Night Photo

I've been back for a month but I've been busy with my day job and medical issues. My trip to the desert was so much fun, however I was disappointed with my night sky results. It was a combination of really high winds, difficulty focusing on stars, and my shutter release cable breaking... the little lock mechanism needed during bulb mode was not working and would randomly click off and on. So frustrating. I did manage to get one shot that is OK... not really, but here it is.

Not exciting at all and not what I wanted. I didn't realize just how hard it was going to be to focus at night and just how badly the wind speed would knock my camera around even on a tripod. I did use the car to try to shield me from some of the wind, but it wasn't enough with 30+ mph wind gusts. I guess it's time to invest in some tripod weight bags... and a new shutter release cable!

Until I can get back to the desert I'm going to try to work on more portraiture but with a surgery coming up I don't know how much I'll be able to do. I'll post what I can when I can.

Do any of you have any tips for night photography? Or any horror stories about photo shoots gone bad? Leave them in the comments!

-Helen

Night Photography Part Duex

I haven't posted anything in a while because I haven't worked on anything in a while... However, I'm leaving in a couple of days and heading back to the desert to work on night photography. I was there earlier this month for a quick getaway and I got to see the Milky Way with my own eyes for the first time! You guys - The. Milky. Way. It's bananas! So I'm excited to see what I can capture. I'll be there for a week so I will have plenty of time to shoot.

In preparation I've stumbled across a couple websites/apps that can assist you if you're trying to capture the Milky Way or night skies in general:

Dark Site Finder:  Plug in your address or coordinates and it will show you how bright or dark your area is. This is hands down the number one thing you should be checking if you're planning on getting any photos of the sky. 

The Photographer's Ephemeris: A great app I use all the time for sun/moon rise and setting times, phases of the moon and it even gives you the trajectory of the sun/moon.

Lastly, and this may seem overly obvious, but a good weather site. I use Wunderground: this site allows you to change the station location for better accuracy.

Are there any websites/apps you use for night photography that you find indispensable? Post them in the comments!

As always, I'll be posting photos of the trip on my Instagram if you wanna follow along. If I can get to a place with wifi I'll post some photos to the blog. I'm staying in the middle of nowhere, in an RV... no wifi, spotty cell service, but amazing views!

-Helen