Starry Starry Night
Just a quick post this evening of an image taken with my new Nikon D800 during a private nighttime photo shoot of historic Chapel Hill in Shandon, California, with fellow photographer Kevin L. Cole and his wife Anne. Kevin is an expert night photographer who was gracious enough to assist me in my first attempt at shooting stars and star trails. Until my recent purchase of a high-end DSLR with a full-frame sensor, I did not have the capability to capture night shots of the stars due to noise issues and sensor overheating. To say this wonderful camera is an upgrade to my older Nikon with a cropped sensor is an understatement. With a full-frame sensor and 36MP to work with, it is a joy and I look forward to making very large prints for my studio.
Starry Starry Night
This image is a single Camera RAW shot taken at ISO 200 with a 24mm lens at f4 with an exposure time of 150 seconds. There are both star points and star trails visible in the photograph. A bit of light painting was used on the chapel due to the foreground darkness. However, there was a waxing crescent moon directly behind us, which helped light the chapel until it turned orange and set over the surrounding hills. The image was processed in Lightroom 4, Photoshop CS5 (I don’t have CS6 yet), and with onOne Software’s Perfect Effects 6.1.
For more information on Chapel Hill, see my prior post Chapel Hill. I am currently working on the timed sequence of shots I took using an intervalometer to capture circular star trails, which will require running a stacking script in Photoshop. I will post more images as I process them. We aimed our cameras at Polaris in order to render circular star trails. A compass is essential when planning these excursions, as well as the wonderful app TPE – The Photographer’s Ephemeris. Check the iTunes app store to purchase this indispensable utility.
Simon Brushfield
Oh Renee, your ‘Starry Starry Night’ is beautiful. Just looks amazing and I love the chapel with the cross raised triumphantly. It’s like a christmas nativity scene.
Renée Besta
Simon, thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. I appreciate your kind words. Yes, this is a very beautiful and unique chapel high upon a hill. To have gotten permission to photograph it at night was a blessing. That night was very clear, allowing us to shoot the stars and star trails. Perfect conditions. Thanks to the Clark family for allowing us access to their private property.
So Many Cool Photography Links That We Might Just Break the Internet
[...] Starry Starry Night – you have simply got to see this picture! Renée M. Besta heads out under the cover of night with a friend to grab a picture of this iconic chapel on a hill. This extremely high-resolution image delivers some stunning details in the chapel’s architecture, as well as a batch of wonderful stars in the night sky. What an absolutely beautiful image. [...]
Renée Besta
I am deeply grateful for your very kind words and for the link to my blog post and image. Toad, you are very special and provide a great service to the photographic community by compiling so many wonderful links on the Light Stalking community. Thanks again for your time and comments. I have learned so much from Light Stalking!
Digi Diva
I am a big fan of night photography. It is challenging to shoot in the dark! Excellent capture and post-processing. Chapel Hill is a wonderful subject by itself. But the addition of the night sky makes it especially wonderful.
Renée Besta
Thanks so much for your kind comments, Carol. I wish you had been with us on this special night shoot.
Toad Hollow Photography
What a truly incredible picture, Renee! Wowsers, my friend! I would have given anything to have been there with you on this one, what an exciting place and most wonderful results!!
Renée Besta
Toad, I deeply appreciate your taking time to hop by and check out my latest image. Thank you for your kind comments. I am so thrilled with my upgrade to the Nikon D800, and now have the capability to shoot nightscapes like this. On Saturday night I will be going out with our local Camera Club to shoot a rocky cove along the Pacific Ocean under the moon and stars. So looking forward to shooting with my new camera. Thanks again, my friend. You rock Toad!
Mimi Ditchie
Stunning night capture. I love how you got both pin point stars and little trails. A beautiful image.
Renée Besta
Thanks for your comments, Mimi. Much appreciated. I now have a real appreciation of how difficult these shots are to get and to post-process.