Here is something we can learn from Jamie235 about the techniques and story behind this awarded photo.
Jamie235 says: I love photography, it is my hobby! I take my camera everywhere and keep trying to get a great shot! I love shooting time lapse photography. I love learning new ways to improve my photography and getting a better shot. I love doing photography as a passion, I am an amateur at photography and mostly everything I do is from trial and error and or learning from youtube videos.
1. Jamie235,where did you take this photo?
I took this photo in Calaveras County, California.
2. What time of day?
This shot was taken sometime after 10:30 P.M. on a summer night.
3. Anything worth sharing about lighting?
I had my camera set to F3.5 to allow the most light as possible to be gathered in the shot. This was a thirty second long exposure.
4. What equipment did you use?
I used a Canon Rebel T3i with the kit lens. I had the camera on a tripod. I used a remote timer release. This shot was one of many from a time-lapse video I put together.
5. What inspired you to take this photo?
I was inspired by a time-lapse video I saw on Youtube and really wanted to take a shot at it myself. I have always been intrigued by the milky way and space in general. So capturing it with my first ever DSLR was a must and I had to try. This was my first attempt ever at night photography let alone astro photography...I have been addicted ever since and putting my photo sequences in to time-lapse videos.
6. Did you do any post-processing? if yes, tell us about it!
Yes, I did. I went through many trial and errors. I am fairly new to photoshop and lightroom. So trying to figure out how to bring out the details of the milky way in my shot was challenging. I was trying to get the most natural looking image as possible. I adjusted exposure, lightened the blacks, boosted whites, boosted clarity (to bring out more stars), darkened my shadows for a silhouette look, adjusted contrast to bring out the colors, and used an adjustment brush to highlight the milky way and make it more prominent.
7. What equipment do you normally have in your bag?
Canon Rebel T3i, kit lens, rokinon 14mm wide angle lens, tripod, remote timer, ac adapter, memory cards, filters, gopro camera, and a 75-300mm lens.
8. Any advice for others trying to capture something similar?
You have to be really interesting and motivated to go out and do night photography, especially of the stars. It takes a lot of time to figure out what settings you want to use and will work for your shot. And finding where you want to do it is hard too. You need to take a lot of test shots before setting your camera up for a time-lapse to run all night. I have run into many of problems doing night photography. I have ran out of battery, ran out of memory, had the lens fog up from the cold, etc. Try to do as much research as you can and be prepared and have back up power and memory. Most importantly just have fun and do what you love!
Discover Jamie235's photographic style and techniques.
Milky Way by Jamie235
Restored Windmill
Sunset Shot
