Midnight Sunshine
Apr, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was shot in Truro Massachusetts. Truro is the second to last town before the end of Cape Cod so it's littered with beaches. This particular lighthouse is unusually far away from the shore line which is why there is a "lighthouse in the middle of a field," feel to this photo.Time
This was taken at roughly midnight on a cool June weekend in 2014. I had spent the entire night shooting light houses in the area as well as the super moon, which I had a different lens for (500mm). This was the last lighthouse I shot that night, and while the other pictures I got for that particular excursion came out good, this by far was my favorite shot of the night. I remember having one of those moments where I was clicking through the previews on my display and saw this, and a shot of the moon I took after it and saying "These are my shots, I can go home now."Lighting
Anybody that has seen my other work knows that I'm primarily a night photographer. Lots of night photographers have different styles and different things they like to portray in their photographs. I am a big fan of the starburst effect with lights which means I usually shoot at a very tight aperture. Most of my pictures are shot at f/8 or f/11, sometimes even f/16 or f/22. This one however, was shot much quicker with a larger aperture which gave the light source (the moon) a softer look and feel.Equipment
My primary camera and the one this was shot with is a Nikon D600. The lens was a Nikkor 17-35mm 1:2.8. The body and lens sat on top of a Manfrotto 322rc2 tripod. I also used an MC-DC2 Shutter Release Cable. These are also what I've shot the majority of my photos with, although lately I have been shooting with a 35mm 1:1.8 lens and I just got a new Rokinon 14mm 2.8 that I will most likely be shooting with from now on.Inspiration
Lots of things inspire me when I take photos. The cosmos, life, science, human interactions, the beauty of nature are all fascinating to me. Sometimes I am inspired by a song or a movie or even other photos by photographers right here on View Bug. This picture was just good old fashion "that looks pretty." Sometimes that's all it takes to get me up and out to take photos.Editing
I have a very, what I call, organic style. Mostly I try to do as little post processing as possible. Usually I'll adjust White Balance, Contrast, Clarity and Color (or Vibrance). For this picture, which was taken and edited almost a year ago, I'm not sure exactly what I adjusted, but I probably bumped the Vibrance a bit and smoothed out some of the shadows in the foreground. Other than that this is pretty much SOOC.In my camera bag
90% of the time I shoot with a Nikon D600 although I also have a Nikon D7000 that I shoot with from time to time. Between my wife (who is also a photographer) and I, we have a ton of different lenses, but usually I shoot with the 17-35mm 2.8 or the 35mm 1.8. Gear is an issue where my wife and I part ways. She believes that gear is a very important part of being a photographer whereas I subscribe to the idea that gear is only 20% of what makes a good photo and the photographer is 80%. I also always have my tripod and shutter release cable that I mentioned before. My bag is rounded out with an extra battery, a few extra Lexar or Delkin 16 or 32GB SD cards and two flashlights. One flashlight for seeing my way through the dark and one for light painting/drawing.Feedback
I'll say two things about this. The first one is the same thing everyone else will say, but it's important so it bares repeating. Patience. You have to have patience to get the shot just how you want it. Sometimes that means waiting for the moon to be in the right place or maybe no cars to be on a road that you're shooting. Since it's long exposure photos we're talking about, sometimes you have to have patience just waiting for the shot to expose. The second thing is, "A picture is worth a thousand words," and nine hundred of those words are lies. Sometimes what you cut out of a picture or Photoshop is just as important as what is in the picture. A good photographer can make a healthy girl look sick with WB, a tall man look short with angle and a wide open area claustrophobic with crop. How you take the photo is directly correlated to the story that you want to tell. Photos are like one frame silent movies where you are not only the photographer, but also the writer, director and producer. Sometimes what you want to convey with your picture has much more to do with want is going on inside the camera than outside of it.
