"The void" by ViewBug community member Nishant-101 is a finalist in the Nature by Night Photo Contest. Here is the story behind the photo and the tips you can learn to capture a similar shot. Read along...
Location
I had returned from my 2 days drive through coastal Australia with my front, side and back pockets full of photos. This is Loch Ard Gorge near Port Campbell. This was my last day of stay there and to be honest my birthday. I was out photographing other places during the day and the thought of photographing this place at night was knocking at the back of my head which I didn't want to regret later.
Time
After I photographed few water falls around Warrnambool during the day I paid a visit here at the evening for some sunset shots and decided to return the same place for some night shots. That was around 22:00 hrs.
Lighting
Oh yeah, what you cannot see in this photo was the moon which was right above and could not be captured in a single frame. Moon light lit everything there and honestly I was happy about it as Loch Ard Gorge is really dark as being away from towns or cities. I knew I would not have been able to capture the details in the foreground if it was not moonlit.
Equipment
I used Nikon D810 and 14-24mm f2.8 lens mounted on Gitzo explorer tripod and was using giga T pro II shutter remote.
Editing
Yes, I did. Basically the exposure was a bit tricky there while moon being right above. A properly exposed foreground was resulting in overexposed sky and vice versa. I captured two different exposures for this photo and blended them in in cs6. Apart from that I used luminosity masks, sharpening, viveza to make this image.
Feedback
If you are planning to take photos in a place at night you should have a tripod and a dslr with a longer shutter speed feature. Apart from that a quick weather forecasts would help plan your visit better and yes, be careful of the cliffs, they are UNSTABLE.
Inspiration
I have been here before as well but unfortunately didn't have the right equipment or planning to photograph this place. I still remember I have been here while on my way back to my cabin which we booked somewhere else and was late. I trekked this area a day before and almost discovered everything. This void was the only place I could photograph at night (conveniently) which was just 10 mins walk from the car park. When I took some sunset photos that evening I knew I must come back at night as well for some night shots.
In my camera bag
I carry 2 cameras and 4 lenses which are: Nikon D810 (FX) and D7100 (DX), Nikkor AF-S 14-24 and 24-70mm f2.8 G ED lenses, Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 G ED VR II lens and the last one which I rarely use is AF-S Nikkor 18-105mm 3.5-5.6 zoom lens. I carry Nikon SB 910 speedlight which I have recently bought for my studio photography. I use a Gitzo Explorer series II tripod with Gitzo series II Magnesium off-centre ball head.
For shutter release I use Hahnel Giga T Pro II remote control. For Filters I use Hoya circular polarizer, Hoya and Tiffen 10 stop ND filters and a hoya GND 3 stops filter. I also carry 2 shade 10 welding glasses which fits my 18-105 and 24-70 mm lens. I also carry a 3rd party remote for D7100 and last but not least 2 torches 2200 Lm zoomable CREE led and a normal led light that fits on the head.
Visit Nishant-101's profile to get inspired and follow him to see his latest uploads.
