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Startstruck in Aitutaki
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Startstruck in Aitutaki



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When the sun goes down the stars come out to play in Aitutaki, Cook Islands. Nothing like tropical nights!

When the sun goes down the stars come out to play in Aitutaki, Cook Islands. Nothing like tropical nights!
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cameraNIKON D700

settings Aperture f/3.2 ISO 1600 Shutter 30/1 Focal Length 170/10 

upload_dateJul, 2016

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2 Comments |
chrisroberts_6519
 
chrisroberts_6519 August 30, 2016
very interested in the how the photo was taken and made up.one shot or lights....beautiful photo with lots of eye catching elements.the milky way,the light in the water.my eyes were always moving.
michaeltillman Platinum
 
michaeltillman September 28, 2016
This is perfect, just perfect. That's all I can say; Just perfect.

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Tags

#travel photography #pacific islands #Cook Islands #aitutaki #night sky #tropical night #stars #milky way #leanne kelly photos #nikon
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Behind The Lens

Location

This was taken on my honeymoon in Aitutaki, Cook Islands. I sat the camera on a banana lounge, right next to my piña colada!

Time

It was around 9pm, after dinner and crazy crab racing (for the record, my crab is still going!)! The sky over the lagoon is obviously spectacular and I felt like it was my duty to capture it!

Lighting

I only took two photos over the lagoon, the second being this frame. The first told me I needed to leave the shutter open just a little bit longer to really capture the stars. It was a 30 second exposure and the banana lounge provided the perfect platform for keeping my camera stable! The ISO was set at 1600; I didn't want to push it too high because I wanted to limit the noise in the final photo.

Equipment

My trusty Nikon D700 and my Nikon 17-35mm lens. I use that lens more than I probably should! Oh, and let's not forget the banana lounge 'tripod' and a small rock to raise the lens!

Inspiration

Aitutaki Lagoon is stunning during the daytime and there are a million photos to prove it, but I had no idea it looked so good at night. Every night we would sit on the beach and watch nature's starry light show. Because I was on my honeymoon I wasn't allowed to take too many photos, but even my husband agreed it was worth 'trying' to freeze this magical spectacular. It now hangs in our bedroom. Not bad for a photographer who specialises in capturing people and not landscapes!

Editing

I don't like to process my images too much, and that rule applied to this image. I pushed the white and clarity a little and added some noise reduction and that's it!

In my camera bag

I always carry a Nikon D700 or my D90 (depending on any weight restrictions) as well as a Nikon F4 film camera, loaded with Fuji Pro 400D film. I love film, it keeps my skills honest. You'll often find a GoPro in there as well as my Sony Xperia Z5. My preferred lenses are my Nikon 17-35 f/2.8, Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 and my absolute favourite lens is my Nikon 50mm f/1.4. Being a former press photographer the 50mm is always, always on one of my bodies. I also have a vast array of speedlights and transceivers - I'm not afraid to whip them out if there is some tricky lighting.

Feedback

Stability is key when capturing the night sky. You don't need to have a tripod to capture slow exposures, just imagination. When using wide open apertures, it's also important to ask yourself where your focal point is. I shot this at f/3.2 so sacrificed the foreground and manually focused the lens to keep the stars nice and crisp. Of course I could have shot with a bigger depth of field and a longer exposure, but I was happy with my exposure at 3.2, so I left it at that. Finally, consider your white balance; you can create some pretty special effects by manipulating the overall colour in camera.

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