#7022033 - 04/19/13 08:41 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Sir Salty A F]
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2000SiRacer
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Registered: 04/19/02
Posts: 42801
Loc: Colorado
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#7022107 - 04/19/13 08:54 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: 2000SiRacer]
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Sir Salty A F
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Registered: 01/24/12
Posts: 15608
Loc: Utah
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nice. i'm planning to make a trip out to the middle of no where this summer to try and get the milky way.
this is a popular shot i'd like to try and recreate.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6043/6281996603_1e06740be1_b.jpg
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#7022964 - 04/19/13 11:57 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Sir Salty A F]
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Sir Salty A F
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Registered: 01/24/12
Posts: 15608
Loc: Utah
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from one of his images
'NightScape'' series style: If I only wanted to capture the stars against a totally black sky and have no landscape features in the foreground, I'd just attach my camera and lens to an astronomy type tracking motor, and expose as long as I wanted (using low ISOs). However, doing this would blur the landscape features, because camera would be following the stars and the rotation of the earth! My goal in this series is to show the stars in a relationship to an earthly landscape feature, and not just do astrophotography.
In my style of "NightScape" photography, I am trying to capture the stars as points of light, not star trails, so my exposure must be very short -- usually less than 30 seconds. This requires very fast and expensive lenses and extremely high ISOs. (The Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Mark III are some of the best cameras out there for producing a minimum amount of noise at these high ISOs.)
TECHNICAL STUFF Camera and Lens: This photo was taken with my 15mm full-frame Canon fisheye lens (30 seconds @ f2.8, ISO 6400). This lens gives me almost a 180-degree angle of view. Many of my photos are taken with the Canon 24mm f1.4 lens (84-degree angle view). I would roughly calculate that the full-frame sensor of my Canon EOS 5D Mark II is about 40 times more sensitive to light than a typical point-n-shoot camera, and several times more sensitive than your eye, when coupled with a 15 to 30-second time exposure. Each exposure is 30 seconds or less (any longer than this, then the stars appear to move or streak, due to the rotation of the earth -- producing star trails or arcs, rather than round dots). Please note that most DSLR cameras with a "fast" prime lens can capture my style of NightScapes.
Fast Lenses: The aperture (or "F" stop) is usually set as near to wide open as the lens design will allow, in order to capture as much light as I can during the exposure time. Prime lenses (not zoom lenses), with large apertures (f2.8, f2.0, or f1.4) are preferred for this type of photography, although I've seen some great images with slower, f3.5 lenses.
High ISOs: Most of my star photos are are taken at ISO 3200, 6400, or 8000. With these high ISOs and fast lenses, the camera is able to see detail that your eye and other cameras cannot. Cameras like mine and Nikon's D3 can go even higher (12800, 25600, 51200, and 102400 ISO), but there is always a trade-off in quality. At the moment, I have chosen not to go above 8000, until I can find technology that will obtain the quality I desire. Some DSLR cameras do not go above ISO 1600. I have seen some exposures with these cameras at that ISO, using an f3.5 lens that look great -- the night skies are a little darker than the ones I shoot (eliminating the fainter stars), but the views are still stunning.
Digital Noise: High ISO's and long exposures (anything over 1-second) can produce digital noise -- what film users call "grain" or graininess. Many cameras (especially point-n-shoot cameras) cannot go above ISO 1600 -- and even their 1600 has more noise (digital graininess) than my 6400. Some have been critical of the noise; however, the noise I'm getting at ISO 6400 right now is less than what film gave me at ISO 800, 10 years ago. It is also much less than what I was getting only 6 years ago at ISO 1600 with any digital camera. Technology has come a long way, and I'm very grateful for all the improvements. It allows me to see what my naked eye cannot! Still, anytime I can lower my ISO to 3200 or 1600, I try to do so, in order to reduce noise. This can be done by "stacking" several under-exposures (taken at ISO 1600), and processing them into one photo, with a brighter exposure.
Narrow window of opportunity: The big problem in doing star photography is finding a totally dark and cloudless sky: It must be at least 2 hours after sunset, at least 2 hours before sunrise; and the moon must have set (because it washes out the stars). A New moon or a less than 8% crescent is acceptable. I rely a lot on moon tables from the Farmer's Almanac. As you can tell, there is only a narrow window to shoot these kind of photos, and it only happens a few days each month (when you add the weather factor).
Light pollution: Oh, and did I mention you must be at least 75 miles from the lights of a large town? There are getting to be fewer of these places on the earth. Some of the glow in the sky, right around the tree line, is from the town of Jackson, WY (population of about 9,000), which is about 20 miles away.
Longer focal length lenses require shorter exposure times: With my 180-degree, full frame fisheye lens I can expose as long as 30 seconds and keep the stars as points (unless the image is enlarge over 12 x 18, upon which the stars appear a little elliptical). A 24mm (84-degree angle coverage) requires that I shorten my exposure to 19 seconds or less. A normal 50mm lenses (45-degree angle coverage) requires a 9 seconds or less exposure! This is because the longer focal length lenses are enlarging the area of the sky you see and magnifying the earth's movement -- requiring even shorter exposure times. Some astro-photographers use the "600 rule" for determining the length of their exposure time: dividing 600 by the focal length of the lens (using a full-frame 35mm equivalent). I adjust this to my own "450 rule", which produces less blurring on larger prints. Thus, the maximum exposure time for a 28mm lens would be 16 seconds (450 / 28 = 16).
Lens technical problems: The bigger my lens' aperture, the shorter I can expose my images, and the lower I can set my ISO. One of my favorite large-aperture lenses is the Canon EF 24mm f1.4L II. However, "big" aperture lenses cost a premium, and I've found that unless I stop down at least one aperture stop or more, the coma (spherical aberration) at the edge of my images is terrible -- the starry points of light grow ghostly wings and take the shape of an obtuse triangle. I am constantly fighting a choice between getting more light to the camera's sensor (by opening up the aperture) or whether I should have better quality (less aberrations) near the edges of my images!
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#7027492 - 04/22/13 08:26 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Sir Salty A F]
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Sir Salty A F
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 01/24/12
Posts: 15608
Loc: Utah
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#7027538 - 04/22/13 08:49 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Sir Salty A F]
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LNXGUY
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 08/06/00
Posts: 107632
Loc: Barrie, Ont,
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That pic hurts my eyes. Did you highpass the entire thing? Nothing seems to be in focus.
_________________________
-Bill The GN would OWN you, your children and your children's children. Left foot, right foot, just keep moving!!! -Jeffrey P. Murphy
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#7029282 - 04/23/13 05:00 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Sir Salty A F]
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Sir Salty A F
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 01/24/12
Posts: 15608
Loc: Utah
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this one is a little bit more in focus, although the composition isn't as interesting
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#7029427 - 04/23/13 07:55 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Sir Salty A F]
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LNXGUY
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 08/06/00
Posts: 107632
Loc: Barrie, Ont,
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Yeah that one doesn't hurt my eyes at all. Composition might not be as good, but the lighting in that pic is pretty awesome..
_________________________
-Bill The GN would OWN you, your children and your children's children. Left foot, right foot, just keep moving!!! -Jeffrey P. Murphy
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#7029609 - 04/23/13 09:29 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: LNXGUY]
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Kierf
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 02/12/00
Posts: 45230
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Years ago, an old friend did an entire series with baby dolls.
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#7030368 - 04/23/13 01:40 PM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Kierf]
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LNXGUY
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 08/06/00
Posts: 107632
Loc: Barrie, Ont,
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That's creepy.
_________________________
-Bill The GN would OWN you, your children and your children's children. Left foot, right foot, just keep moving!!! -Jeffrey P. Murphy
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#7030717 - 04/23/13 03:38 PM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: LNXGUY]
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Kierf
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 02/12/00
Posts: 45230
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I gotta find the others.
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#7031618 - 04/24/13 06:13 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Sir Salty A F]
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Huggy
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 11/01/99
Posts: 42871
Loc: Cincinnati, OH
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this one is a little bit more in focus, although the composition isn't as interesting ![](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8534/8674025271_b7d2538915_b.jpg)
Disagree. I love this one.
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Kevin - Owner and Driver of Cars -
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#7032136 - 04/24/13 11:21 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: ]
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Nate047
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 03/03/03
Posts: 28558
Loc: La La Land, CA
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![](http://photos.napalm.net/clubsi/_M7K5415.jpg)
Nate
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natehasslerphoto.comFlickrFacebook"Nate047 > NateSTL" - TenTwelve "As long as I have a face, you'll always have a place to sit." - SlowBlackCar *insert picture of stock Fit here*
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#7032709 - 04/24/13 03:26 PM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Sir Salty A F]
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chef
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 04/27/00
Posts: 23758
Loc: The OC
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my sole attempt at night sky photography, up in Idyllwild on Thanksgiving. Was on my in-law's back porch. Some smoke from the fireplace looks like a galactic cluster. A huge reason for buying my Tacoma recently was to go camping and shoot the sky. Looking forward to that.
_________________________
Why choose mac? "Well, huh, might as, might as well ask why is a tree good? Why is the sunset good? Why are boobs good?" RRLSi "put that money into a new imac damn it. it's the bomb" jsmonet "This all fuckin' day. Feel the 900MB/sec of glory. It's like a digital money shot all over your face." RRLSi Order my photo prints (New files uploaded)
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#7032799 - 04/24/13 04:09 PM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: chef]
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LNXGUY
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 08/06/00
Posts: 107632
Loc: Barrie, Ont,
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I love taking night shots man, the biggest thing around here that sucks is the light pollution. I've gotta drive at least 45mins north before I can get some decent shots. When I'm way up north fishing, it's pretty much perfect.
_________________________
-Bill The GN would OWN you, your children and your children's children. Left foot, right foot, just keep moving!!! -Jeffrey P. Murphy
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#7032909 - 04/24/13 05:10 PM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: ewraven]
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chef
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Registered: 04/27/00
Posts: 23758
Loc: The OC
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Thanks! It's just far enough from the city I guess that you can see some nice sky. It's only about two hours outside of downtown LA. Wouldn't see any milky way I'd bet but there's not a whole lot around the mountain.
This was from the same spot, just an hour earlier, looking over Hemet. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8339/8209603717_7dbd22283e_c.jpg
And about an hour before that, hiking around with my dog. There was a locals mountain bike trail we followed for awhile. Real narrow, real fun. Soft soil, shady, lots of good turns. Have got to get my bike up there. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8487/8210692262_76df6fca3a_c.jpg
The neighbors, iphone snap with some punched up colors, want to make a jigsaw puzzle for the house with this http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8209601969_2909c8118d_c.jpg
_________________________
Why choose mac? "Well, huh, might as, might as well ask why is a tree good? Why is the sunset good? Why are boobs good?" RRLSi "put that money into a new imac damn it. it's the bomb" jsmonet "This all fuckin' day. Feel the 900MB/sec of glory. It's like a digital money shot all over your face." RRLSi Order my photo prints (New files uploaded)
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#7033541 - 04/24/13 10:16 PM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: chef]
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Voltron
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 08/17/01
Posts: 28641
Loc: Not Found
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engagement session I did two weeks ago at the Tidal Basin during the Cherry Blossom festival. Did it once, never again!
![](http://abinajmphotography.smugmug.com/Clients/Cyrus-and-Teresa-Engagement/i-mZTBRWW/0/M/CyrusAndTeresaEngagement_-4-M.jpg)
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#7033546 - 04/24/13 10:20 PM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Voltron]
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LNXGUY
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 08/06/00
Posts: 107632
Loc: Barrie, Ont,
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Are those super nerds?
_________________________
-Bill The GN would OWN you, your children and your children's children. Left foot, right foot, just keep moving!!! -Jeffrey P. Murphy
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#7033640 - 04/24/13 11:37 PM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: LNXGUY]
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BobBarker
BobBarker
Unregistered
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heh, yeah, screw shooting those pics...I'd probably end up offending those two.
"He went to Jared!"
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#7033725 - 04/25/13 12:59 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: ]
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chef
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 04/27/00
Posts: 23758
Loc: The OC
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It's close enough to tomorrow, so I'll put this up now. One of the p52 assignments had to do with baseball, my little league coaches son is coaching HIS son's team now, so I called him up and used him for the assignment then came out to shoot some of a game for him too as thanks. Was pretty fun actually, and I had a crazy high percentage of perfect timing on hits and catches and stuff, I guess being familiar with the subject really does pay off, I played ball for ~10 years I think.
_________________________
Why choose mac? "Well, huh, might as, might as well ask why is a tree good? Why is the sunset good? Why are boobs good?" RRLSi "put that money into a new imac damn it. it's the bomb" jsmonet "This all fuckin' day. Feel the 900MB/sec of glory. It's like a digital money shot all over your face." RRLSi Order my photo prints (New files uploaded)
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#7034281 - 04/25/13 10:43 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: LNXGUY]
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Voltron
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 08/17/01
Posts: 28641
Loc: Not Found
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yes, they are kind of dorky, but hey, they're in love... really nice couple though...
Edited by crimson773 (04/25/13 10:43 AM)
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#7034465 - 04/25/13 11:55 AM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: Voltron]
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busfare
tickets plz
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 11/09/00
Posts: 14597
Loc: Dark Side of the Moon
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on location in new mexico
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#7034786 - 04/25/13 02:18 PM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: busfare]
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Sir Salty A F
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 01/24/12
Posts: 15608
Loc: Utah
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revisiting one from Bonneville 2012
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#7034808 - 04/25/13 02:24 PM
Re: Post one random shot *per day*
[Re: busfare]
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BobBarker
BobBarker
Unregistered
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on location in new mexico
film generators...my favorite
(I was hired to operate one of those one night for a concert, and the engine "burped" lol was driving it home before the concert was over. Would never operate one of those again, unless I owned it and knew its history.)
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