Country Church
My friend and I found this little country church in the middle of nowhere and we were happy when the Milky Way showed up!...
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My friend and I found this little country church in the middle of nowhere and we were happy when the Milky Way showed up!
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May, 2022Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 81
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
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Top Choice
Superb Composition
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
Genius
Magnificent Capture
Emotions
Impressed
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in New Mexico at a location I am not sure of!!!! Sorry- I was spending a week with a friend who lives in New Mexico, and she and I were out driving day and night to go to all the locations she wanted to share with me. Of course she knew where she was going and I was just kind of along for the ride. We were out early every morning and didn't get to bed till midnight some nights-like this night.Time
My friend and I had stopped at this church to photograph it and the area at sunset. We went and found something to eat and came after dark, and the Milky Way was out and waiting for us--we did not have to wait for it.Lighting
We wanted the church to show up in the darkness with the Milky Way, but did not want to light it up too much to take away the night time effect. We put a small headlight inside the church and used another light source to lightpaint the exterior. It took a lot of trial and error to get the lighting to where we were happy with it.Equipment
I shot this with my Sony A99II and my Sirui tripod. I usually have a Tamron 28-300 lens on my camera about 95% of the time and that is what I was using this evening. We set a headlight on top of a camera bag inside the church, to light up the inside, and we put a phone with the light turned on off to the side of us to lightpaint the outside of it. It was all trial and error, but we finally got it to where we were happy with the lighting. Then we had to keep moving as the milky way moved, to keep in it position with the church.Inspiration
I am from North Dakota, so used to the flat lands and crops growing. So it was very fun to go to New Mexico and get to spend some time in the desert with a good friend, and excellent guide. She had been to this church before, but not when the Milky Way was visible, so this was a treat for both of us. As it was a very dark night, it was a challenge to walk to where we needed to set up, get our composition and focus figured out, and then our camera settings. We were out about 1 1/2 hours and I took around 100 photos just trying lots of different things. This photo is actually one of the first ones I took that night!Editing
I don't do a lot of post processing, usually add some contrast and sharpening. May have cropped it a bit too.In my camera bag
I shoot with a Sony A99II and have another older Sony I carry along for a spare. My go to lens is my Tamron 28-300. I really like the versatility of this handy and sharp lens. I recently bought a Tamron 15-30 for my wide angle needs. Of course I have cleaning cloths and extra batteries and an assortment of filters, including a polarizer, neutral density, and a split neutral density.Feedback
If you like to photograph the desert and the interesting things that can be found there, I recommend New Mexico. Most days we did not get to drive as far as we had planned because we had to keep stopping at something different and beautiful to photograph along the way. As always, take lots of photos and enjoy the trip--remembering it is not always the destination that is important-enjoy the trip along the way.
