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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Night Photography

I had so much fun with this assignment -- even though I froze my butt off (literally... I couldn't feel it when I got inside! sorry if that was TMI) and almost died.
Yes, I almost died! I was out taking photos in my backyard when I heard a growling sound... I'm not even making this up, okay. It sounded like it was only 3 feet away from me. I don't scare all that easily, but I almost had a heart attack. Soooo I ran inside and made my younger brother come out with me for protection. He brought our air soft gun to make me feel even safer. I have nice brothers ;)

Another adventure was shooting without a tripod... I know, I need one! Anyone want to buy me one?

Anyone? Anyone?

....Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

*sigh* fine. Moving on. So I was out in the dark, with my brother there, toting around a kitchen/bar stool and using my hat to balance out my camera if the stool was on uneven ground. It was pretty interesting.

But, at least one of these photos was worth it! So, without further... anyone, anyone?
Ado!

1. Nighttime scene of nature:
ISO: 200 || f/3.2 || Shutter: 5.00 Seconds
Canon 10D, 50mm lens
This is my FAVORITE. Oh my goodness I love it! I can't believe that it was almost pitch black when I took it -- or that the wind was blowing the branches every which way! I knew I had to do an edit like this on it... and I love it. Love love love it! Oh, that's kind of egotistical, huh?

2. Nighttime scene of architecture:
ISO 100 || f/4.5 || Shutter: 30.00 Seconds
Canon 10D, 50mm lens
This was taken in the very back of my yard -- the lights in the distance are actually a small airport that's down the street from where I live. Oh and... BOKEH. I love bokeh!!

3. Long-exposure with a flashlight/sparkler/lighter/or some other light source:
ISO 200 || f/3.2 || Shutter: 13.00 Seconds
Canon 10D, 50mm lens
This one I'm not all that crazy about -- I love the flowers, but the long-exposure flashlight just seems a bit too bright to me. I did all I could to make it not so overpowering! I like to think of it as a swarm of fireflies... It makes it better ;) Other than being a bit too bright right there, I think it's pretty!

4. Monochromatic nighttime shot:
ISO 200 || f/3.2 || Shutter: 20.00 Seconds
Canon 10D, 50mm lens
I would just like to say that I did not desaturate this in PS... I tried to get one that looked monochromatic SOOC, and I did it! I did some touch ups, of course, but this is basically SOOC. I saw this one star through the branches of this pine, and I thought it was gorgeous. Little did I know that a few others (invisible to my eye) would make a little appearance in the photo! Can you see them? This one is pretty fun for me, as well, because it's more abstract. If you know me and my photography, I don't do much abstract work. Still not my favorite, but it's fun! And pretty legit.

5. Free style! Whoo:
ISO 400 || f/13 || Shutter: 30.00 seconds
Canon 10D, 18-55mm lens
Isn't that so cool?? Okay, lemme tell you what I did here... After the shutter started, I slowly zoomed in all the way (manually, with my zoom lens). Then, once I was in all the way, I slowly came back out. I did this until the shutter was finished, that the above was the product! Awesome, right?? To help show what it looks like without doing that, here is one taken without zooming in and out...

ISO 400 || f/13 || Shutter: 30.00 Seconds
Canon 10D, 18-55mm lens (at about 50mm)
 Still cool looking, but not nearly as legit, right? I do love the clouds in this one though. It looks like someone (maybe He was!) is painting the sky right there.

ISO 400 || f/13 || Shutter: 30.00 Seconds
Canon 10D, 18-55mm lens (at about 20mm)
And, because I was thinking I had to do a portrait while I was out there, here is that. For this I actually set it all up, then went and got into position then had my brother push the button for me (I had to walk quite a ways to get here). That still counts, right? I just had him push the button. I'm not sure...

For all of these I used the timer, so that my camera wouldn't have any shake from me pushing da button.
It was nice to see that I can actually do pictures in pitch black -- as long as there isn't moving from it or the camera. Or, at least as little as possible. I love these assignments that push me to test my limits!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow Rachel! I just love the photo's you took! I really liked the one where you experimented with zoom on the city lights. It caused a really fun effect! :D

Anonymous said...

I am so glad that this assignment was able to push you as a photographer and give you some unique challenges. I really love the experimentation you did on these shots and I think you really nailed the results. The composition of these images turned out so well. I need to go out and try the zoom in long exposure technique to see what I can come up with!

Anonymous said...

WOW!! You did a FANTASTIC job Rachel. I loved every single one of your photos. I loved how you experimented with zoom. I need to go try that out.
;) That pictures turned out beautiful. :) Fantastic Job Rachel! :)