Into The Night Photography

Adding Ballast to Stablize Your Tripod

2013-05-24T08:44:00.002-07:00

My tripod stabilized with a heavy bag of rocks during a time-lapse series.

Use the heaviest tripod you can stand to carry: Many wildlife photographers recommend that if a person wants sharp photos when using a long telephoto lens, one should buy the heaviest tripod that he or she can stand to carry into the field. Although nightscape photographers typically use wide angle rather than telephoto lenses to capture the night skies, the need for a stable tripod is still there, especially when multiple exposures are required.

Or, add the extra weight once you're on location: One way to get the stability of a heavy tripod is the add the weight or ballast after you get to your location. Ballast is often defined as the heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship to enhance stability. In my night photography, this ballast comes in the form of a canvas shopping bag that is partially filled with rocks (gathered on location) and hung from the bottom center of the tripod.

The day or night solution to sharp images: I often use this same technique for my daytime photography. The new light-weight carbon fiber tripods are very sturdy, but I've discovered that even a medium breeze can sometimes shake my camera and blur my images. Adding ballast in the field offers a win-win solution!

In the night scene below I captured the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River bathed by the light of a quarter moon. Six hours later, after the moon had set, I was able to capture the glory of the Milky Way. Because the weighted tripod remain perfectly stable between the two exposures, combining these two images was fairly easy in post production.

Grand Canyon and the Colorado River bathed by moonlight ~ © Royce Bair

6 hours later, with the moon gone, I can now capture the glory of the Milky Way ~ © Royce Bair

In post production, I easily combined the two exposures because of perfect alignment, due to a stable tripod.

Equipment Used: For the above photos, I used the Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera body with a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens. The 5D Mark III provides excellent low-noise control at the high ISOs I need for this type of starry night photography, and the ultra-wide (114º) Rokinon lens provides excellent coma aberration correction. The camera was mounted to a Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head, attached to a light-weight Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 3-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod (weighted down with my canvas bag of rocks). You can read about the benefits of using a geared head here.

When I am on unstable soil, i.e. sand, I also take the precaution of placing flat rock supports under my tripod legs so there is less chance of shifting between exposures. (During the night, wind gusts reached over 40 mph, so I was glad that the tripod had been weighted with the bag of rocks!)

Flat rocks under the tripod legs provide added support when on unstable soil, i.e. sand.

How to Level Your Camera in the Dark

2013-05-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

You're hoping to capture a Milky Way landscape (left), but you'll be lucky to see even this much (right) in the viewfinder!

If you've taken the proper steps to adjust your eyes to the darkness and preserve your night vision, you might be able to see as clearly as the image on the right. Even then, the image through your camera's viewfinder is usually much dimmer.

Staying Level-headed at Night. There are so many simple things that we do in the light of the day that become much more difficult in the darkness of night. The first time I went to photograph a Milky Way landscape, I realized I could not see the horizon in my viewfinder. In fact, there were hardly any reference points I could see through the lens! I had to photograph the scene several times, review it on the LCD monitor, and make small adjustments to the tripod head just to get a general composition that I liked. After all this, I still wasn't sure if the horizon line was really level. When I check the final composition later on my computer monitor, I discovered that I needed to make a 5-degree leveling adjustment that cropped away some of the important areas of the image.

Nikon's "Virtual Horizon"

Electronic Leveling in the Camera: As early as 2008 Nikon began to offer Virtual Horizon on select DSLR models. VH is a feature used to verify that the camera is horizontally or vertically level. It appears that the Nikon D800 has a version of VH that now displays both tilt and roll. (I was unable to determine from Nikon's website which camera models have the Virtual Horizon feature and the newer version which displays two axis leveling.)

Canon was the first camera company to provide internal Dual Axis Electronic Level with the introduction of the Canon EOS 7D in October 2009. Dual Axis provides roll and pitch information within an accuracy of 1-degree. This information can be displayed on the rear LCD monitor or within the viewfinder. Dual Axis is now available on the Canon 5D Mark III and the Canon 1D X. Canon provides Single Axis Electronic Level with the EOS 6D and the EOS 60D.

Vello 2-Axis Bubble Level

External Bubble Levels: Even though both of my Canon cameras have internal electronic leveling, I often find myself using an old-fashioned bubble level attached to my camera's hot shoe when I am doing night photography. Maybe it's my construction background, but I can center a bubble faster than I can switch on the electronic leveling feature and align it in the viewfinder or on the LCD monitor! And for those of you with cameras not having an electronic leveling feature, a hot shoe bubble level is a must when working in the dark. I use the Vello Two-Axis Hot-Shoe Bubble Level. I also have the Manfrotto 337 2-Axis Flash Hot Shoe Double Bubble Level, which I bought at a local camera store when I temporarily misplaced my Vello. I paid more than twice as much for the Manfrotto as the Vello (about $37 vs. $18), and I can't see any difference in quality or accuracy. (Read my final paragraph, "Tripod Head Workflow", for suggestions on how to use this level.)

When shooting a horizontal subject, you attach the bubble level to your hot shoe in the manner.

When shooting in the vertical position, you attach the bubble level in this manner ~ © Royce Bair

Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head

Making Adjustments for Composition with a Geared Head: If you are an occasional nightscape photographer, a standard tripod head will work just fine for you. As I have already mentioned in the beginning, there will be some frustrations in trying to compose your image in the dark because the viewfinder offers almost no feedback. This is why some astro-landscape shooters, like myself, have gone to using geared heads. A geared head not only gives your reference markings, but allows smooth and exact movements to those points.

Pan, Pitch, and Roll: Like an airplane, almost all tripod heads allow you to pan (yaw) left or right, tilt (pitch) up or down, and roll (lean) to the left or right (taking a vertical photograph requires a 90º roll to the left or right). A geared head will allow you to do the same things, but with precision and repeatability. When you make an adjustment with a regular tripod, you are just "shooting in the dark". As soon as you loosen the adjustments for any of your three axes, you have no reference for your movements. With a geared head, you can make an exact adjustment in any of the three axes. If you overshoot or undershoot your mark, you can go back or forward a few degrees.

The head I use is the Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head (one of my fellow nightscape photographers, Lincoln Harrison, uses the heftier Manfrotto 405 Pro Digital Geared Head). I also use a ball head (Manfrotto 496RC2 Compact Ball Head) between the camera and the geared head to extend the range of movement when I'm doing vertical shots. My tripod is the Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 3-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod.

Tripod Head Workflow: Whether you're using a regular tripod head or a geared one like mine, 1.) I always strive to null out the head (return any settings to zero, if it has markings) and level it if it has a bubble level. When the camera is attached to the head, its hot shoe bubble level should now read level as well. 2.) I then pan the head and re-check the hot shoe level throughout the pan, making any necessary fine-tune adjustments to the tripod to maintain a level pan (if you are taking a panoramic series of photographs to stitch together, this step is critical for best results). 3.) I then aim the camera in the general direction of nightscape subject and take a photograph (you can speed up these composition test exposures by using a higher ISO). 4.) After reviewing the image on the LCD monitor, I make further head adjustments until I am satisfied with the composition. 5.) I re-check my hot shoe bubble level one last time and make any "roll" level adjustments (if necessary) before making my final exposure.

Improving Your Outdoor Night Flash Photography

2013-05-16T10:43:00.001-07:00

Using off-camera or bounce flash can improve your outdoor night photos ~ © Royce Bair (click for specs)

Portable Flashes vs. Built-in Camera Flashes: Although built-in camera flashes are convenient, they are not only limited in power, but more importantly in movement. Unlike a separate flash unit, their output cannot be redirected or aimed somewhere else, or moved away from the camera! Being able to make adjustments to your portable, camera-mounted flash can greatly improve the quality of your outdoor night photographs.

Canon Speedlite 430EX II

What I use: For under $300, I have the Canon Speedlite 430EX II. It's fully compatible with Canon's E-TTL automated flash exposure system, as well as offering adjustable manual power output down to 1/64 power. The flash head can be moved up and to the right 90º, and to the left 180º. On the Nikon side, I recommend the Nikon SB-700 AF Speedlight, or their more versatile, Nikon SB-910 AF Speedlight.

Getting the light source away from the camera: The unnatural part about most flash photography is that the light source is typically coming from the same direction as the camera's lens! Moving the light source away from your camera will improve almost any photo.

Bounce or extension: The moveable flash head allows me to bounce the flash off of ceilings and walls when I'm indoor, or off rocks, cliffs, and trees when I'm outdoors (see last the paragraph for an explanation). If the right object for bouncing is not available, I often hold the flash at arm's length (or have someone else hold it) using Canon's OC-E3 Off Camera Shoe Cord. That two or three feet extension can make a huge difference in the look of your flash photos.

For greater distances, I use another Canon flash (i.e. the more versatile Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT) to trigger the one doing the main lighting (you can set lighting ratios with the Canon Speedlites), or I can use the PocketWizard Plus X Transceiver to trigger a more distant flash. The key is get the light source away from the camera and at an angle that lights the subject in a more natural and pleasant way.

Dining under a red granite cliff

Compare the difference: This was the scene at an early evening meal, under a red granite cliff in the Grand Canyon. After dinner we had a campfire, and I made this on-camera flash exposure (below) with the Canon Speedlite 430EX). I programmed the shutter speed and f-stop so they would mix and balance correctly with the light output of the fire. The problem with this system is that the direction of light is unnatural, as it is always coming from the camera, and the fall-off is very fast (especially when using a wide angle lens—causing the foregrounds to always be over lighted and washed out).

Straight-on flash with Speedlite 430EX

The difference between this photo and the one at the top is the direction and quality of the light. The light in the top photo is no longer coming from the same direction as the camera. In the top photo, the adjustable flash head has been rotated and turned so that its light is bouncing off the granite cliff behind me (the bounced light is coming from above and from my left, helping to match the direction of fire's light). Normally, I would also cover the flash head with a warming gel to match the warm color of the fire, but in this case the red color of the granite has already done that for me! Bouncing off a dark granite wall greatly reduces the flash's output to the scene, so most of my shots had to have an ISO boost to 1600 or 3200. Although this is abnormally high ISO for flash photography, the excellent noise control of the Canon 5D Mark III is well-equipped to handle it!

The gels I use are made by Rosco, and the Rosco Strobist 55-Piece Filter Kit is an easy way to change the color of the light or match the ambient light, such as in the campfire situation. When I bounce my strobe off of an overhanging tree that has green leaves, I can put a complimentary shade of magenta over the flash to bring the white balance back to normal.

These 1.5"x3.25" sheets work perfectly to cover most portable flash heads, but for my larger lights (or where I need to cover several lights with the same color), I use the larger 20"x24" Rosco sheets.

Delicate Arch - lighted with two filtered lights, one w/o ~ © Royce Bair (click for more info)

Time-Lapse Earth ~ Edited by Bruce W. Berry

2013-05-15T16:16:00.000-07:00

Milky Way stars and lightning storms over Africa (click any image to see video)

Sarychev Volcano

Get ready to be dazzled by the Earth's night show! All of these images were taken by astronauts onboard the International Space Station. (The ISS orbits our planet about once every 90 minutes and is about 350 Km / 217 miles above the earth.) Many of the images were shot at one frame per second. While this image of the Sarychev Volcano and one other scene was shot in the daytime, all other scenes in this clip were photographed at night. There are images of the Aurora Borealis, moonglow, city lights, stars, and lightning storms. The yellow/greenish line you see above the earth (in the photos below) is Airglow.

Video "Time-lapse EARTH": Although all the time-lapse sequences were taken by the astronauts, and made available for public use, we owe this unique edited compilation to Bruce W. Berry. Berry took all the footage and color graded it, de-noised, de-flickered, slowed it down, and stabilized it into what you see on this video clip. The music for this video is "Manhatta", composed & performed by The Cinematic Orchestra. Here are other frames from this short (4:08) movie:

Preserving Your Starry Night Vision

2013-05-10T15:37:00.001-07:00

Red LED headlamps and flashlights help preserve your night vision while you find, compose, and photograph your astro-landscapes.

It can take 30 minutes or more for your night vision to return after using bright lights ~ © Royce Bair

Using red lights in your photo equipment set-up will help in your night vision recovery (self-portrait)

"White" LEDs

I have found it necessary in my 'NightScape' work to have a headlamp or flashlight that has both a powerful white light and a dimmer red light. They should have a strong white light that will help you find your way to the shooting location, and a red light for helping you set up your tripod and adjust your camera while your eyes re-adjust to the darkness. It can often take as much as 30 minutes for you to get your "night vision" and clearly see the Milky Way after having been exposed to bright lights, especially in the blue-cyan wavelengths—which are most common with today's LED lights.

Using a red light will help to not only help preserve your night vision, but shorten the recovery time once you turn off the bright white lights. It is also good etiquette to use a red light when in a group setting, such as a workshop. Recent studies have indicated that intensity is just as important as the color of the light, so having a low-intensity or dimmable red light is also important.

Too many choices?

Choosing the right headlamp: Headlamps have become increasing popular in the past few years with hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts because they allow for hands-free use. LED headlamps are much more efficient than earlier tungsten lamps. They produce more lumens, burn much longer on even smaller batteries, and have "lightbulbs" that almost never need replacing. A few years ago, there were only a handful of companies making headlamps. Now there are scores of brands, with many models from each. Finding the right headlamp for night photography use can be a little confusing. When you limit your choices only to those that also have a red light, the field narrows considerably. However, to make it even simpler, I'm going to review just two brands—one that is a leader in the field (Petzl), and the other is a general, consumer product (Energizer 7 LED), available almost anywhere.

Petzl is company that has lead the way in quality and innovations. This French company is a world leader in the design and manufacture of vertical sports equipment (i.e mountaineering, climbing, work-at-height, and rescue), and headlamps. In this review, I will concentrate on only three headlamps in their Universal Series. These units are available at REI, LL Bean, BackCountry.com, GearCoop.com and Amazon.com.

Also available in black

Petzl Tikka XP 2 Headlamp (about $55 at REI). A single high-output LED provides even, white lighting. Advanced optics optimize the reach of the beam to 68 meters. A red LED positioned to the side of the white LED lets you preserve your night vision. One push-button is used to toggle through lighting modes and two colors. The headlamp tilts to point the light where needed. Three white lighting modes: maximum (80 lumens @ 70 hours), economic (13 lumens @ 190 hours) and strobe. Two red lighting modes: maximum (unpublished lumens @ 100 hours) and strobe. You can choose between wide or focused beams with a flip-up Wide Angle diffuser lens. Battery charge indicator light comes on @ 50% remaining power. Uses 3 AAA alkaline batteries (included). You can also purchase the optional CORE system lithium rechargeable battery (about $28 at Amazon) or purchase the Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core Headlamp (about $72 at Amazon). The Petzl Accu lithium battery is rechargeable up to 300 times, making it equivalent to 900 AAA alkaline batteries (the lithium battery is also operational in extreme temperatures from -40° to 140°F). PROS: Powerful and efficient light/optics, with lots of advanced features and adaptability. Red LED is dim enough to preserve your night vision. CONS: Expensive. You must toggle through the lighting modes to get to the one (and color) you want, which could be somewhat blinding to yourself and annoying to others (although the Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core Headlamp does have a memory feature where the last color used remains in memory for the next use).

Also available in black

Petzl Tikka Plus 2 Headlamp (about $38 at Amazon). This headlamp is almost identical to the Tikka XP 2, except that it does NOT have the flip-up Wide Angle diffuser lens to change the beams between wide and focused; and it's power is slightly less: Advanced optics optimize the reach of the beam to 40m (vs. 68m for the XP 2). It's maximum white beam delivers 70 lumens vs. 80 lumens (@ 58 hours vs. 70 hours). It's economic mode delivers 10.5 lumens vs. 13 lumens (@ 185 hours vs. 190 hours). The red LED is still rated at 100 hours. You're going to save about $15 over the XP 2, but you'll lose a little power and efficiency; and the use of a wide Angle diffuser lens. Other than that, the pros and cons are still the same.

Also available in black

Petzel Tactikka Plus Headlamp (about $41 at Amazon). This headlamp uses an older, 4-LED design with 4 lighting modes (via a single button) and a red flip filter to change lighting color. Maximum light output is 35 lumens @ 100 hours, with a maximum beam reach of 32 meters. It has 3 other modes: Optimum (23m beam reach @ 120 hours), Economic (15m beam reach @ 150 hours) and strobe. Headlamp tilts to point light where needed. Uses 3 AAA alkaline batteries, which are included (it is not compatible with the CORE lithium system). PROS: The red polycarbonate flip filter allows quick change between white and red lighting, and therefore gives the red lighting all the economic modes and dimmable benefits! CONS: The low-tech design is not as powerful or as adaptable as the more advanced Tikka series, and it has only one beam pattern: wide. Despite this, it is a very durable product with run time specs that are high for its class.

20" spot circle @ 6 ft.

Energizer 7 LED Headlight (about $16 at Amazon). The Energizer pivots to aim light where needed. It uses seven LEDs and a push button switch to offer 4 light modes: spot (3 white LEDs with 21 hours of run time), flood (2 white LEDs with with 30 hours of run time), spot+flood (5 white LEDs with 16 hours of run time @ a maximum of 45 lumens), and red night vision (2 red LEDs with 30 hours of run time). The light patterns from these four modes are displayed here to the left (I took all photos from the same distance, with the same exposure, and white balance). It is powered by 3 AAA batteries (included). My measurements rate the two red LEDs at about 5 lumens, which is dim enough to protect your night vision. Note: Energizer may be in the process of updating this product, as some package specs have the white "area" (spot+flood) rated at 58 lumens, with a light beam reach of 30 meters, and a battery run time of 14 hours. PROS: You get quite a bit of power and options for your money, and the product is available almost everywhere sporting equipment and home improvement products are sold. If you are just an occasional night photographer, this would be my first choice. CONS: Like the Petzl Tikka models, you must toggle through the lighting modes to get to the red night vision mode. This requires you to shield your eyes, or the headlight from others standing near by as you click through all three white settings. I found the soft plastic lenses that cover the LEDs and focus the beams are easily scratched over time (if allowed to rattle around in your pocket or camera bag with hard objects) and can cloud and distort the beams. I'd suggest making a protective bag out of an old pair of socks (cut off the top part if the sock is too long). The plastic lenses also allow some stray light to glare into the eyes of people who are standing to the side of you (a little annoying at times for them).

Maximum Battery Life or Run Time: I think it's important to mention that these times are for total length of output, or until the battery is exhausted, and the LED fails to produce usable light. I typically will replace my alkaline batteries long before this time—usually halfway into the manufacturer's maximum number of run time hours. This is because alkaline batteries have a gradual decline in performance over time, and by the halfway mark I'm not getting enough light to satisfy my needs. For this reason, I always carry three extra AAA batteries in my camera bag. Petzl users who opt for the CORE system lithium rechargeable battery or who purchase the Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core will not experience the gradual decline in battery performance, as the lithium can be programmed (via the Petzl OS software) to run at peak output until the battery is exhausted—which is why I still carry the three extra alkaline batteries (as the Petzl Tikka series can switch back and forth from lithium to alkaline).

My Conclusion: I liked the Petzl Tikka XP 2 for its high-tech adaptability, its power, longevity, proper red LED output. However, most people don't want to pay this much for a headlamp unless they use it a lot. For those who are medium users, I would recommend the Petzel Tactikka Plus because it had the most control over the red night vision light (three different brightness settings and the most hassle-free way to change from white to red), and it still had decent white light power and longevity. It's biggest drawback for me was that it does not have a focused beam (spot) capability to reach out way ahead of me on the trails. However, for general use it is a great light. The Energizer 7 LED came in as a close second because of its many features and low price (the Energizer would be my first choice for the occasional night photographer).

How I work at Night: I use both a headlamp and a handheld flashlight. Because I like a lot of far-reaching power on my headlamp, with a long run time, and the ability to use lithium for cold winter photo shots, I use the Petzl Tikka XP 2 Core. As I near the end of a long hike, become comfortable with my surroundings, and start setting up my photo equipment, I switch to the red light. As I continue to make adjustments, or wait for weather conditions to change (especially when working around others), I sometimes will shut off the headlamp and switch to a low-power, handheld LED flashlight. Although it is not as convenient as a headlamp, a handheld flashlight offers more control.

My Red LED Flashlight: Smith & Wesson Galaxy 6 LED Flashlight (about $21 at Amazon) is a dual switch flashlight that utilizes two separate on-off push buttons, giving me a clear choice between the 3 White LED mode (12 lumens) and the 3 Red LED mode (5 lumens), without the confusion and safety hazards of a single switch mechanism. The shatterproof LED diodes last over 110,000 hours, and should never need replacing. The flashlight's length/diameter is 7"/1" and weighs 6 oz. with 2 AA batteries (included), providing a run time of 80 hours. The light is constructed of precision machined 6063 anodized aluminum, and includes a nylon holster. Some of my aviation associates had first brought this flashlight to my attention. They use the red light mode to check their maps while flying at night.

Australian Night Skies by Lincoln Harrison

2013-05-07T07:34:00.002-07:00

The Pinnacles, Phillip Island VIC ~ © Lincoln Harrison - "The best location I've ever seen."

Some purist have criticize Lincoln Harrison for being "too colorful", but he continues to do things his way. Making his starry night Australian landscapes look "accurate" is not as important to Lincoln as it is to make it "…look as good as it can." The popularity of his images would indicate that most agree with Lincoln's point of view.

Lincoln, 37, is a self-taught photographer from Bendigo, Australia. Prior to photography, he spent most of my spare time racing off-road motorcycles. He's only been doing photography for the past two and a half years, when he bought his first DSLR to take shots of some ebay items. Somewhere along the way Lincoln got hooked on landscape and night photography, star trails in particular. "I was working nightshift when I got my first camera, so on my days off there wouldn't be much daylight left by the time I got out of bed. There's not much else to photograph around here at night other than the stars."

Apart from getting a nice image to hang on his wall, Lincoln enjoys the process of taking the shots, and being at nice locations under a starry sky. "I try to come up with new ideas and techniques rather than keep churning out different versions of the same basic image."

"Forgotten" - Old barn, Mitiamo VIC ~ © Lincoln Harrison (click to see larger)

"I've done a lot of milky way shots but this was the first time under a very dark sky. I drove around all day looking for a suitable foreground. I gave up and started heading home, and then I saw this old barn."

"Noctis" - Lighthouse, Cape Schanck, VIC ~ © Lincoln Harrison (click to see larger)

"I tried to get this shot three or four times, but the seas were always too fierce to venture down to the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. I forgot to take my torch with me, and had to climb back up in the dark. I tumbled down the cliff a few times, [but] finally made it to the top after about 2 hours, covered in cuts and bruises."

Lincoln's biggest challenges come from the weather. "Quite often I'll drive for hours with clear skies the whole way, [and] ten minutes before I arrive at my location, the clouds roll in." On the 'Pinnacle' photo, he was very lucky with the conditions, but for every other time he's been there it has rained non-stop!

"Fusion" - Dead Tree, Ravenswood VIC ~ © Lincoln Harrison (click to see larger)

"This location is a ten minute drive from home. I shoot there a lot. I love that tree. This was a test shoot when I got the D800E. It ended up hanging on my wall 50 inches wide."

Lincoln's Cannot-Do-Without Equipment List:

Nikon D800E (Low Pass Filter w/Anti-Aliasing Removed)
Nikkor 14-24mm Lens (AF-S Zoom Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF)
Gitzo 3532s Tripod with a Manfrotto 405 Geared Head

Lincoln's Most Valuable Tools, Apps, and Software:

On his iPad, he plans his shots with: The Photographer's Ephermeris, Google Earth, Dark Sky, Tides AU, and OZ Weather.
On his PC, he does all his post processing with Adobe Photoshop CS6.

"Bib Bang" - Dead Tree, Ravenswood VIC ~ © Lincoln Harrison (click to see larger)

"I was doing some light painting tests at my favorite tree when I came up with this idea. Who says primes are better than zooms?"

More of Lincoln Harrison's work can be seen at his 500px page.

Milky Way from the bottom of the Grand Canyon

2013-05-01T07:44:00.002-07:00

Milky Way above the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon ~ © Royce Bair

Because the Grand Canyon walls are so high and narrow, there is only about a one-hour window where the bulge of the Milky Way can be seen during the night. This photo was taken two weeks ago, at about 4:30 in the morning. The stars were starting to fade from view, because it was only about 90 minutes from sunrise. A few minutes later, and I would not have been able to capture this scene. I used the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens on my Canon 5D Mark III because of it's ultra wide 114º angle of view, with minimal barrel distortion. This lens is well-corrected for coma aberration, so it is perfect for star photography (not to mention its under $400 price tag). The Mark III gives me one to two stops less noise than my older Mark II at the high ISO's needed for a "nightscape" like this (ISO 5000 • f/2.8 • 30 seconds).

In order to show the walls of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River by starlight, it is necessary to produced a second exposure (4X or 120 seconds) and combine it with the sky exposure.

Here's a panorama of my camera position, taken with my iPhone 4s, two hours later.

Sand in sleeping bag from night storm

Photographing the Milky Way from the bottom of the Grand Canyon was a dream fulfilled when Western River Expeditions asked me to photograph one of their 7-day trips down the Grand Canyon. Preparing for this trip took considerable planning since all equipment had to be protected from the sand and water using small plastic bags, dry bags, and Pelican cases. (Changing lenses during a sand storm is NOT a good idea.) All my batteries had to be recharged several times, so a portable power station had to be devised. Here is some of the key equipment I took on this trip.

Sale Alert! Bower 14mm f/2.8 Lens for $329

2013-04-26T09:01:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite lenses for starry night landscape photography is on sale at B&H (ending Tuesday, April 30, 2013)! This lens typically lists for $349 to $399, and is on sale for $329. This article that I wrote a couple of months ago will explain why I recommend this and two other lenses manufactured by Samyang Optics.

Bower 14mm f/2.8 Ultra Wide Angle Lens

(a.k.a. Samyang, Rokinon)

$329 thru April 30, 2013 @ B&H Photo Video

Bower 14mm f/2.8 Ultra Wide Angle Manual Focus Lens

The Bower lens is a branding of the Samyang (a.k.a "Rokinon") 14mm f/2.8 lens. All three lenses are made by Samyang and have the same specifications.

Concerns about optical quality: On the the B&H site, you'll read this information:

This bright lens provides an ultra wide 89° angle view in digital SLR cameras with APS-C size sensors and a 114° angle of view when used with full frame DSLRs* so you can capture sweeping vistas, dramatic architectural compositions and panoramas. Additionally, its minimum focusing distance of only 11" (0.28 m) will allow you to move in close on your subjects to achieve amazing perspectives. With a fast f/2.8 aperture photographers can create dynamic photographs that take full advantage of the characteristics of the lens.

* Note: Though this lens will cover the imaging sensor of a full-frame DSLR, it is better optimized for use with DSLRs containing smaller APS-C format sensors. As such you might notice softer focus and some light fall-off towards the edges of the frame when using a full-frame DSLR. If you do plan on using this lens with a full-frame DSLR we recommend you set the lens no wider (faster) than f/8 for optimum image quality.

Many night photographers have use this lens extensively on full-frame cameras. It is true that this lens suffers from some vignetting until stopped down to about f/5.6 or f/8, but this problem can easily be overcome with software in post production (my more expensive Canon lenses suffer similar vignetting problems). You can also overcome the slight softness on foreground landscape objects by shooting at smaller apertures and then stacking or layering those areas in post with your wide-open aperture exposure of the starry night sky. What you cannot do in post is fix the coma aberration problems that other, more expensive lenses exhibit. This lens has excellent correction for coma, even wide open at the f/2.8 aperture! My $800 Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens is a little sharper wide open than the Bower/Samyang/Rokinon 14mm lens, and it has a little less vignetting in the corners; however; this 14mm produces much sharper stars (points of light), especially in the corners than does my Canon 15mm. Overall, for "starry night landscape photography" this lens is best in its class, and I highly recommend it.

Yes, you can use it on cameras with smaller APS-C format sensors, and this will automatically eliminate most of the vignetting, but you'll also only get 89 degrees of view coverage vs. the 114 degrees of view coverage you'd get on a camera with a full-frame sensor.

< < This campfire photo (with moonglow and starry sky) was taken just last week with the Bower/Samyang/Rokinon 14mm lens (on a Canon 5D Mark III • f/2.8 • 8 seconds • ISO 3200). The people in the foreground are soft because they were moving during the 8-seconds exposure; however, the skyline and the stars are very sharp (click on image to enlarge).

Comparing Angle of View: Here's a quick comparison of the angle of view produced by the 24mm Bower/Samyang/Rokinon lens (84º), the Bower/Samyang/Rokinon 14mm lens (114º), and the Canon EF 15mm Fisheye lens (180º) — all on a full-frame sensor camera:

24mm, 14mm, and 15mm fisheye lens views (click to enlarge)

These were shot in my kitchen (my wife is upset that I didn't clean off the counters, first). All lenses views were aligned with the cupboard doors on the right side. You'll notice that the 14mm has considerable more coverage that the 24mm (30º more). Although the 15mm fisheye has more coverage, you get considerable barrel (curve) distortion as you get closer to the edges.

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Grand Canyon Night Photography - Part One

2013-04-23T21:24:00.001-07:00

River runners around campfire with moonglow & stars behind granite cliff in the Grand Canyon ~ © Royce Bair

I just recently returned from a 7-day assignment to photograph a Western River Expeditions trip down the Grand Canyon. Unlike John Wesley Powell's expeditions in 1869 and 1872, my mode of transportation into and out of the canyon (the plane ride and the helicopter air lift) was much easier.

My 127 lbs. in four cases

Hillers with 1,000 lbs.

1872 vs. 2013: This photo of John K. Hillers shows some of the photographic equipment necessary to record an expedition, such as Powell's Grand Canyon surveys in the 1870's. Those were the days before it was possible to make photographic enlargements from negatives. A large photograph could only be produced by a large camera. Additionally, the wet-plate process of taking and developing photographs was unwieldy—requiring Hillers to bring some 1,000 pounds of equipment on his trips.

Unlike Powell's photographer, John K. Hillers, I carried only 127 pounds (located in the three Pelican cases and one large dry bag there on the tarmac). Like the other 17 guests that went on this trip, I also carried about 25 pounds of personal gear. Still, my 152 pounds amounts to about six times more weight I had to lug around than the average guest—all of which had to be loaded and unloaded from the boat each day. Even so, Western River Expeditions makes the process so much easier than Powell and Hillers had it. It was more like a 7-day picnic that included a great boat ride!

KEY GEAR used on this expedition:

Canon EOS 5D Mark III (A great full-frame camera. It is excellent for low-light, high ISO stills & videos. I use an older, Mark II as a 2nd body, which acts as my time lapse camera when I'm shooting stills and video at the same time.)
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Zoom Lens (great all-around lens with constant f/2.8 aperture).
Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 (ultra wide lens with coma correction for my signature NightScape photography—I shoot this lens wide open).
Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 (This is a super fast, wide-angle lens with coma correction for starry night landscape photography. I shoot this lens wide open, which allows me to lower my ISO from a normal of ISO 6400 for Milky Way shots, down to ISO 1600!)
Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 3-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod (I use 2 of these light-weight tripods because I often have two cameras going at the same time—one for regular night photography and the other for time lapse. One tripod has just a ball head on it, and the other has a geared head for fine adjustments and doing panoramas.)
Manfrotto 496RC2 Compact Ball Head (see above for details).
Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head (used on 2nd tripod—see above).
Joby Gorillapod Focus/Ballhead X Bundle (This is a pro version that is capable of serious use in low positions and in all kinds of hard-to-get positions. It can be a real life saver, and it supports as much weight as my big Manfrotto tripods and heads.)
GoPro Hero3 Black Edition (a great sports camera with waterproof housing -- very sharp 12MP stills and HD 1080p video @ 30 fps or 60 fps, or HD 720p @ 120 fps for great slow motion).
Steadicam Smoothee Kit for GroPro Hero (enables smooth, handheld video with the GoPro and your iPhone 4, just like the Hollywood big boys).
Vagabond Portable Power station (I used this 120VAC portable power source, with 2 extra lithium batteries to recharge all my camera batteries, including my iPhone).
Pelican 1510 Carry On Case (I used 3 of these rugged, waterproof, and sand-proof cases. I think the 1510 has the best capacity for the money, and a single unit qualifies as the maximum size airline carry on, even with the wheels and handle. The 4th case I use on this trip was not a case, but a "dry bag" that stored my tripods.)

Last rays of sunlight on the canyon walls at one of my favorite beaches ~ © Royce Bair

This crescent-moon shaped sandy beach was my favorite campsite on our Western River Expeditions trip down the Grand Canyon. The rich orange and red granite cliffs along this portion of the Grand Canyon are amazing, and much different than the typical sandstone layers (sedimentary) that are higher on the canyon walls. Because of these harder igneous and metamorphic layers, the canyon walls are much steeper and sandy beaches like this one are much harder to find—making this site even more special.

The campfire scene (at the top) was photographed using a Canon 5D Mark III with 14mm Rokinon lens @ f/2.8, 8 seconds, with an ISO of 3200. The quarter moon was just about to rise above the granite cliff.

Please come back every few days and see how I photographed the Milky Way and other starry night skies in this amazing canyon. (BTW, I found out today that Western still has some openings in their July and August trip schedules!)

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Canon 6D is the Low Light Winner Over Nikon D600

2013-04-09T20:14:00.001-07:00

In high ISO video tests, the Nikon D600 was at least 2-stops behind the Canon 6D. © Michael Andrew

Early reviews were a disappointment to many Canon users: Both cameras are entry-level, full-frame sensor cameras in the $2,000 price range. When the Canon EOS 6D finally came out in December 2012, following the Nikon D600's flashy entry in September 2012, many Canon users were somewhat disappointed. The Canon has fewer mega pixels: 20MP verses the Nikon's 24MP. It has only 11 focusing squares verses the Nikon's 39. The Nikon has a built-in flash, and the Canon does not. The Canon shoots at 4.5 frames per second in burst mode compared to Nikon's 5.5 frames/second. The Nikon can do focus tracking in live view, but the Canon cannot. Nikon has a wireless transmitter and a headphone jack, and the Canon does not. The Nikon's shutter is duty-rated at 150K cycles, whereas the Canon is only rated at 100K cycles. The Canon does have a cool Wi-Fi tethering feature though, that the Nikon does not.

Specs on paper don't always translate to real world shooting experiences: Michael Andrew has recently produced a YouTube video that provides one of the best and most unbiased field reviews of these two cameras I have seen. It's called the, "Nikon D600 vs Canon 6D Epic Shootout Comparison". Michael concludes that the Nikon D600 is still a slightly better all-around full-frame camera than the Canon 6D, but not by as much as some had suspected.

At high ISOs, the Nikon D600 often exhibits excessive noise in the shadow areas. © Michael Andrew

Low Light Leader: What will surprise many is how much better the Canon 6D performs in low light over the Nikon D600. Michael concludes that "…the Canon 6D is outstanding in its low light focusing and its high ISO noise …the Canon 6D is at least 2-stops better than the Nikon D600 [in its handling of high ISO noise for video] …the Nikon D600 peaked out a little before ISO 3200, whereas the Canon looks pretty phenomenal even at ISO 12,800—and in some cases even ISO 25,600."

High ISO JPEGs and RAW images: In still photos, Michael concluded that, "...the Canon 6D is 1-2 stops better in reproducing high ISO images than the Nikon D600, depending on the subject and file type."

The Canon 6D's high ISO JPEG performance was about 1 to 2 stops better than the Nikon D600. © Michael Andrew

How does the Canon 6D compare to the Canon 5D Mark III? The observations of this editor indicate that for still photos, the Canon 6D and 5D Mark III sensors perform very similarly. The $1,500 savings between the two cameras should be quite attractive to the entry-level photographer looking to find a great full-frame camera for high ISO night photography.

However, Michael Andrew points out in his review that there is a reason the Mark III has a very good reputation for professional quality video. His test showed that the Mark III handled aliasing and moire much better than the other two cameras. In his conclusion, the Nikon D600 had the best dynamic range. It's weaknesses were high ISO noise, moire, and aliasing. The Canon 6D had the best quality in high ISO noise (almost identical to the Mark III). Its weaknesses were in aliasing and moire. The Canon 5D Mark III had the least aliasing and moire, and was similar to the 6D in good quality high ISO noise. Its weakness is its high price (about $3,500).

Michael Andrew (aka Michael the Maven) has great "Crash Course" training videos on many camera models at his popular blog.

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A Laser Strike at the Galactic Center

2013-04-05T07:45:00.003-07:00

A laser from the VLT site in Chile used to observe our Galaxy's center ~ © Yuri Beletsky

Why are these people shooting a powerful laser into the center of our Galaxy? Fortunately, this is not meant to be the first step in a Galactic war. Rather, astronomers at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) site in Chile are trying to measure the distortions of Earth's ever changing atmosphere. Constant imaging of high-altitude atoms excited by the laser -- which appear like an artificial star -- allow astronomers to instantly measure atmospheric blurring. This information is fed back to a VLT telescope mirror which is then slightly deformed to minimize this blurring. In this case, a VLT was observing our Galaxy's center, and so Earth's atmospheric blurring in that direction was needed. As for inter-galaxy warfare, when viewed from our Galaxy's center, no casualties are expected. In fact, the light from this powerful laser would combine with light from our Sun to together appear only as bright as a faint and distant star. (Click above image to see larger and on black.)

Our Photo of the Week (POTW) was taken by Yuri Beletsky, using a Canon 5D Mark II camera and a Canon 15mm/2.8 fisheye lens. The image is actually a panorama consisting of two stitched images. Exposure time for each panel was 30 seconds. The raw images were stitched using PtGui software, and further color processing was done in Photoshop CS5.

Yuri's biggest challenge was finding the proper shooting angle. "I've taken many images of the working laser guide star facility before, and this time I wanted something different. That night I was walking around the dome trying to find the right spot. At some point I approached the dome close enough that the laser beam, pointing directly in the direction of the Galactic center, was spanning far behind and over my head. The view angle was incredible and I realized that even a one shot with fisheye lens wouldn't be enough to cover it."

Because of the two-shot panoramic view, it looks like the laser strikes the Galactic center which appears to be at zenith. In reality, the Galactic center was setting over the ocean just behind the back of the photographer. One can also see another dome "hanging" in the upper left corner of the image.

A Lesson Learned: This image turned out to be unique in many aspects. Although Yuri had taken many images of the same laser at night, countless times before, this time the composition turned out to be very special. The lesson he learned is that one should never stop exploring new fresh ideas, even in the places which have become so familiar. The image has since been published in many magazines, books, posters, used by companies. The photo has also been an Astronomy Picture of the Day (NASA APOD), and it was selected as Picture of the Year (2010) by Wikimedia Commons.

Yuri Beletsky

Born in Belarus, Yuri now lives in Chile where he works as an astronomer at Las Campanas observatory of Carnegie Institution of Washington. Yuri has been an enthusiastic amateur stargazer since childhood. During his spare time at the observatory, Yuri likes take wide-field panoramic images of the Milky Way and other natural phenomena. Short snapshots deliver fascinating views of the surrounding landscape at dusk or dawn, while longer exposures produce breathtaking pictures of the starry sky. Images obtained by Yuri have been featured on popular websites, and in press releases, books and magazines. He continually shares his passions for astronomy and astrophotography with people around the world. You can see more of Yuri Beletsky's photography at his 500px website.

Best Air in the World: The dark skies above the Atacama Desert provide a unique opportunity to reveal the majesty of our cosmos. Las Campanas, which hosts two 6.5-m Magellan telescopes, is one of four large observatories located in Chile's Atacama desert, the driest place on Earth. The conditions are excellent for astronomy because of the exceptional quality of the atmosphere. Not only are there more than 300 clear nights per year here, but due to very low turbulence of the air, they can obtain very sharp images, which is impossible to get in other places. That is why Chile is often called as "astronomical paradise" or "astronomical capital" of the world.

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Night Photography Favorites on 500px

2013-04-02T07:28:00.004-07:00

A selection of my favorite night photographs on 500px.com (click to see more)

500px is my favorite website for finding great photography. It's elegant interface and simple format does a wonderful job in showcasing photography. Every week I search through the site to find the best night photos from other photographers—every type and style, but with emphasis on starry night landscapes. Here are my favorites. The collection grows every week, so come back often and get inspired.

Here are my own NightScapes on 500px.

Building your own portfolio on 500px. Photographers have many online choices to showcase their photographs. I use Flickr, 500px, Google+, and Facebook. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. If you are considering 500px, here's a review I did about 18 months ago that compares Flickr and 500px.

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Milky Way Photo Theft

2013-04-01T09:15:00.001-07:00

The Jackson Lake original on the left and the "Lake Titicaca" impostor on the right ~ © James Neeley 2010

When does Wyoming become Peru, or how does Jackson Lake become Lake Titicaca? James Neeley isn't sure, but "I hope some poor soul doesn't travel to Lake Titicaca and expect to see that view!" This was his recent comment after discovering the Internet theft and transformation of one of his Milky Way landscape photos. (The photo on the right is incorrectly labeled as "Milky Way over Lake Titicaca, Peru"—as are hundreds of other versions similar to it.)

The "original" original

James had originally taken this photo on July 16, 2010 at Jackson Lake, in Grand Teton National Park with his Nikon D3S and a 14mm lens. It's original title on his Flickr photostream was, "Onward and Upward". A few days later, he decided to go "... for an 'off world' look by orienting the image with the plane of the magnificent Milky Way galaxy rather than our humble planet..." He flipped the image on it's side and curved the horizon with the warp tool in Photoshop. He posted this new version on his Flickr photostream as "Children of the Stars".

Mr. Neeley figures someone must have swiped his image, rotated it, and retouched out the watermark. What was the purpose of the theft? James doesn't know, but the oldest version that your editor can find has a post date of January 17, 2012. If one does a Google search on the exact title of this page, "Milky Way over Lake Titicaca Peru", there are over 132,000 web pages with this phrase—and a random spot check shows that virtually all of them carry a version of James' stolen image! (A reverse Google Images search of the stolen image shows over 240 versions on the web.)

Why do they do it? Why do people post images on social media sites such as Pinterest, Google+, and Facebock that are not theirs? With many it seems to be a game to see who can get the most views, comments, and unearned accolades—even though this is a form of theft by deception.

What can be done? Although one can use copyright law to sue for damages, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to shut down the offending websites, this can be an arduous task, much like trying to find and recapture a bag of windblown feathers. In this case, the stolen versions are thousands of times more popular on the Internet than the original, and virtually all of them without credit or links to the real author. Even when source links are occasionally given, they usually lead to a another theft or more miss-information. All of this clutters the search engines and makes it harder for the original photographer and his photograph to be found. (In fact, if you do a reverse search now, using James' most original image, only the theft versions appear in all but last pages of the search results!)

Beating them to the punch: One of the sites on the Internet most responsible for the sharing and proliferation of images is Reddit. Many people find their images first on Reddit that they share on the social media sites. A stolen version of James' image was recently shared in the 'pics' section of Reddit and received over 2400 positive votes and over 360 comments.

An image exhibiting this kind of popularity might easily receive over 50,000 views and hundreds of re-shares. Internet-savvy photographers have learned to be the first to share their watermarked images on Reddit, linked to their own websites (i.e. their Flickr photostream), and flood the Internet with good links before the thieves do it with stolen versions that have dead-end links! (Other popular sections on Reddit for sharing night photography images are the SpacePorn and the ExposurePorn pages.)

Example: This Reddit post by your editor was responsible for many of the 40,000+ views and dozens of re-shares (with proper links) of this John Moulton Homestead photo.

More of James Neeley's photography can be found at his website, with additional links to his blogs, workshops, and Flickr photostream. (A review of James' night photography can also be found on this blog.)

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Hangout with Starry Night Landscape Photographers

2013-03-27T05:32:00.000-07:00

A Google+ Hangout w/8 "Starry Night Landscape Photographers" (click to see YouTube video)

Last night I hosted and moderated a Google+ video "Hangout" with seven other starry night landscape photographers. There was some great information shared during this hour-long broadcast, which was recorded and saved on YouTube. We discussed and reviewed 21 of our night photos. And because video quality can sometimes be lacking, you can also follow along with higher resolution views at this website.

Our eight "star" panelist were Ben Canales, Brad Goldpaint, David Kingham, Greg Gibbs, Jack Fusco, Mike Berenson, Mitchell Prout, and myself, Royce Bair.

Learning curve: There are some production errors in my first attempt at hosting this many people—such as not moving the "camera" screen to the person who is talking (I eventually get better, so bear with me). In future broadcasts, I may bring in a full time producer, so I can concentrate on hosting my guests.

Behind the scenes: After we ended the broadcast, we all stayed online for another hour, talking, sharing stories, information, and experiences (too bad this wasn't recorded, as these off-the-record chats were the best part of the evening).

In future hangouts: I plan to do some one-on-one interviews and bring in more public discussion and interaction. Your suggestions would help me plan these future events.

Links mentioned in the broadcast. Here are some of the items mentioned in last night's hangout:

International Dark Sky Association
RegiStar by Auriga Imaging (Mike uses for stacking sky exposures)
Rigel Systems Starlite 2-RED LED Flashlight (preserving your night vision)
...Starlite Mini 2-RED LED Flashlight
Brinkmann MaxFire Marine Dual Xenon Spotlight (used by David and Mike)

Night photography forums and tutorials:
...via Mike Berenson
...via David Kingham
...via this blog (there are dozens of tutorials and how-to articles here)

Night photography workshops:
...by David Kingham
...by Mike Berenson
...by Brad Goldpaint
...by Royce Bair

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The Twilight / Moon Photography of Jim Crotty

2013-03-21T15:12:00.001-07:00

"November Moon" - Hocking Hills, Ohio ~ © Jim Crotty (click for a larger view)

This image is a double exposure, combining the Moon captured with the 500mm, and the foreground captured with a 70-200mm (however, Jim never places the Moon away from its original location in the scene). This photo was captured on a Thanksgiving evening at one of his favorite locations for landscape photography, Hocking Hills State Park in Southeastern Ohio. This particular hill was behind The Inn at Cedar Falls, where Jim now returns twice each year to teach weekend workshops. For Jim, this image captures the spirit of the area of Hocking Hills. "There is something deeply personal for me as an artist that I connect with in this place. Perhaps it's because Hocking Hills is where I first discovered my love for nature photography when I was about 13 years old."

"It's all about the light," says Jim Crotty. "I'm really more of a twilight/pre-dawn type of photographer... Although I admire the work of deep and dark sky photographers, I tend to limit myself to lunar, particularly when I can include a landscape as foreground."

Philosophically Speaking: Jim likes the challenges of night and lunar photography. "Obtaining detail and proper exposure for night sky subjects isn't exactly something anyone can do simply by picking up a point-n-shoot camera and putting it on auto. It takes skill and experience. When everything comes together it can be extremely rewarding. Nightfall and dawn are those in-between spaces where capturing images is part art and part spiritual journey. The Moon and moonlight has a way of speaking to the poet that resides in all of us. Night sky subjects reveal the enormity and wonder of the universe, in space and within us."

"The Rising" - Dawn and crescent moon from Dayton, Ohio ~ © Jim Crotty (click for a larger view)

This photo was captured at dawn from behind Jim's home, which at that time was in Centerville, Ohio, just south of Dayton. This is a double exposure; the foreground captured with a Canon 70-200mm f4 L IS lens and the Moon with a 300mm f4 L IS and 1.4 teleconverter. Most of Jim's Moon images are captured just after sunset but this is one of the few taken just before sunrise. The clarity of that morning provided an amazing hue to the pre-dawn sky. "I [am] frequently up early to photograph sunrise scenes, especially during summer. It [is] in the quietness of those moments when I truly [feel] at peace."

The Challenges: Light pollution. Jim is often amazed at how much of an impact a few street lights can have on clarity in the sky. Finding a good evening location to shoot from can also be challenging from the standpoint of not being interrupted, and of safety. The public access points to the beach on Hilton Head (South Carolina) are not as safe as daytime (when you are carrying expensive photographic equipment), which is a shame, because the darkest sky is found over the ocean.

Bugs and sand. Just after sunset and right before sunrise the bugs can be horrible too, especially in sub-tropical coastal areas like Hilton Head. He has been eaten-up pretty bad by sand fleas. Shooting on the beach can also be very rough on gear. Jim has already had a Canon 28-70mm f2.8 L lens trashed due to sand.

"Moonflowers" - Sunflower field and August Moonrise in Greene County, Ohio ~ © Jim Crotty

This single exposure image was completely unplanned. "I had captured a series of images on the other side of the road, ...with the sun setting behind the sunflowers," says Jim. "As I was putting my gear back in my truck, I looked to the other side and there was the August full Moon rising. With the light of dusk still falling on the flowers I was able to capture several exposures before the Moon rose too high and the last light of dusk was gone."

Favorite equipment: His tripod and the Kirk ballhead Jim purchased over 12 years ago. The ballhead still works like new—it is one of the best gear investments he has made, next to camera bodies and lenses. It has outlasted two tripods! His favorite lens for Moon photography is his Canon 500mm f4.5 telephoto, although it's a heavy piece of glass. Jim bought it used about eight years ago, and it's been flawless.

Software: Jim relies on the Sun n Moon iPad app for helping to plan his shots. For initial post editing and file management, he uses Aperture. He's also a big fan of the Nik plug-ins, particularly, Color Efex 4 and Viveza 2.

"On the Tides of Easter" - full Moon rising over Hilton Head Island, South Carolina ~ © Jim Crotty

Both the Moon and the foreground of this image were captured using a Canon 1D Mark III camera. The foreground was captured with a Canon 70-200mm EF L lens at 70mm, RAW capture, aperture priority mode, one stop under exposed at 2000 ISO f/5.6, 0.5 seconds. The Moon was captured with a Canon 500mm f4.5 EF L lens at ISO 800, f/4.5, 1/50 second, aperture priority mode, -3.0 EV. The Moon and foreground images were combined in post.

The images were captured at high tide on the evening of Good Friday, April 6, 2012. This photo works because the waves were at high tide. "It's an entirely different dynamic than low tide," says Jim. "There is something so magical about a moonrise over the ocean. It's mystical and primordial at the same time. Although I try not to make it obvious, there is always a subtle nod to my own spirituality and reverence for God's creation in my images. Where I am at now with my photography is in large part a spiritual journey, which became more prevalent in all that I do following a few life changing events, including divorce in 2008 and then a heart attack in 2010. There is a deep desire within me to share my photography as proof of a divine connection between artist and subject and audience. I'm convinced that with nature's beauty we are provided signs and hints of something so much more than what is immediately before us. The photographer can serve as witness in helping others to stop and take notice."

Early History: "Astrophotography was the door that opened the world of photography for me at a very young age," says Jim. "I loved astronomy growing up in Ohio. I had telescopes early on and was always out observing. I think my first scope was a four and half inch reflector, when I was about 10 or 11, back in the 70's."

It was also about that time that Jim started exploring nature subjects with a Pentax Spotmatic F 35mm SLR camera. For him, there was nothing more exciting than shooting time exposures of the night sky on Kodak Tri-X black and white film and then developing and making prints in his darkroom. He is very thankful for the adult mentors back then who helped him learn and encouraged his interest in both astronomy and photography. Jim tries his best to "play it forward" when he teaches young photographers in his workshops.

Jim Crotty

Currently: Jim teaches photography workshops, provides commercial photography services and sells fine art prints of his award-winning work with nature and landscape subjects. His images have been published in Nature's Best, National Wildlife, Smithsonian, USAToday, and most recently, the Professional Photographer Magazine. In 2009 he earned the professional designation of Certified Professional Photographer through the Professional Photographers of America. Today he works from a home office and studio located in Frisco, Texas having recently relocated from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

More of Jim's work can be found at his website: Fine Art Photography and Photography Services by Jim Crotty, and at his Facebook page.

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POTW: "The Coyote Calls" by Ted Gore

2013-03-18T07:41:00.001-07:00

"The Coyote Calls" - Alabama Hills, California Eastern Sierra ~ © Ted Gore (click for a larger view)

"I was shooting this and heard... THIS!" says Ted. "...Scared the bajeezus outta me!

Our Photo of the Week (POTW) was taken by Ted Gore in the Alabama Hills of California's Eastern Sierra. This was taken just around 4:00 AM to catch the rising of the Milky Way just above the rocky mounds. It's this time of year when one can catch the summer constellations low on the horizon, in the early morning. Ted had also planned to be able to catch the rising moon as well. The sunrise came from the same direction, about an hour after that.

"It was quite the party!" says Ted. If you look closely, the moon is actually a crescent moon, but in clear, less light polluted skies, the dark side reflects it's share of light as well. A little bit of glow on the horizon is a combination of the town of Lone Pine, the moon and the soon to rise sun.

Ted photographed this with a Nikon D600 and a 17mm lens. He took three shots, which were blended together in post: one for sky @ ISO 5000, f/2.8, 20 seconds; a second, longer exposure for the foreground; and a third, shorter exposure for the moon, so it wasn't a bright blobby mess.

Ted Gore lives and works in Los Angeles, California as a motion graphic designer, which pays his bills and funds his passion of landscape photography. He takes a slight artistic and fanciful approach to his images, as he likes to present the image in a way that evokes the grandeur and beauty of the moment. More of Ted's work can be seen at his 500px and Facebook pages.

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Stargazing the winter night sky

2013-03-11T05:51:00.000-07:00

"Stargazer" - photographed near The Watchman mountain, Zion National Park ~ © Royce Bair

As we approach Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the brightest portions of the Milk Way, the central bulge, disappear below the horizon for several months (and appear in the Southern Hemisphere). However, other stars take their place on the night stage, i.e. Sirus, the brightest star in the sky, and the Orion Constellation — arising only in the winter months.

At the top of this photo is the planet Jupiter. Between the man's legs (my son, Chris) is Sirus. Above his outstretched arms is the Orion Constellation, the Hunter of Greek Mythology, known mostly as the domain of the reddish star Betelgeuse (the star above his left hand, pronounced "beetlejuice") and Orion's Belt: Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, the three blue stars arcing upward (above his head). The three stars between his head and right hand are the hunter's sword, the center not actually being a star, but it is the Orion Nebula—the closest star formation to the earth, with a mass that is 2,000 greater than our Sun. And, the star above his right hand is Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation. The cloud of stars to his left is part of the Milky Way.

Technical info: Photographed with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III, using a Canon EF24mm f/1.4L II lens @ f/2.5 • 13 seconds • ISO 6400.

Help from light pollution: Some have asked, "How are the peaks illuminated behind the man?" There is a valley between the hill my son is standing on and the mountain behind him. In that valley is the small town of Springdale, Utah. The light pollution from the town (mainly, from the orange-ish sodium vapor street lamps) is illuminating the peaks. Because it is such a small town, its light pollution does not over power the stars. Here is another photo, taken from virtually the location. It was taken with a fisheye lens and captured in May, when the Milky Way is higher in the sky, and the earth is at a different seasonal orbit and angle:

By August, the Milky Way will be in a near vertical position, and further to the right (south). About one-half of the central bulge will also have disappeared below the horizon.

Royce Bair is the editor of this blog and the photographer of the above images. Here is my gallery of NightScape images. My schedule of workshops, tutorials, and other events is available here.

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Stevenstone Library at Night by Roger Moffatt

2013-03-06T05:55:00.001-08:00

Our Photo of the Week (POTW) was taken by British photographer, Roger Moffatt. Roger used a Nikon D90 and a 10.5mm fisheye lens. This photo is make from two images joined together. His exposure time was 47 seconds for the top image and 54 seconds for the bottom. Both were at ISO 800 and f/2.8. The building was painted briefly by a torchlight (Lenser T7 tactical).

Roger Moffatt

Yes, there was light pollution. This photo flies against an argument I often hear: "I can't do 'starscapes' in my area because of all the light pollution." While that is somewhat true, there is usually some distant corner of of your countryside that is less populated with people and lights. Roger found that in this corner of England. (England's population density of 395/km2 [1,023/sq mi] is about 12 times greater than the United States, and 30 times greater than my home state of Utah!)

Astronomers turn away now! Roger did not originally intend to join the two images together, and he admits that they technically don't match due to the fisheye distortion. He had to do a lot of post work to pull them together. Even though the disparities become more obvious the longer one looks at it, he likes the final artistic impact, and so do I.

Step-by-step post process: On Roger's blog, he shares how he exposed, processed and combined the two photos to make this final image.

More about Roger: You can learn more about Roger Moffatt at his website, and see more of his photography on his Flickr photostream. Roger is also the creator of The Golden Hour Calculator (used to find the "Magic Hour" for photography at any given location).

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New See-in-the-Dark Camera

2013-03-05T07:18:00.002-08:00

Yesterday, Canon announced in a news release that it had developed a prototype sensor and camera that records video in very low light—almost total darkness. The 16:9 aspect ratio CMOS sensor allows the HD video camera to focus with as little as 0.03 lux of illumination!

The pixels in this new video-only, 35mm CMOS sensor are about 7.5 times larger than in the already light-sensitive DSLRs like the EOS-1D X and the Canon 5D Mark III. The prototype is so sensitive it can record faint stars in the Milky Way and a live Geminid meteor shower.

A starry night sky with current CCD technology (on left) compared to new HD (16:9) CMOS sensor (on right).

Currently, this high-sensitive imaging technology has only been announced for video use. Canon has not revealed when it might ship a video camera with this new imaging technology, but it's planning to show the sensor at a security expo in Japan, starting today. According to a statement in the video demonstration (linked below), this technology is likely to carry over to other imaging sensors, such as those used in high-end DSLR cameras.

Video Demo: Here is an English version of Canon's official news release, and a video demonstration of the new camera's amazing sensitivity.

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Painting with Light by Tim Cooper

2013-03-01T06:54:00.000-08:00

A light painting tutorial by Tim Cooper (reprinted by permission):

I first learned about painting with light over 20 years ago in one of my early photo classes. Surprisingly, not much has changed since this time. A fascinating mix of painting and photography, illuminating your subject with a flashlight is an extraordinary amount of fun.

The glowing results of Light Painting might suggest a complicated and time consuming process, but with a few hints and little practice, you will be making masterpieces in no time! Due to modern digital cameras, this type of photography is easier than ever.

By definition, Light Painting is the process of photographing at night while illuminating your subject with a handheld device such as a flashlight or camera flash. The use of a moving hand held light creates a look that is nearly impossible to replicate during daylight hours.

You can also mix in the ambient light of the scene for a more layered affect. Your scenes can be partially lit by moonlight, street lights, house lights or entirely lit by your own flashlight! You can use different flashlights for a slight change in color or place colored gels over them for striking changes. Rotating the front bezel of your flashlight spreads or focuses the beam light creating a variety looks to your image. The possibilities are endless!

Unlike many forms of photography, there are very few hard and fast rules that apply to this discipline. Proper exposure is largely based on a trial and error approach. Subject reflectivity, ambient light, flashlight power and distance from flashlight to the subject all influence the resulting exposure.

Begin by taking some test exposures. In many cases, the longest shutter of 30 seconds on your camera will not provide enough time to paint. This means you will need a camera that goes to a shutter speed of “B”, which stands for bulb. To use the B setting you must have a cable release with a lock. Plug in your cable release, set your camera to B and press and lock the cable release. The shutter will now stay open until you unlock the cable release. Exposures can range from 1 second to hours. Typically most cameras will start to exhibit too much noise after the 3 minute mark, however.

I usually start with my aperture at about f8. This is typically the sharpest part of any lens and also allows more time to paint. Keep your ISO at a lower setting such as 100, 200 or 400.

If the scene is completely dark with no ambient light, then only your flash light will illuminate the scene. In cases like this, you can leave your shutter open for a very long time. 1 minute, two minutes or even three minutes.

If you are mixing ambient light, such as the full moon or street lights, you shutter time may anywhere from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes. My recommendation here is to take some test shots with out painting. Get your ambient light to a brightness that doesn’t overwhelm your scene. Perhaps something a little darker than you might normally use. Set your shutter speed for this exposure and then begin to experiment with different amounts of light painting.

10 Helpful Hints:

Wear dark clothes so as you walk through the scene you will appear invisible to the camera
Keep your body in between the flashlight and camera to alleviate recording the flashlight in the scene.
Don’t keep your body in between what you are painting and the camera. This will negate the painting.
Paint your subjects from the side rather than from the camera. Painting directly from the camera will flatten out the scene while painting from the side adds texture.
Spend more time painting the areas you want to highlight.
Use a broad beam for illuminating a general area, a focused beam to highlight.
Use the cardboard core of a paper towel roll over the front of your flashlight to achieve a very narrow beam.
Move the position of the flashlight to create a softer light. Try to refrain from painting from one position.
Before going out to make masterpieces, test your camera at home. Set up your camera in your home at night and make a series of exposures at 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes and 4 minutes. Check your images out on your computer and see where the noise starts to become a problem. Most cameras will look OK up to the 2 or 3 minute mark.
The hotter it is, the more noise you will see over long exposures. Below 60 degrees is optimal!
Practice, experiment and have fun!

About Tim Cooper: For more tutorials, workshops, and learning go to Tim Cooper's website. I also suggest you join Tim's Photo Circle for future updates on equipment reviews, tips, and training videos.

Editor's Note: Items #4, 7, and 8 are important "advanced" techniques that can really separate your work from the crowd. Similar techniques are used in the light painted foregrounds of my NightScapes. When working with starscapes, that require the stars to remain as points of light, your period of light painting time will be limited to 30 seconds or less. (This time can be extended by taking two exposures, a shorter one for the sky, and a longer one for the light painted foreground, then combining the two in post production.)

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POTW: 'Silhouettes of the Pinnacles' by Howard Elton

2013-02-25T17:00:00.001-08:00

Howard Elton

Our Photo of the Week (POTW) was taken by Australian photographer, Howard Elton. Howard used a Nikon D800 with a 14-24mm lens. His exposure was for 20 seconds @ F/2.8, ISO 5000. The Large and Small Magellanic cloud galaxies on the right, and the glow from a town in the distance add more interest to this amazing photo.

Mr. Elton currently lives in Perth, where he works as an IT professional, and hones his amateur photography skills on evenings and weekends.

More of Howard Elton's photography can be seen at his Flickr photostream.

The Pinnacles were lit with two Nikon SB-900 Strobes. Both strobes were on stands. The one on the right was on a tall stand with a focused beam. The one on the left was on a shorter stand with a wide beam at half the power of the other. Both were remotely triggered via Nikon CLS. "It was still 30 degrees Celcius (86F) at midnight and the sky was clear. Beautiful place and wonderful weather," says Howard.

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Hot Weekly Photo Deals

2013-02-24T14:33:00.000-08:00

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PRICE TIP: Adding an item to the CART can often lower the price (as dealers are sometimes restricted from showing the discounted price in their ads).

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Internal Antenna: Compact, more rugged design.
Auto-Relay Mode: Trigger remote camera & flashes simultaneously.
Transmit Only Mode: Positive operation in large groups.
Side View Design: Better subject view on camera.
PocketWizard reliability: PocketWizard compatibility.

Canon has redesigned their Lens Caps to Center Pinch!
52mm are $9.95 each. 58mm, 67mm, and 72mm are $10 each. 77mm and 82mm are $15 each. Order Now.

Overcoming Coma Aberration - Part 2

2013-02-21T09:49:00.000-08:00

Stars and coma: Capturing stars as points of light is a challenge in optical design. Without the addition of special aspherical elements, stars and other points of light are often reproduced with great distortion, particularly near the edges of a photograph. This lens aberration is called coma. Stopping down the lens to a smaller aperture can overcome some of this distortion, but not all of it. Surprisingly, very few general photography lenses come with coma correction!

Canon 24mm f/1.4L II lens

A disappointing experience: Since the typical photographer rarely photographs subjects that require coma correction, most general photography lenses do not incorporate aspherical elements in their lens designs. For this reason, I was quite surprised when I spent $1,800 in 2011 for one of Canon's best 24mm lenses, only to be extremely disappointed with it's wide-open performance when photographing stars (the lens works great for everything else).

The Canon 24mm f/1.4L II lens seemed like the perfect answer for my star photography. All the reviews I read said that it performed well, even wide open, with only moderate vignetting (which is important when you want to stitch several images together into a panorama). By being able to shoot at f/1.4, I could lower my ISO and greatly reduce the noise I had been getting in my starry night skies.

None of the reviews mentioned the problem of coma. To my horror, I noticed stars in my photographs that were shaped more like white doves in flight! Returning to the Canon dealer in distress, I was told the only solution was to stop down my new 24mm lens. (Note: Not all aspherical lens designs are created equal. This expensive Canon lens has two high-precision aspherical elements, and 2-UD elements, but exhibits much more coma than another prime lens costing about one-third the price!)

Canon 24mm @ f/1.4: enlarged area near the edge shows stars with severe coma distortion.

My tests soon revealed that at f/2.8 most of the coma did indeed go away, but I was now back to using the same aperture as my other less expensive lenses! It seemed like there was no way to avoid coma without shooting at f/2.8 or using an even smaller aperture. This meant using higher ISO's to prevent longer exposures, which produce star movement or trails.

Aspherical elements in Samyang Optics 24mm f/1.4

Samyang Optics to the rescue: Canon and Nikon have chosen to make only a few prime lenses with aspherical elements that control coma. Over the past year I have discovered there is a manufacturer that does make fast prime lenses with aspherical elements, and at inexpensive prices: The South Korean optical company, Samyang Optics. Samyang produces three wide-aperture aspherical lenses under a variety of brand names (Rokinon, Bower, Samyang, and ProOptic). These lenses are often one-half to one-fourth the price of Canon and Nikon lenses with similar focal lengths and maximum apertures specifications. The Samyang / Rokinon / Bower lenses that I recommend for starscape photography are the 14mm Ultra Wide-Angle f/2.8 IF ED UMC, the 24mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC Wide-Angle, and the 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UM. All three have the largest apertures in their class, and all three have aspherical elements.

The 24mm lens also includes ED elements that are usually reserved for more expensive lenses. (ED means extra-low dispersion, referring to a type of glass that disperses light less than ordinary glass. Dispersion is the breaking up light into its original colors. Because dispersion can cause chromatic aberration, ED glass elements help reduce purple fringing and other chromatic aberrations.)

Aspherical lenses by Samyang Opics: 14mm f/2.8 - 24mm f/1.4 - 35mm f/1.4

Manual everything reduces their cost: What makes the Samyang lenses so inexpensive is that they lack all of the automatic features we've come to rely on, i.e. auto focus and electronic coupling with our digital cameras. However, none of these features matter much to an astro-landscape photographer. Auto focus does not work on a night sky, so we must resort to manual focus, anyway. Lack of auto aperture (where the camera stops down the lens' aperture to the preset aperture value) is of little concern when you plan to use the lens wide open.

Recommendations and Reviews: Several of my night photography friends have purchased these lenses and recommend them. For example, Masahiro Miyasaka (Astrononomy Photographer of the Year 2012) uses the 14mm; Mike Berenson uses the 24mm; and David Kingham uses the 35mm for awesome panoramas. I have purchased the 24mm, and plan to purchase the other two lenses. The 14mm (116º angle view) will be my next purchase, to compliment the 15mm Canon Fisheye (180º angle coverage) that I have now.

The Samyang / Rokinon / Bower 14mm has a little more barrel distortion than than the $1700 Nikon 14mm f/2.8D ED, and more barrel distortion than the $2400 Canon EF 14mm f/2.8 L II USM. Both the Canon and the Nikon are excellent choices for architectural photography, where it is important to maintain straight lines, but you're probably not going to notice this too much on landscapes and starscapes. Here is a Digital-Picture review on the Samyang 14mm.

The Samyang / Rokinon / Bower 24mm is my favorite lens because of its 84º angle of view, its fast, f/1.4 aperture, and its excellent correction for coma and fringe color. For starscapes, I would actually prefer the wider coverage of the 14mm, but its slower f/2.8 aperture gives overall preference to the 24mm. A Flickr contact of mine, Rick Whitacre, did this coma comparison between the Canon 24mm f/1.4 and the Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 (here's a 260% larger view). Rick did other tests on sharpness, brightness, and vignetting starting here (click image to view all sizes). Nikon users will want to see this LensTip coma comparison between the Nikon Nikkor AF-S 24 mm f/1.4G ED and the Samyang 24mm. Here's a Digital-Picture review on the Samyang 24mm.

The Samyang / Rokinon / Bower 35mm is my least desirable starscape lens because of its 63º angle of view. However, because it has a less distorted view (closer to that of a normal lens) than most wider angle lenses, it is preferred by many photographers for panoramas, where several vertical images are stitched together (like this one by David Kingham). Here's a Digital-Picture review on the Samyang 35mm.

NOTE: All of these lenses are designed for full-frame camera sensors (i.e. a Nikon FX). They can be used on a Nikon DX camera or a Canon camera with an APS-C size sensor, but the angles of view are less. The angle of view with the 14mm becomes 94º using the Nikon APS-C sensor, and 90º using the Canon APS-C sensor. The angle of view with the 24mm becomes 62º using the Nikon APS-C sensor, and 58º using the Canon APS-C sensor. The angle of view with the 35mm becomes 43º using the Nikon APS-C sensor, and 41º using the Canon APS-C sensor.

Pricing and ordering: (the links are to B&H, which often has lower than list pricing)
Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 Nikon mount - Canon mount - Sony mount ~ List: $399.00
Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 Nikon mount - Canon mount - Sony mount ~ List: $699.00
Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Nikon mount - Canon mount - Sony mount ~ List: $499.00
(Disclosure: using these links will give me a 2% referral commission. Thanks for your support!)

SALE on Bower 24mm f/1.4 (ends on March 5, 2013): B&H is giving a $200 discount on the Bower branding of this Samyang lens (only in the Nikon and Canon mounts):

Bower* 24mm f/1.4 Nikon mount - Canon mount ~ SALE price: $499.00 (instead of normal $699)

*Remember, this is the same Samyang Optics lens as the Rokinon, just with the "Bower" branding name. I was a little concerned though when I read the descriptions on the B&H website and could not find mention of "Aspherical Lenses" for the Bower brand, even though all the other specifications were the same. To be sure, I went to the Bower website and confirmed that the lens design was the same 12 group/13 element construction, with aspherical elements. The specifications are exactly the same as the Rokinon lens brand, except that with the Bower branding, you also get a carry case.

Royce Bair is the editor of this blog and the photographer of the above images. Here is my gallery of NightScape images. My schedule of workshops, tutorials, and other events is available here.

Here is my first article on Overcoming Coma.

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View of the Milky Way with Your Naked Eye

2013-02-15T08:42:00.002-08:00

Simulated naked eye view

Histogram of a "naked eye" exposure

What the eye sees vs. what the camera sees. When people see my NightScapes for the first time the most common question is, "Is that what the Milky Way really looks like with your naked eye? Can you really see that many stars in the night sky?" The answer is, "Yes and no." You really can see it quite clearly with your naked eye (if you are in an area with very little light pollution), it's just not as bright as I can see with my camera.

The reason is because my camera is manually controlled to take the images at a longer exposure (typically 8 to 30 seconds, depending on the lens I'm using), so it gathers more light for its sensor than my eyes can. Also, the human eye has an iris aperture that is rated at about f/4.0, whereas my typical night photography lens is rated at f/2.8 or wider (letting in twice as much light to the sensor).

Histogram of raw camera exposure

Raw camera exposure

Above, is a simulated view of what my eye saw of the Milky Way over The Watchman in Zion National Park — this is about two stops darker than what my camera recorded (to the right), using an f/2.8 aperture setting, an exposure time of 15 seconds, and an ISO of 6400 or 8000. (Notice that the "toe" of the exposure histogram is just passing the midway point, whereas the toe of the simulated "naked eye" exposure histogram doesn't even come close to the midway point. This exposure is two stops less than what it should be —post production corrections can correct a 1-stop underexposure, but not a 2-stop underexposure. This means that if you only have an f/3.5 or f/4.0 lens; or your camera only goes to ISO 3200, you're still going to get an acceptable exposure, that's within the range of post production correction —provided you shoot in the camera "raw" mode, which typically has 16-bits of information, rather than the camera JPEG mode which carries only 8-bits of information per color channel. Here's a tutorial I created on the benefits of 16-bits raw images vs. 8-bits images.)

Post Production: The raw camera image has all the brightness and detail needed for a great photo, but it is flat or lacking in contrast. My final NightScape images are created in post production with very simple steps in Photoshop. All the stars are there in the camera's raw image, but a contrast gain in the sky is necessary to make them more apparent. My goal is give the same clarity you expect to see in an astronomical observatory (taken with a huge telescope) image, but with a wide-field view, coupled with an interesting landscape feature in the foreground — something the big telescopes cannot do!

After adding curve adj.

"S" shaped adjustment curve

The powerful "S" Curve. Here's the main Photoshop post production step I use to increase the contrast in the sky: I first select the sky, using the Magic Wand tool (I usually have to do a little Laso tool work to get all the bright stars into the selection). I then create a channel of the selection that I can use later. The second and main step is to turn that saved selection into a "Curves" Adjustment Layer that I can add a contrast-increasing "S" shaped adjustment curve. (The shape of this curve is controlled by the two anchor points so that the curve pinches or brightens the large highlight area to the right of the histogram "mountain", and darkens the shadow area to its left.) The more vertical the line becomes between the two anchor points, the more your contrast gain.

After color changes

Slight color changes via Curves

Color Balance. Every evening sky has a difference color to it, depending on the atmospheric conditions for that night. I shoot in the "AVG" (average) color balance mode, which produces somewhat of a neutral coloration to the sky. Some photographers will use a daylight WB (white balance). Others will use the "Tungsten" setting for a deep blue look. Some will play with the color balance in Photoshop's RAW Converter (changing the Kelvin color temperature). I prefer leave the AVG WB close to neutral (usually around 4500º Kelvin) and do minor color changes in Photoshops Curves.

In the adjustment curve, you'll notice that I've also change the color slightly in the red, green, and blue channels (represented by the three diagonal colored lines). I've added a bit more blue than the other colors (mainly in the shadow areas). Be careful to not over do this — as a little color goes a long way. The final coloration depends on what you remember seeing in the sky that night.

Adjusting the landscape. The final step is to use the same saved sky selection (channel) and inverse it so that it is now selecting the mountains, instead of the sky. Once this is done, another Adjustment Layer (you can use "Levels", or "Curves", but Curves is more powerful) is created from that selection in order to change the color of the sodium vapor lights (coming about a mile away from Springdale city) —so that The Watchman mountain is a more pleasing "red rock" sandstone color.

Histogram after all adjustments

Extended tonal range. The purpose of all these adjustments is to not only increase the contrast of the sky, but to extend the tonal range of the final image. Compare the histogram on the right to the histogram of the raw camera exposure, above. Note: In the final, top image I added just a little "vibrance" to the image. Color vibrance (Image > Adjustments > Vibrance...) is often a better way to add a little pizazz to your images than using the Hue / Saturation adjustment).

Compare: You can use this slideshow viewer to enlarge and quickly compare the differences between the "naked eye" simulation, the "raw camera exposure", the "curve adjustment", and the final image with all the post adjustments.

More of my lectures, online video tutorials, and workshops can be found on my event / Meetup site.

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TOTW: Theatrical Gels or Filters for Night Photography

2013-02-07T07:30:00.003-08:00

Our Tool(s) of the Week (TOTW) are the gels or filters used for color lighting effects in theatrical stage productions. In the above photo, the ovens were lit on the outside by a single Coleman-type camp lantern placed 210 feet (64 m) to the right of these 136-year old stone structures. Filtered, LED lights* were also placed in each of the six ovens to simulate a functioning, 1876 oven. (Photographed with a Canon 5D Mk3 • EF24mm f/1.4L II • f/2.8 • 13 seconds • ISO 8000.)

The filters over the LED lights were cut from a single, 20" x 24" sheet of Rosco Roscolux Gallo Gold. A Rosco Lux Small Swatchbook can help you choose the colors you want to use for your next lighting project.

*I used an Eveready LED Floating Lantern in each of the ovens. I laid each lantern on the ground, in the middle of the oven, and pointed its beam onto the roof and left side of the oven—filling the inside with reflected light. The filters placed lay over each lantern's large, flood-lamp type reflector.

More information on the Ward Charcoal Ovens can be found on my Flickr page.

Royce Bair is the editor of this blog and the photographer of the above image. Here is my gallery of NightScape images. My schedule of workshops, tutorials, and other events is available here.

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