I almost never shoot using ISO over 100 - but here's a snap where ISO 1600 was required. I would've loved a Canon 5D to shoot with...ISO 3200 would've been even better. Taken at the entrance to Canyonlands NP.
Attempting to photograph landscapes at night *without* showing star trails is a huge challenge (if that was what you were after of course). So I would say good job in this case (only slight trails visible). What was your setup and exposure? I would guess you shot it somewhere around 30 seconds with a wider angle lens.
Obviously the 5D with its FF sensor and clean high ISO would help. Also a fast wide prime seems to work best from what I have seen. This is *one* of the many reasons I look forward to upgrading to the 5D eventually.
Here is one of my favorite example of this by Daniel Bayer:
Yes, I wanted to avoid star trails - they're nice, but I prefer the alien look of point-like stars to the abstract look of trails. I wish I had a fast wide prime - I shot with the painfully slow 18-55 ef-s at 18mm, f5.6 using a 75s exposure. So yes, lots of noise. A 5D with an f1.4 aperture - man, that would've been so sweet to get low-noise, low-streaking night shots. Danid Bayer's shot is brilliant, for sure.
I'm liking the concept, Kartik. I like the feel that the shorter, non-trail exposure creates. I agree with you and Derek that some of the technical challenges are holding this back, but still a shot with a lot of potential when you can recapture it with your ideal setup.
I like it! Congrats for succeeding in your effort to do something different - you conceptualized the shot and used your gear to pull it off.
Posted by Grant Collier on August 1, 2007 at 1:26 PM
Nice first attempt. Although 5D w/ a 1.4 lens is probably the best option short of mf digital, you do still get quite a bit of noise. ISO 3200 is probably not the way to go, as it only increases the noise. The lower the ISO you can get away with, the better. You can later bring out more details in the RAW conversion. I'd been planning to experiment with more of these shots during my last two Utah trips, but had cloudy skies at night all 20 days.
Cool image Kartik! I too like the non-trail exposure. Tough to get. This kind of image is something I'd like to try more of. You've inspired me to try some this weekend up in Hermit Pass.
On a similar note, I came across this great moonlight exposure calculator before I went to Utah back in March. I used it shooting with film, and it nailed the perfect exposures. Have a look: Calculating Exposures for Moonlight Photography.
Discussion
6 repliesAttempting to photograph landscapes at night *without* showing star trails is a huge challenge (if that was what you were after of course). So I would say good job in this case (only slight trails visible). What was your setup and exposure? I would guess you shot it somewhere around 30 seconds with a wider angle lens.
Obviously the 5D with its FF sensor and clean high ISO would help. Also a fast wide prime seems to work best from what I have seen. This is *one* of the many reasons I look forward to upgrading to the 5D eventually.
Here is one of my favorite example of this by Daniel Bayer:
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=3799192
ISO 1600, 30 seconds @ 1.4 Canon 24/1.4L
Yes, I wanted to avoid star trails - they're nice, but I prefer the alien look of point-like stars to the abstract look of trails. I wish I had a fast wide prime - I shot with the painfully slow 18-55 ef-s at 18mm, f5.6 using a 75s exposure. So yes, lots of noise. A 5D with an f1.4 aperture - man, that would've been so sweet to get low-noise, low-streaking night shots. Danid Bayer's shot is brilliant, for sure.
On a similar note, I came across this great moonlight exposure calculator before I went to Utah back in March. I used it shooting with film, and it nailed the perfect exposures. Have a look: Calculating Exposures for Moonlight Photography.
Can't wait to try it with digital this weekend!