The *Official Photography Thread*

Thank you!!

 

Good luck and don't forget, 200mm buys you a lot of great PJ style shots

 

A while ago, I was trying to explain my process for shooting the Milky Way. Today, I got a Really Right Stuff catalog that had a more concise explanation.

What you need for basic shooting:

• A red flashlight to preserve your night vision (and anyone around you-do not forget this cause it's a sure way to have people ask you to move on).
• Dark sky.
• Camera that does manual mode.
• Remote shutter cable or an Intervalometer to control the shutter.
• Sturdy tripod.
• Wide angle lens. Anything between f/4 and f/1.8 works. Faster is always better.

Calculate your shutter speed using the "500 rule". This is the speed at which you will start to see movement in the stars. The formula for calculating the shutter speed using the "500 rule" is:

500 ÷ [focal length] = Max Allowable Shutter Speed
​

When calculating shutter speed, always round down if you need to round. The wider the lens, the longer you can keep the shutter open. At 14mm, you can be open as long as 35s. At 35mm, 14s. And at 70mm, just 7 seconds.

For focus, they suggest either the hyperfocal method or just setting it to infinity (∞). I don't like using infinity isn't really what you think it is-try setting the lens to infinity then shoot a picture. If you must, set infinity then back off a tiny bit. I use Live View view because it works well in the dark.

Set the ISO anywhere from 1200 on up to 6400. If your camera supports it (many newer Canon/Nikon models do), you can safely go higher to get a faster shutter speed. Just be aware that higher ISO often means more noise. Adjust this so that your shutter speed does not exceed the maximum you calculated above.

White Balance. They suggest setting this in camera. I shoot RAW and adjust it in post processing. In processing, I've tried to warm the image up to bring out the color-I have a lot to learn about processing. I leave the camera in AWB or Auto White Balance.

Aperture should be set accordingly. RRS suggests wide open but keep in mind that most lenses don't work as well at either extreme (no matter how much you spent ). As they say, your mileage may vary but the range from wide open to f/4 works-especially if you've got a modern body with awesome high ISO performance.

Composition. It helps to get to your location before it gets dark to set up your shot. For some reason, I never get this part right. I do use Star Walk and The Photographer's Ephemeris to help me plan. Mostly to find out where the MW will be in relation to my subject. It's also important to know where the moon will set and the sun rise if you're shooting a timelapse.

Light painting. You don't need a lot of light-sometimes just a tiny pop at the end of the shot. If you're trying to get a tent in the picture, a muted LED light works. Painting rocks or trees, again. Not a lot required. You can try shooting with colored gels for interesting effect too.

Hope this info is helpful and gets you out to try shooting the night sky. A big thanks to Really Right Stuff for the guide.

 

Nice Ian, didn't know about the 500 rule... Also, Canon sensors work best at 160,320,640,1250 ISO. Saw that somewhere and forgot why, sorry haha.

Havn't posted in a while and thought id share some from today to get some photos on this page

Riverton car show was this weekend A bit of AutoX too!

ZR1

1 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

2 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

Dat Oraaaange!

3 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

4 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

5 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

6 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

7 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

8 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

9 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

10 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

11 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

FLECK!!

12 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

Etch.

13 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

14 (1 of 1) by sconniehailer, on Flickr

 

Some great car shots! I like the Chevelle. Color is pretty bitchin'!

I heard Chuck Westfall say something different but I don't recall the rest of it. But it's bound to be an interesting discussion for the geeks

 

Didn't intend for them to really be great photographs just great snapshots of the day and I agree, I loved the color of the Chevelle!

haha, i'll give it a shot next time im out at night!

 

Starting the process of going through all of my wedding photos.

This was definitely an experience. I was able to network with the DJ to possibly get some future gigs

 

Nice Tony, i'm sure you got some great stuff!

 

Just doing some quick looking through and I'm really liking what I've got.

My wife was shooting too, I had her doing some back up stuff

 

here is a photo I took on Mt. Bachelor earlier this week.

 

Here are a few pix that I have taken while at the FJ summit.

IMG_3328sm by Captures by Colin, on Flickr

IMG_3330sm by Captures by Colin, on Flickr

IMG_3244SM by Captures by Colin, on Flickr

IMG_3268 by Captures by Colin, on Flickr

IMG_3182 by Captures by Colin, on Flickr

 

Pretty sweet MW shots!

 

Did the Enchantments thru-hike just outside of Leavenworth Saturday with a group of friends. Absolutely stunning area!

More photos here:
http://davidtimothy.com/the-enchantments
http://davidtimothy.com/colchuck-lake/

 

some pics of my car, just got the suspension done.

DSC_8456 by Superluxe, on Flickr

DSC_8487 by Superluxe, on Flickr

DSC_8461 by Superluxe, on Flickr

DSC_8473 by Superluxe, on Flickr

 

That sky though! Polarizer?

 

Sweet shots as always! Beautiful car currently looking into a wrx at the moment myself. How do you like the hatch as opposed to the sedan?

 

Hatches for the win! Love my wifes hatch, although it's not a wrx I love the tall space the rear offers with the hatch.

 

Tall space? Every hatch I get into the back seat I hit my head

 

the trunk space is what i was talking about. yes the rear seat area is not tall haha, but i've sat back there like twice, so dont care...