Half Dome From The Diving Board, B&W
Copyright Matthew Saville Baldon
Half Dome's "Diving Board" viewpoint, at night.
This image is going to be "December" in my 2015 photo calend...
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Copyright Matthew Saville Baldon
Half Dome's "Diving Board" viewpoint, at night.
This image is going to be "December" in my 2015 photo calendar! Check my website store for details...
Read less
Half Dome's "Diving Board" viewpoint, at night.
This image is going to be "December" in my 2015 photo calendar! Check my website store for details...
Read less
Aug, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This is a very difficult view of Half Dome to reach, involving quite a bit of off-trail hiking, scrambling up hillsides through thick brush, and navigating along a vertical edge that is every bit as deadly as Half Dome itelf. The exact spot is known as The Diving Board, and was made famous by Ansel Adams who visited the spot using pack mules to carry his large format film equipment.Time
In the middle of the night, in late June. This star trail represents about 1-2 hours of timelapse images of 30-60 sec length, starting just after moonset which occurred just after sunset.Lighting
On moonless nights in the wilderness, it is very, very dark. Lighting consists of, as you might imagine, starlight and nothing else. The images that created these star trails had to be shot at ISO 6400, and were still quite under-exposed.Equipment
Nikon D800e, Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, FotoPro C5C Tripod, Aputure external remoteInspiration
My friends and I have always enjoyed taking adventures to hard-to-reach places, especially in the middle of the night. Many things in the world have already been done, photographically speaking, but cameras these days are allowing for better and better results in what I call "envelope-pushing" conditions. This makes it once again fun to visit anywhere in the world, with new possibilities.Editing
The original RAW images were processed in Lightroom CC to be extremely contrasty, and grain was left alone. Then each image was layered in Photoshop using the blending mode "lighten", which creates the star trails and also reduces noise.In my camera bag
For most trips where lightweight travel is important, such as backpacking / climbing trips, I travel with a crop-sensor beginner DSLR, a Nikon D5300. The two main lenses for that camera are a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 and a Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8. The combined system saves many pounds compared to an equivalent full-frame setup, and makes a huge difference when hiking in the backcountry. For larger projects, however, a full-frame body, either a Nikon D800e or Nikon D750, is in my bag, along with a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, a Nikon 20mm f/1.8, a 50mm f/1.8, and an 85mm f/1.8Feedback
The best thing any aspiring photographer can do when attempting to create similar images is to be safe. Don't go near cliffs or climb rocks in the dark. Don't pitch your tent on an un-protected cliffside, either! Regarding photography, the best thing is practice in less demanding conditions. From your own balcony, you can practice creating long exposures, timelapse sequences designed to create star trails, etc. Any Nikon DSLR can do timelapse photography up to 999 images and 30 sec, or you can buy an external timer remote that can be programmed. Don't be afraid to push your ISO very high, at least for the purposes of learning, and you'll be surprised how quickly you can figure things out!
