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› › Lightroom Magazine ADOBE PHOTOSHOP<br />
If you prefer to add detail and color, moonlight can illuminate<br />
your landscapes; however, as a light source, it can<br />
also potentially obstruct stars. Clear skies are another option,<br />
although some clouds can add a dynamic touch depending<br />
on the scene. Finally, understanding where the Milky Way<br />
is located and which way the stars move depending on the<br />
direction you face—north, east, south, or west—can also<br />
assist your nocturnal compositions. From Dark Skies to The<br />
Photographer’s Ephemeris, there are sites and apps to assist<br />
with all of these decisions, helping you determine optimal<br />
shoot dates and locations.<br />
Step Two: Documenting scenes of nature can be tough, but<br />
fumbling around in the dark to catch a night scene in all its<br />
glory is yet another challenge. Make sure to include a headlamp<br />
for hands-free camera operating, and an extra flashlight<br />
as a backup or to paint the landscape with a touch of artificial<br />
light for additional detail. Also essential are a remote shutter<br />
release and tripod, a sturdy easy-to-use model to keep your<br />
camera locked in position for long exposures.<br />
Creating a pleasing composition is another hurdle to<br />
overcome, so previsualizing your final scene can give you an<br />
idea of what lens you choose, direction to face, and what<br />
you may or may not wish to include in the shot. Reviewing<br />
your scenes on your LCD screen after the capture can help<br />
you straighten horizons or force you to recompose to include<br />
important elements.<br />
Focusing is yet another issue to tackle since the accuracy<br />
of the infinity mark on most lenses is off just enough to blur<br />
stars, and autofocus fails in such low-light levels. Let your eyes<br />
adjust to the darkness for a few minutes, enable manual focus,<br />
use the infinity mark on your lens as a starting point, then look<br />
through your viewfinder to fine-tune focus. The LCD can then<br />
come into play to determine how accurate you are with sharpness<br />
by reviewing the image and zooming into specific star clusters.<br />
Live View may also help here, digitally zooming into a few<br />
stars for tack sharpness through manual focus, avoiding any<br />
bokeh effect. A tripod, remote, and LCD preview for sharpness<br />
were all used for this image of Half Dome on a moonless night,<br />
captured with a 70mm lens, f/2.8 for 8 seconds using ISO 6400.<br />
Step Three: When operating in extreme low-light situations<br />
such as star-filled skies, meters begin to fail; therefore, critical<br />
exposure settings and camera functions must be considered<br />
to capture the detail needed for postprocessing. Shooting in<br />
RAW should be a given because of the amount of detail and<br />
latitude the format offers. Using a solid DSLR or mirrorless<br />
camera system with manual controls is another good tool to<br />
have. The better your image sensor is with ISO, the less noise<br />
and more detail captured.<br />
Exposure charts combined with past trial-and-error experience<br />
can give you the proper settings needed since some<br />
shutter speeds may take as little as 8 seconds, or run for hours<br />
in bulb mode. A larger aperture setting, low f-stop number, is<br />
preferred since the amount of light is so low; exposures can<br />
lengthen greatly if you attempt to capture more depth-offield<br />
through a smaller aperture.<br />
ISO, the measurement of your image sensor’s sensitivity to<br />
light, for the most part should be set above 1000 but below<br />
6400 since noise build-up can create a nightmare with star<br />
detail. Higher ISOs also keep stars from becoming trails, due<br />
to the rotation of the earth, by ensuring shorter exposures.<br />
› › kelbyone.com<br />
Step Two<br />
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