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FollowHadn't really planned this shot, was at Portland Bill photographing the light beams when the sky cleared and I saw the milky way to one side and thought .....
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Hadn't really planned this shot, was at Portland Bill photographing the light beams when the sky cleared and I saw the milky way to one side and thought ...you know what if I just change my position I may be able to get both in the same shot. Here's the result.
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Contest Finalist in Night And Rule Of Thirds Photo Contest
Peer Award
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Absolute Masterpiece
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at Portland Bill on the South Coast of England, it's a great place to photograph the night sky as there is little light pollution other than the lighthouse that is!Time
This is one of my favourite nightscrapes that I've done to date...I had gone down to photograph the beams of the lighthouse at about 21.00 as I looked out to sea the clouds started to clear and I could just make out the Milkyway off to one side and thought wouldn't that be great if I could get that in the same shot...and this is the result.Lighting
I knew I wanted to include the beams from the lighthouse as well as the stars so knew it was going to have to be multiple exposures of different lengths so this was going to test my limited knowledge a lot!Equipment
I used my Canon 6D on a tripod with a remote release, no other equipment other than warm clothes!Inspiration
I love the night sky and especially the Milkyway, I've only been taking night shots for a short time and this was my biggest test so far. As soon as I saw that I could get the lighthouse as well as the milkyway in the same shot I knew how I wanted it to look with the beams coming around the front of the lighthouse as well as they illuminated the water as well.Editing
Yes there was lots to do unfortunately and it was a steep learning curve as this was my first multi-level layering. 3 exposures, 1 forground, 1 stars and a final one for the lightbeams on the lighthouse. Simple for some but i'm teaching myself and find photoshop hard work but basically blending the 3 images into one and working on the clarity in lightroom afterwards to bring out the milkyway.In my camera bag
Normally in my bag I have a Canon 6D with a 16-35 f2.8 lens as well as the 24-105 f4. Also a selection of Lee filters and a remote release. Obviously for the night work I tend just to take my 6D with the 16-35 and a tripod with camera release and travel as light as I can so that I don't lose anything in the dark. Oh and of coarse a couple of reliable torches as well!Feedback
The darker the night the better..check on moon phases and shoot as close to no moon as possible. In the Uk to get the Milkyway sometimes the window is as little as 30 minutes so to have to scout out your shoot in daylight carefully beforehand so you don't waste precious time at night. Be safe, take good torches with you and let someone know what you are up to especially if are on your own.