_MLN9671-37_B&W_Color-2-Edit
In October of 2011, I traveled to the Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It's a starkly beautiful place an...
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In October of 2011, I traveled to the Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It's a starkly beautiful place and more so at night by the light of a full moon. I did a series of about 20 shots and froze my butt off before my second battery died. Lesson learned: bring warmer gear, and more batteries.
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Oct, 2015Views
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NatureLoverJJWal
January 24, 2016
It is really good that you have taken star trails in this so pretty tree.
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photograph was taken in the White Mountains at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest east of Bishop California.Time
Because I was doing star trails, I a series of photographs around 10 PM and finished close to midnight.Lighting
The lighting was from the full moon reflecting off of the snow onto the ancient Bristlecone pine tree.Equipment
I used a Nikon D700, an f2.8 24-120 zoom lens, remote timer, and a Calument tripod with an Acratech Ballhead.Inspiration
I'd never been to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest. But I'd seen photos of these magnificent sculptural trees before. I had visualized a night shot with the tree lit by a full moon and star trails behind it.Editing
I used LR and Photoshop. It was a particularly difficult post production because while I was shooting a younger Japanese couple had been photographing the trees with multiple colored lights. It was extremely cold, walking on crunchy snow cold with a bitter wind. The lady was shivering and they were waiting for me to finish my 20 or so shots. So about half way through my series, I let them photograph the same tree. Later trying to edit out these multiple colored lights proved to be very difficult.In my camera bag
Always traveled light, since I had been a backpacker from 1970 or so. So my bag consisted of my Nikon D-700, the Nikon 24-120mm f2.8 zoom lens, a 50mm f1.4 lens, a remote control, and a couple of extra batteries.Feedback
Dress warmly. It was bitterly cold. Even though it was in Nivember, the temperature with wind chill was near zero. Wear really warm insulated boots. Bring extra batteries. Both of mine lasted a total of only about 2 hours.
