long exposure – Page 4

May 16, 2011January 14, 2013

Mono Lake Sunset

Clouds hang over the tufa at sunset, Mono Lake, CA. Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 50. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 8 sec. at f/22

After a first evening of disappointing skies at Mono Lake, I went back later in the week on my recent trip to the eastern Sierra. Some clouds were building in the afternoon, and it looked like it would be a decent evening for sunset.

In my mind’s eye, I envisioned still waters, mirrored reflections of tufa, and a lightly clouded sunset sky. The sky was certainly shaping up, but late in the afternoon, the wind picked up and blew away any chance of tufa reflections. Because the wind was blowing the water into small waves hitting the shore, I decided instead to use a longer exposure to translate that lake motion into a quiet mist.

I knew that the tall tufa spires I had previsualized were out – I needed something smaller to use as a foreground to lead the eye into the lake. Whenever using a long exposure to create a water mist effect, I always juxtapose the water against razor sharp, highly detailed subjects. These usually end up being rocks, but in this case, tufa would work just as well. I walked along the shore until I found what I was looking for.

Trying to achieve a longer shutter speed, I added a circular polarizer and lowered my ISO to 50, giving me an 8 second exposure. This was plenty of time to soften the water, giving me the sought after effect. I moved back and forth, forward and backward, working the composition until I was happy with it.

After the sun had set, I walked back along the shore looking for subjects that would work well in twilight. The composition in the photo below caught my eye, and I made a quick photograph on my way back to the car.

A stillness descends on Mono Lake just after sunset. Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 200. Evaluative metering +1/3: 8 sec. at f/16

Purchase

On my second visit to Mono Lake, I was much more satisfied with the weather, giving me clouds to add a little texture to the sky. But I had to remain nimble in my thinking to work with and accommodate the wind. Sometimes all the planning and thinking about a place must be thrown out the window, but what you get in return may be unexpected and a great reward.

December 21, 2010October 8, 2014

Lunar eclipse, December 20, 2010

Last night I stayed up late to photograph the lunar eclipse from my front patio. While not the best of locations as far as light pollution goes, it doesn’t matter that much for moon photography, given the moon casts off so much reflected light. I started photographing just before 11pm, as the earth’s shadow was just touching the outer edge of the moon. The progression was as follows:

The earth's shadow moves across the moon

The earth's shadow consumes more than half of the moon

The moon reflects a dull red from the shadow of the earth

The last photo was taken at the peak of the eclipse, with the sun and the moon on exact opposite sides of the earth. To understand why the moon glows red when fully in the earth’s shadow, it is easier to think of what the earth would look like from the moon. From the moon’s perspective, at the peak of the eclipse, the earth would be ringed with red outline of the sun. It would be like watching all sunrises and sunsets all across the planet, all at the same time. This red wavelength is cast by the earth’s atmosphere into the earth’s shadow (the center of the silhouetted earth, ringed by the sun), which is then reflected by the moon back to us as a dull red glow. It was definitely a cool phenomenon to witness and photograph.

November 11, 2010January 14, 2013

Fall color reflection – which photo is better?

In today’s post, I present two images I took one after the other in the same location. Which one do you like better? Today you get to be the judge. Add your comments below (no registration of any kind necessary).

Silken water reflects the gold colors of fall, South Fork Bishop Creek, Inyo National Forest, CA

Water pours over rocks, South Fork Bishop Creek, Inyo National Forest, CA

I was photographing along Bishop Creek when I came across the scene in the first photo. I was attracted to the aesthetics of the small ripple in the creek, and thought it would make a strong foreground element. There were slight color reflections in the water, and I loved how the water poured over the top of the rocks. After taking the shot, I realized that my foreground element was strong enough to stand alone as more of an abstract. So I moved closer, recomposed, and took the second photo.

So, which is the better photo? Tell us which you like better and why in the comments below.

October 31, 2010January 14, 2013

Moonset Over The Sierra (Photo of the week)

A crescent moon glows in the warm colors of sunset as it sets behind the crest of the Sierra.

This week’s shot was taken a few weeks ago from high atop the crest of the White Mountains, at about 11,500 feet elevation. The moon was setting about half an hour behind the sun, providing an opportunity for a nice crescent moon, lit up by the dramatic colors of sunset. My particular location allowed me to anchor the photo with the silhouetted crest of the eastern Sierra, giving the image weight and a sense of scale and perspective.

On the technical side, in order to achieve this photo, I had to pull out all the stops. In order to keep the shutter speed down, I bumped up my ISO to 200 (I try to shoot most of my landscape work at 100). I didn’t want to go any higher, so I could keep the dark, rich tones of the sunset relatively noise free. I used my 100-400L lens at 310mm, and locked it down onto my tripod. I also made sure to turn off the image stabilizer, because if it kicked in here, it would most likely lead to a blurrier photo than I’d get without it. Finally, I locked up the mirror and set the camera to a 2 second self-timer mode. Unlike Nikon, with the 2 second self-timer, Canon cameras will lock the mirror when you press the shutter release, wait two seconds, and then trip the shutter. This allows the camera itself 2 seconds to settle down after being rattled by the vibration of the mirror slap. Normally, none of this matters, but at this magnification along with the 1.3 second shutter speed I used, even small vibrations will degrade the photo. I framed my shot, held my breath, and pressed the shutter release. Two seconds later I had the photo I wanted.