Vestrahorn Magic
After a not really great sunset without any cloud, I was hoping that at least the night could be without cloud as well, and Stokksnes made me this gift for one ...
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After a not really great sunset without any cloud, I was hoping that at least the night could be without cloud as well, and Stokksnes made me this gift for one hour. A faint northen lights shown at the horizon, and for the foreground a car decided to turn back on my spot and light up the dunes (at the moment I was not happy about, but it turns it gave me that touch of light that i like)
Iceland is very tricky on the night because you can start with no clouds and then it will be all covered with it. So here's my lucky vortex startrail on Vestrahorn.
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Iceland is very tricky on the night because you can start with no clouds and then it will be all covered with it. So here's my lucky vortex startrail on Vestrahorn.
Read less
Jul, 2015Views
4114
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Awards
Member Selection Award
Featured
Runner Up in Image of the Year Photo Contest by Snapfish
Contest Finalist in Image of the Year Photo Contest by Snapfish
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Contest Finalist in Landscapes Of Iceland Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Superior Skill
All Star
Magnificent Capture
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Genius
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CheriCole
November 03, 2015
How did you take this?
What were the camera settings? How long was the exposure? I want to do a star trails photo in yosemite.. but can't quite figure out how to do it.
Thank you very much in advance.
What were the camera settings? How long was the exposure? I want to do a star trails photo in yosemite.. but can't quite figure out how to do it.
Thank you very much in advance.
barbmo
November 25, 2015
This is beautiful! I had the same issue with a car lighting my foreground once and now if I don't have a car come by I plan to light it with a flash light.
nandicmb
January 08, 2016
Congratulations on your Runner Up win in Image of the Year Photo Contest by Snapfish!
janetkeenartistteacher
June 30, 2016
These star trails are very exciting. At our camera club we are going to have a workshop on it. iN NEW ZEALAND WE HAVE A GREAT CLARITY WITH STARS. tHOS MOUNTAIN YOU HAVE CHOSEN IS MAGESTIC AND THE UNDULATING SANDUNES QUITE HAUNTING. i AM WONDERING WHICH COUNTRY THIS IS IN. mAYBE aMERICA OR cANADA?
PRO+
adavies
August 05, 2016
Awesome! Great job! If you haven't done so already, please consider joining my Peaks and Valleys challenge:)
viewbug.com/challenge/peaks-and-valleys-photo-challenge-by-adavies
viewbug.com/challenge/peaks-and-valleys-photo-challenge-by-adavies
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I taken this startrail in Iceland, on an amazing trip with Francesco Gola and Alessio Andreani to a fantastic land full of wonders!Time
I went to the location about 4 hours before the sunset, but this one didn't shown up as I was hoping, clear sky and really cold wind! So it came in my mind to check the weather app one more time to know if that night would have been the same. Jackpot! Clear sky with a chance of some northern lights on Kp3! I've waited for the blue hour to be gone and settled my tripod for the composition, and start to shooting!Lighting
Nature always give you the best light, because as it says, it's natural, a nothing more beautiful than that! the faint northern lights behind the mountain added that Icelandic touch to my startrail! Can't ask for more! But what happened in this picture is a mixture on natural light and artificial one! When I was shooting my startrail, a car just passed behind my spot and lightened the sand dunes giving a strange effect that when I was post-processing the photos, I've realized that it was a cool effect!Equipment
This picture was shot with a Nikon D750, Nikkor lens 17-35 F/2.8 AF-s D, manfrotto xprob 055 and a remote shutter from MeikeInspiration
Before my trip to Iceland I was looking for some startrails on the web about this location, but I've found none, so been the first one to publish a startrail (vortex) in Vestrahorn Mountain would have been something new. And I'm really inspired by knowing that!Editing
I usually take one single exposure for my landscape pictures during the sunrise and the sunset with my filters, It's more simple and it give you the best results. But during the night (especially for the startrails) you need more frames, and you going to merge them in Photoshop! My workflow is really simple. I start in camera raw with the highlights and shadows, correct the camera distortion and chromatic aberrations, straighten the horizon, export on Ps and work with Color Effex and Viveza ( my favorites plugins) then web sharpening to get a perfect sharp image.In my camera bag
On my new amazing Clik Elite backpack there is a Nikon d750 with the Battery grip from Meike, a Nikon 17-35 F/2.8 af-s ( my favorite lens on my kit), the nikon 24-85 F/2.8- 4 Af-s D, the Nikon 105mm macro Af F/2.8 D and the Samyang 14mm F/2.8. On the filter bag I have the most known filters from Lee, Big Stopper, Little Stopper, Lee Landscape Polarizer 105mm, the GND 0.9 Hard, the GND 0.9 Soft, the GND 0.6 soft and the Lee Holder for the 100mm system. A new entry for sponsorship is the NiSi Filters, with the V5 Holder, NiSi 10 stop ND, NiSi Polarizer and the NisI 09. GND soft. On the top I store different headlights for the night, batteries, cloths and the remote shutter from Meike. As a tripod I have the new series from Manfrotto, the 055 Xprob with the X Pro 3 Way Head. If I can add something else would be all the flags patches from all the countries that I’ve been!Feedback
Iceland is a really difficult place, pure nature is everywhere, the weather always change in few hours, going through and hail storm to sun and again wind guts. What you have to do, is always check the weather whenever you can, and start planning your shots beforehand so you don't have any surprise later (the only surprise should be a really beautiful sunset or the Northern Lights). Find your composition hours before your shooting time, so when its the moment, you don't have to walk in the dark to find the composition that you like. Start to shoot and remember that you really need a remote shutter for the night shots so you don't have to touch you camera avoiding any movement that can ruin you startrail on the merging process.
