Every so often, Raincouver gives us a spectacular sunset at the end of an overcast day. A break in the clouds far away to the west allows the sun to peek through for just a few moments before it sets, creating a narrow band of warm light that lasts just two or three minutes.
I have on several occasions attempted to predict whether this is going to happen, always unsuccessfully. And when it does happen, I'm not in a position to take advantage of it, as was the case today.
Snapped through the gap at the bottom of my apartment window and heavily cropped. At the base is Stanley Park, with the Lions Gate Bridge towers peeking out above the trees, and some (very expensive) West Vancouver houses on the hill beyond.
I'm a British software developer and photographer living in Vancouver, BC. I mainly photograph landscapes, cityscapes, night scenes, and water.
If you're interested in any...
A great shot of a wonderful view, I think. The color layers are strangely inverted from what would be expected of a "sunset" opportunity. I find that fascinating.
Can I ask you for advice on settings? If not, its cool..
I want to attempt to capture the stars / galaxies... I have a Nikon D2X and my lens is Tamron 28mm -300mm. I live in the middle of nowhere, so I have darkness on my side. Would it be possible for me to capture the stars with my lens? if so what setttings would I need?
I will not be offended if you did not reply. Thanks, Michelle.
Unfortunately, you will struggle with your current setup. Your camera, although an awesome pro-quality model, is quite old now, and does not have very good low light sensitivity -- this is a big area where DSLRs are improving year on year. The D2X only goes up to ISO 3200, which is right at the bottom of usable sensitivities for capturing the Milky Way.
The other problem is that your lens is not ideal for starfield photography either. When trying to freeze the stars, as in the shots I do, the focal length of your lens determines how long you can keep the shutter open before the stars appear to blur due to the Earth's rotation. The wider the lens, the less apparent the movement is and the more light you can capture. Ideally, for your camera you need a lens that goes as wide as 10-12mm.
There is a basic calculation for working out how long an exposure you can use without capturing significant motion blur, which is 600/focal length. That's based on a 35mm focal length, so we need to multiply your 28mm wide end by 1.5, as it's equivalent to a 42mm lens on a full-frame camera. That gives us a time of 600/42 = 14 seconds, which really isn't enough time given your maximum 3200 ISO setting.
If you were able to pick up a Sigma 10-20mm lens second hand (I just sold my Canon version for $325), then this would open up the possibilities a lot more -- that would give you similar performance to the equipment I used for my Perseid shot on August 13th. Alternatively, a new camera with good low-noise performance up at the 6400-8000 ISO range would allow you to use your existing lens.
However, I still would encourage you to give it a go and see what you get. For settings, there is no question that you need to set the camera to 3200 ISO, and use the lens at 28mm. Set your camera up in manual mode, and use the lens at it's widest aperture, which I think is f/3.5 at 28mm. Then try shutter speeds of between 15 and 30 seconds. It probably won't be amazing, but it might be pretty good.
If that doesn't get anything usable, you will still be able to take star trail photographs. These aren't quite as breathtaking and unusual as starfield photographs, but they are fun to take and, when done well, can still be absolutely stunning. There are some good tutorials on star trails online, such as here: http://www.lightstalking.com/how-to-photograph-star-trails
And I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about them. I also wrote a short document for my local Meetup group on star photography (for both star trails and starfield photography) that you may find useful, although I wrote it in rather a hurry so it might not be entirely understandable! If you'd like to take a look, it's available here: https://docs.google.com/a/alexisbirkill.com/document/d/1l1nf4fmFAWddif-wgUrRQGWVviinr7fe9Y-7HRZ0cpQ/edit
Alexis Thank you so incredibly much for everything :) I will give it a go when there is a windless clear sky :) Can but try :) I will keep you posted on this etc Thanks again :)
December 13th, 2012
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
I want to attempt to capture the stars / galaxies... I have a Nikon D2X and my lens is Tamron 28mm -300mm. I live in the middle of nowhere, so I have darkness on my side. Would it be possible for me to capture the stars with my lens? if so what setttings would I need?
I will not be offended if you did not reply. Thanks, Michelle.
Unfortunately, you will struggle with your current setup. Your camera, although an awesome pro-quality model, is quite old now, and does not have very good low light sensitivity -- this is a big area where DSLRs are improving year on year. The D2X only goes up to ISO 3200, which is right at the bottom of usable sensitivities for capturing the Milky Way.
The other problem is that your lens is not ideal for starfield photography either. When trying to freeze the stars, as in the shots I do, the focal length of your lens determines how long you can keep the shutter open before the stars appear to blur due to the Earth's rotation. The wider the lens, the less apparent the movement is and the more light you can capture. Ideally, for your camera you need a lens that goes as wide as 10-12mm.
There is a basic calculation for working out how long an exposure you can use without capturing significant motion blur, which is 600/focal length. That's based on a 35mm focal length, so we need to multiply your 28mm wide end by 1.5, as it's equivalent to a 42mm lens on a full-frame camera. That gives us a time of 600/42 = 14 seconds, which really isn't enough time given your maximum 3200 ISO setting.
If you were able to pick up a Sigma 10-20mm lens second hand (I just sold my Canon version for $325), then this would open up the possibilities a lot more -- that would give you similar performance to the equipment I used for my Perseid shot on August 13th. Alternatively, a new camera with good low-noise performance up at the 6400-8000 ISO range would allow you to use your existing lens.
However, I still would encourage you to give it a go and see what you get. For settings, there is no question that you need to set the camera to 3200 ISO, and use the lens at 28mm. Set your camera up in manual mode, and use the lens at it's widest aperture, which I think is f/3.5 at 28mm. Then try shutter speeds of between 15 and 30 seconds. It probably won't be amazing, but it might be pretty good.
If that doesn't get anything usable, you will still be able to take star trail photographs. These aren't quite as breathtaking and unusual as starfield photographs, but they are fun to take and, when done well, can still be absolutely stunning. There are some good tutorials on star trails online, such as here:
http://www.lightstalking.com/how-to-photograph-star-trails
And I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about them. I also wrote a short document for my local Meetup group on star photography (for both star trails and starfield photography) that you may find useful, although I wrote it in rather a hurry so it might not be entirely understandable! If you'd like to take a look, it's available here:
https://docs.google.com/a/alexisbirkill.com/document/d/1l1nf4fmFAWddif-wgUrRQGWVviinr7fe9Y-7HRZ0cpQ/edit