Cottonwoods by moonlight

Here's another nighttime shot. I stopped a few miles north of Gunnison on the way back from Kebler Pass last week and decided to try this. The nearly-full moon was illuminating everything pretty brightly, but I was still surprised at how well this worked.

The highway is just out of the photo to the left. During the 30-second exposure, a car drove by. I was afraid the shot was ruined, but all it did was add a little "fill flash" to the cottonwoods in the lower right!

The wind was blowing the clouds pretty well; I like the look. What do you think?

Canon 5D, Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, ISO 1000, 30 sec at f/5.

Erik, those clouds are trippy, just enough movement on them to make it work. Good exposures on the cottonwood and the backgrd. Glad you're out in Colo with the 5D! Looks like it's working great!

Chris

I like the night effect. Everything has a good element to it, but I don't get the sense of a clear subject. The sky and clouds seem to have the dominant role, while the color of the cottonwoods is most interesting to me. I'd like to see more of the trees.

Nice exposure by the way.

Likewise to Kalin's comment. Neat effect, but would like to see the trees more dominant in the frame.

Thanks for the comments, guys. Chris, yes, the camera is just great! Take good care of my future MKII, you hear?

You're right - composition could use some help. I would blame the low light or cold temperatures, but the truth is I just pointed the camera and snapped the photo, never expecting anything to come of it. It was just for fun, not a serious attempt. In hindsight, I wish I'd tried multiple variations and compositions. Ah, well - next time!

Erik

Cool. I agree that a more dominant subject would help this image, but those clouds moving across the stars are really great! You've inspired me to try more night shots out in the Canyonlands this weekend!

It's a pretty cool effect, I felt at first that it was two shots combined, the stars don't look totally natural against a bright foreground. Creative.

Boy, do I love the contrast of the moving clouds against the stars. Yeah, the cottonwoods are kinda trippy, but that sky is sooo cool. Do it again, for sure.

The comp could be stronger, but this is still a really cool image. It offers up a lot of great ideas for other night images. Pretty good for just pointing the camera up.

Like seeing what can be done with moonlight and a 30 sec exposure. Wonder if cropping out the ground and working with the tree and sky would make a stronger image.

Bill Brennan

Awesome!

This is cool!

Killer shot, and I love the cloud movement. Really well done.