 at 5:54 PM

Very impressive shot, Morkel. Lose that pole on the left and I'd call it perfect. Kudos.

Registered on October 8, 2014, 226 Posts, 1187 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on May 21, 2015 at 12:34 AM

Thanks a lot, folks!!

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments