IMG_9464_1
May, 2016Views
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2020 Choice Award
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Superb Composition
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Outstanding Creativity
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was captured in Iceland about 30 miles inland from Reykjavik.Time
It was around midnight, in mid September, when my brother and I decided to spend the last night of our trip in Iceland trying to capture more milky way and aurora borealis shots. Right after I started capturing this image the aurora borealis started to take shape directly behind me. That is when my brother started focusing his attention on their magnificent beauty and I stayed on the milky way above the lake.Lighting
As many know, a great night photography shot has to be taken in a low light area with little to no light pollution. The only light I wanted to capture was that of the stars and planets. Somehow I was able to gather some light pollution from the near bye city of Reykjavik which brought out a nice reflection off the lake.Equipment
I used a Canon 6D with a 16-35mm f2.8 mkii lens. The tripod I had with me was the meFOTO backpacker, light but sturdy.Inspiration
As a child I had always been extremely curious with whats going on above me in the dark night sky and after receiving my first telescope I knew my curiosity would never dwindle. Flash forward a couple decades I had decided to take a different direction with my work and focus on astrophotography. This led to my trip to Iceland where I knew I had to be on my A-game to capture some of the best shots I would get in my life.Editing
Yes, but not that much. I gave it a little pop by darkening the shadows and brightening the highlights with the curve adjustment in adobe Photoshop. The milky way was very distinguishable because of the darkness from the great rift which needed no editing.In my camera bag
Currently I am team Canon. I have the Canon 6D with Canon lenses: 24-105mm f4, 17-40mm f4, 85mm f1.2, and Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6. I use the Canon 600ex-rt flash along with Tiffen and B&W ND filters. The MeFOTO backpacker tripod fits perfectly on my ikan explorer backpack in addition to all my gear and 15 inch macbook pro.Feedback
Don't go out expecting to capture an image like this without the right mentality and preparation. You have to be patient as a landscape/astrophotographer, you may run into crappy weather or have to pull an all nighter. Do a little research on what gear and settings you need to capture the image you desire before a trip or vacation. Practice, practice, practice! Most importantly, make sure when you head out into the world to capture the beautiful landscapes that you respect the land, don't litter!
