uldericoimages

Optimal Opportunity

Taking in the spectacle at 3 am.

Had a 20 hour layover in San Francisco before our flight to Anchorage, so we rented a car and drove to Yosemite t...
Read more

Taking in the spectacle at 3 am.

Had a 20 hour layover in San Francisco before our flight to Anchorage, so we rented a car and drove to Yosemite to catch some stars and the sunrise. I'm now in Kenai at the local laundromat getting a quick internet fix. Alaska sure is impressive! I'll try to post next time I get online.
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Jul, 2015

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Awards

Featured

Editor's Choice

Peer Award

+97

Superb Composition

+33

Top Choice

+26

Absolute Masterpiece

+23

Outstanding Creativity

Superior Skill

Magnificent Capture

All Star

Genius

Behind The Lens

Location

I captured this image from Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park in California. This viewpoint looks back into the valley.

Time

My father and I were on our way to Alaska to fish and visit some family. We had a 20 hour layover in San Francisco so we rented a car and drove to Yosemite. I believe we left the airport at around 11 pm and arrived at this spot around 3 am. The moon had set and the stars were dazzling overhead once we reached the valley. I took multiple shots of this scene as daddy took a nap in the car. This photo turned out to be my favorite.

Lighting

I could just make out the granite walls of the valley as the night sky overhead provided faint illumination. The light in the woods is from a car driving through the valley.

Equipment

I shot this with the Sony a7 and Rokinon 24mm on a tripod.

Inspiration

I had always wanted to visit Yosemite and I felt obligated to get a shot from Tunnel View when I first visited the park. I knew we would stop by Tunnel View on the way through the park. Fortunately the skies were clear when we arrived.

Editing

Not much processing went into this shot. I just opened up the shadows to bring more detail out of the valley. Tuned the highlights a bit to get the stars to pop. I also adjusted the tone curve a bit to add some contrast and added a slight vignette to bring the viewers attention to the image's center. Finally, I laid down a bit of noise reduction. All done in Lightroom and Nik plugins.

In my camera bag

The essentials in my bag include: Sony a7, Rokinon 14mm F2.8, Rokinon 24mm F1.4 and 28-70mm kit lens and a small, light, stable tripod. The majority of my images are captured with the Rokinons. They are sharp and fast! I also have loads of fliters (ND's, polarizers etc...), lens cloths and backup batteries. I try to just carry the essentials to lighten my load. I love mirror-less bodies as they are super handy and compact and I can still get quality images with them.

Feedback

The first thing I did after setting up my tripod was zooming in on the brightest star with live view and getting the focus just right. I knew I would be shooting wide open (f/1.4) and that I didn't want to use a shutter speed longer than 20 seconds to avoid star trailing. Since I knew what aperture and shutter speed I would be using, I just needed to find out the proper ISO. This turned out to be 5000 after a couple test shots. Since I had the correct exposure sorted I fired off half a dozen shots and I got this cool effect of a car driving through the valley in one of the images. I also always use a little remote to trigger the shutter and avoid vibrations. The only qualm I have with this shot is the amount of noise. I rarely shoot ISO's as high as 5000 because image quality is sacrificed. I could have greatly reduced the noise if I used Photoshop and composited multiple images but I preferred to keep it natural and use just one exposure.

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uldericoimages

uldericoimages

Optimal Opportunity

Taking in the spectacle at 3 am. Had a 20 hour layover in San Francisco before our flight to Anchorage, so we rented a car and drove to Yosemite t... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow uldericoimages

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Taking in the spectacle at 3 am.

Had a 20 hour layover in San Francisco before our flight to Anchorage, so we rented a car and drove to Yosemite t...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.