IMG_7357
Apr, 2016Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken somewhere on the side of the road in Southwest Colorado on CO 145 near Delores, CO in the four-corners region. I'd been working on capturing Milky Way shots and it was my first presentable exposure. I still considered myself novice at the time and had no clue what I was about to capture since it was so dark.Time
I captured this image at around 4am. I was on my way back to Breckenridge from Four Corners and couldn't help but notice how dark it was! I couldn't tell what the landscape looked like around the road. The cliff wall reflected on the left but all I could see on the right was black. I got out and set up on a pedestrian bridge that was crossing a river and by that time my eyes had adjusted to where i could make out the top of the canyon and a focal point. This is one of my favorites because I thoughtlessly pulled over, set up, pointed, shot, and hoped for the best.Lighting
When shooting a landscape as dark as this, I always start with everything wide open. ISO 6400 and Aperture wide open. This was a 32-second exposure, which is a bit too long for avoiding star trails. I've since learned that 22 seconds is my magic number.Equipment
I shoot with a Canon EOS 60D. This shot was taken with the 18-135mm kit lens that came with the camera. The distortion on the right is because my lens was about to fall out of the casing and I had not realized it yet! The tripod was a cheapo that has long since been disposed of.Inspiration
I was bummed that my four corners trip had not turned up good results for a time lapse so I decided I had to make at least one more attempt before dawn. I'm glad I did.Editing
Unfortunately I've lost all metadata for this photo. It was done in iPhoto and from what I remember I simply boosted the exposure a bit.In my camera bag
At the time it was just my camera and tripod. It's since grown to a Canon EFS 10-22mm lens, 70-300mm, a Manfroto tripod and ball mount, and an intervalometer.Feedback
The darker the scene the better! I've since purchased a wide-angle lens and use that for all my landscape shots now. Start with ISO 6400, Aperture wide open, and 20-second exposure. Happy shooting!
