Posted by Derek Sedillo on December 18, 2008 at 6:32 PM
We finally had a clear night in Monterey on Tuesday after the storm passed. So after scraping the ice off my windshield at 5:00AM I headed out to Garrapata. The moon was ~ 77% visible. And although it wasn't as bright out as when it was full, it still provided some decent light on the foreground. Compositionally I plan to go wider to show a fuller expanse of the stars and overall area. So after Santa lets me open my 17-40L I'll to do more night shots - next full moon most likely.
Here are a couple of them from Tuesday 30secs, ISO 640:
Derek, the moon light seems to really have helped out with some nice even light to bring out some darker areas too.
Good luck with the new product with the upcomig Santa delivery also.
Posted by Eric Good on December 19, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Looks really good... I wouldn't mind seeing the SS even cut in half for the sky portion of the images. I think crisper stars would even make these pop more. But then you'd probably have to merge two images together to keep the wonderful mood and light captured on the fg. Nice to follow your experimentation.
Derek,
Both shots are very interesting. I like the way you have kept the stars as points of light. Nicely controled exposure. Best Regards.
Posted by Derek Sedillo on December 24, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Thanks all,
I am just getting back into night shots. And although star trail images can be fun I really like the look of stars as points as Michael mentioned. The challenge is to have enough light to work with in a shorter time period (30 seconds or less) to avoid trails. I have discovered that the full moon 'really' helps in this regard.
Wider lenses also tend to produce less noticeable trails. So I will have to test out my new Christmas present (17-40L) in the coming year.
Places like Big Sur and the High Sierras make for good subjects because of minimal light noise and interesting foreground elements.
Discussion
4 repliesWe finally had a clear night in Monterey on Tuesday after the storm passed. So after scraping the ice off my windshield at 5:00AM I headed out to Garrapata. The moon was ~ 77% visible. And although it wasn't as bright out as when it was full, it still provided some decent light on the foreground. Compositionally I plan to go wider to show a fuller expanse of the stars and overall area. So after Santa lets me open my 17-40L I'll to do more night shots - next full moon most likely.
Here are a couple of them from Tuesday 30secs, ISO 640:
http://landandseaphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/6234693_bgVA8#438847708_ti6Hw-A-LB
http://landandseaphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/6234693_bgVA8#438841072_XEn9W-A-LB
Derek
Good luck with the new product with the upcomig Santa delivery also.
Both shots are very interesting. I like the way you have kept the stars as points of light. Nicely controled exposure. Best Regards.
I am just getting back into night shots. And although star trail images can be fun I really like the look of stars as points as Michael mentioned. The challenge is to have enough light to work with in a shorter time period (30 seconds or less) to avoid trails. I have discovered that the full moon 'really' helps in this regard.
Wider lenses also tend to produce less noticeable trails. So I will have to test out my new Christmas present (17-40L) in the coming year.
Places like Big Sur and the High Sierras make for good subjects because of minimal light noise and interesting foreground elements.
Derek