Tree of Life
Sep, 2013Views
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Creative Winter Award
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2020 Choice Award
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Superb Composition
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Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Exceptional Contrast
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Behind The Lens
Location
After miserably failing to fit a friend and myself into a single-person tent during a visit to South Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve, I headed to the nearest picnic table in our campground. It was conveniently right next to a lonesome tree, a perfect subject for a star trail. I quickly set up the shot and went to rest on my wooden bed.Time
The shot was made at around 3am.Lighting
We had a full moon that night, but as soon as it set a lot more stars became visible thus enabling me to get the shot.Equipment
For this shot I used a Nikon D7000 with a Tamrom 10-24mm f/3.5.Inspiration
The tree seemed a little mysterious, the whole scene drew me in. I knew that without any wind to move the leaves on that tree the silhouette was really come out.Editing
There are two ways to shoot a star trail; either doing a single long exposure, or combining multiple long exposures. The later technique is what I use when shooting where light pollution is present. This photo is a combination of around 170 individual frames.In my camera bag
My go to body right now is the Nikon D3 and my workhorse lens is the 24-70mm f/2.8. The second most used lens would be the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 and my 50mm f/1.8. That is what I usually carry with me. Aside from those I also have a myriad of dx lenses which I still used with my second body, a Nikon d7000. I consider my camera bag to be dynamic, its always changing, what I am photographing dictates what comes with me.Feedback
Capturing the night sky is extremely rewarding but can be a little challenging sometimes. My first suggestion would be to make sure to have a really sturdy tripod, personally I carry the Manfrotto Be Free, its lightweight and very sturdy. Secondly, be aware of your composition. It is very likely that you won't be able to see much through the viewfinder when composing a shot, what I do is to raise the ISO as high as possible disregarding the noise. Once you have composed the shot you can lower your ISO and make the actual frame.
