Night Ruins
A 2 shot composite. In the foreground a strange stick that seemed out of place in the Death Valley Harmony Borax Works. In the background is the night sky fro...
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A 2 shot composite. In the foreground a strange stick that seemed out of place in the Death Valley Harmony Borax Works. In the background is the night sky from Boulder City Solar farm and the Milky Way.
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May, 2016Views
922
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in Inside The Abandoned Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Abandoned Places Photo Challenge
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I shot this photo from 2 locations. The foreground of the stick and building was shot in Death Valley National Park, near the Harmony Borax Works. The night sky was shot a few months later around the Boulder Solar Farm near the Hoover Dam in Nevada.Time
The foreground of the building was shot after sunset during the blue hour in March of 2015 under a bright moon. The night sky was shot at about 9:30PM in mid October 2015 under extreme low light with the milky way showing.Lighting
With the foreground and building, I used a long exposure under a fairly bright moon to capture the details of the foreground and building. For the night sky, I used the basic galaxy exposure settings (ISO 3200, f/2.8, 20 second) and made some minor adjustments to get the best exposure possible.Equipment
For this night landscape, I used a Nikon D7100 and tripod. For lens, I use a Tokina 12-28mm f/4 for the foreground and building. For the night sky I used a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. Both lenses have a hard infinity stop, as well as distance markers on the lens barrel which helps me aquire fast manual focusing in darkness.Inspiration
I was intrigued by the out of place branch while shooting the area, and got several compositions and perspectives of this building. However, the blue hour desert sky was very bland and made the image look flat. Thus, I wanted to create another layer of depth, as well as strengthen the small building on the horizon. I initially tried to crop in on the building to make it more significant, but it lost the branch and depth of the scene. So, I decided to do a composite with the Milky Way as another layer and supporting element that would create more depth around the subject. Because the horizon and building was splitting the scene, the foreground branch and Milky Way would give some balance to the areas in front and behind the subject. I tried various aspect ratios for the optimal composition and decided on the 1:1.Editing
As a art photographer from the dodge & burn print days, I always do post processing. IMO editing/processing is as important as getting the shot. For the foreground at Death Valley, I did the basic clarity, white balance, and exposure adjustments in Lightroom 5. For the night sky, I did my routine galaxy exposure, contrast, and noise reduction adjustments. Then, ran both through Corel PaintShop Pro X8 where I removed the background sky from the Death Valley shot, and layered it over the night sky photo. I used a brush to adjust the exposure areas where the 2 photos would blend. Then, I took it back into Lightroom for final touch with exposure enhancements, cropping for aspect ratio, and archiving.In my camera bag
For Night Landscape Photography, I use a Nikon D7100, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, and Tokina 12-28mm f/4. And 2 tripods one small and one large. Also, a nodal rail and "L" bracket for the panorama shots. I also use a Nikon D3300 and intervalometer for time lapse. This along with flash light, head lamp, and other day pack survival stuff. For most of my landscapes, the Nikon 18-140mm kit lens is my main lens of choice.Feedback
I'm grateful to have this photo win 2 Challenges. And would like to thank everyone who took the time to view, like, award, comment, and vote for my photography. It's truly an honor. For those that would like to create a photo like this, I can suggest looking at the great photos here on the View Bug, and be inspired by what others create. Then, analyze how they created the photo. Then learn the technique, and go out and apply the techniques and incorporate it in your photography. With today's modern cameras and editing software, creating photos is becoming easier. It's an exciting time for photography. Technology keeps improving, making tasks that were once done by the esoteric, is now available for everyone to use. If you seek to push your camera to the limits, I recommend shooting Galaxy photography, it's a lot of fun, and very exciting. All the information you need can be found online.
