Starry night in Maui
Sep, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was shot in Maui on the beach at night. Night time photography is still brand new to me, so it was the first time trying and playing with the camera in order to get what I was looking for.Time
This photo was taken around 10pm. I have always wanted to attempt taking pictures of stars but never having the proper equipment. I remember looking out and seeing the stars and getting very excited to finally have the opportunity to try in such a beautiful place.Lighting
The lighting was coming from the condo I was staying at so it allowed us, the beach, and the trees to show. The stars were amazing that night as well which never helps when trying to take a clear picture. I also noticed after the picture was taken that people were playing with flashlights way down the beach which I feel gives it good definition to where the beach goes.Equipment
I used a Sony A7, its kit lens, and a tripod. I used a remote shutter with my Iphone so we could take the picture from afar and had it set up perfectly on the tripod.Inspiration
I have always been a huge star person and loved star photography. I have always wanted to try and capture what the emotion is that you feel when you look up and get lost in the stars. I somehow want to capture the point of view you have when you look at stars. Its almost impossible to capture just what you are looking at but I thought if you show a person in the picture just maybe it shows more on their view. I wanted to learn by doing and once the opportunity was there I had to take it.Editing
I only did a tiny amount in lightroom 5. I decreased the exposure that was coming from the condo because it took away from the stars and I attempted to increase the exposure, highlights, and whites in order to bring out the stars. I honestly found that the more I attempted to change things the better it looked without being touched. I ended up changing it so little that the difference between the raw and this picture would be hard to spot.In my camera bag
I normally have the A7 with a 24-70 Zeiss lens and a 70-200 Sony lens. I always carry the tripod on the side because it is small enough to always bring with me, and a strap so I can carry it without the bag. Another necessity in the camera bag is another battery and more memory cards. You never want to get to something and have the camera die or your memory card stop working.Feedback
My main advice is to keep practicing and playing around. If i wouldn't have just tried it, I would have never gotten something that I find so beautiful. A lower F-stop is nicer with nighttime photos and a slower shutter speed. For this kind of picture I noticed its nice to have something else in the shot in order to give the definition and more of an emotion to the beach and stars. A rule of thirds is also something that I found useful in this kind of shot. Having something in the third on the left opens up the rest of the shot for stars. This helps because it draws your attention to the couple then you follow their eyes to the rest of the picture.
