Trying a little low light photograpy

[AAFO_WSagar]

Was that done with a HUGE flash? Obviously it was an air to air shot, but it looks to have been a short exposure due to the lack of a full prop blur. I'm curious how this shot was taken. Its a cool shot.

Will

I was second seat in the photo plane, having to shoot "over shoulder" out of a Baron. The other guy was Paul Bowen's assistant.. he was shooting flash... I either managed a shot at the same moment he did or the Baron's strobe and I synced...

Apparently there's a "guy somewhere" who specializes in "posing" airplanes in low light settings, often with backlighting being provided with beautiful sunsets and city backdrops... He uses a super strobe that is powered by a car battery!!

I've seen his stuff somewhere but wow... what a good trick to have in the bag.

And yes, he was close enough to allow a normal speedlight to collect enough light for that type shot.

[AAFO_WSagar]

here's the data from the original file...

Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED
Shot at 58 mm
Exposure: Auto exposure, Shutter priority AE, 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 400, Compensation: +4/3
Flash: none
Focus: AF-C, Center, at 8.4m, with a depth of field of about 4.5m, (from about 1.7m before the focus point to about 2.8m after)
AF Area Mode: Dynamic Area (closest subject)
User Comment: COPYRIGHT 2006 Wayne Sagar/AAFO.COM
Date: March 16, 2008 5:46:19AM (timezone not specified)
(3 years, 11 months, 7 days, 9 hours, 56 minutes, 34 seconds ago, assuming image timezone of US Pacific)

File: 2,848 × 4,288 JPEG (12.2 megapixels)
2,165,823 bytes (2.1 megabytes) Image compression: 94%
Color Encoding: Embedded color profile: “sRGB”

[helenhews]

These photos are nice. I've never made such good night photos

[AAFO_WSagar]

Welcome to the hangar.... your IP address shows you are from quite a ways away from Chicago!!

[RAD2LTR]

These photos are nice. I've never made such good night photos

Thanks. I'm finding that the key to night photography is patience, a good tripod, and a camera with a decent sensor that you can set to a bulb setting. For these shots, I think I shot them at either 100 or 200 ISO. I used a long exposure time and just let it sit there. A remote is also key to keeping the camera from moving.

Will

[AAFO_WSagar]

Thanks. I'm finding that the key to night photography is patience, a good tripod, and a camera with a decent sensor that you can set to a bulb setting. For these shots, I think I shot them at either 100 or 200 ISO. I used a long exposure time and just let it sit there. A remote is also key to keeping the camera from moving

Hey Will... didn't mean to hijack your thread!! What you're doing is completey a different thing than what I put up..... Sorry Man!

[RAD2LTR]

Hey Will... didn't mean to hijack your thread!! What you're doing is completey a different thing than what I put up..... Sorry Man!

Your P51 shot still kinda falls in the category. It was obviously a low light shot. All the stuff I've posted here is just me screwing around. I've always been fascinated by night photography and I think I'm just now figuring out out to do it. I like seeing what other people have done, and every so often they post how they did it (as you did).

To be honest, most of what I shoot are race cars and airplanes. Looking at things in a different light (or lack there of) is kinda fun, and its a challenge to figure out how to do it. To be honest, I'm hoping I'll have the chance to try shooting some similar shots as these at Reno in Sept. Heck, a 10 minute exposure with the north star over a Tigercat (or what ever else might be sitting there in the pits) might turn out to be a really cool shot.

If other people wish to add their own shots that were taken in low light, please do. I guess we could turn it into a "How did you shoot that" thread. Heck, I've dragged threads off topic. It happens.


Will

[AAFO_WSagar]

Hey Will... thanks man! I had just looked back, read the thread, and thought to myself.... "geesh... nuttin like stealin' a guys !"

Light, lack thereof, mixed light... fascinating stuff... Neal "Wingman" Nurmi can bend the logic in my brain so far I can't see straight when he talks about cameras and light!

Neal not only takes outstanding shots, he knows exactly *how* the camera did it and how it reacted to what he dialed in...

Living at the coast better than half of the time (gotta see the BeerNazi as often as possible) there are situations that I see driving back and forth a lot that baffle me on just how to get "the shot"... Foggy early morning stuff, or late evening stuff, light on the hilltops, not much on the low stuff, lots of low hanging fog.. really cool looking but to capture it....



Fun stuff.... !