Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Return of the Night

Night
Canon 7d, Sigma 30mm f1.4, 56 seconds, f1.4, (Bulb setting) ISO 400

I captured this image a few weeks ago on my very first night with Canon 7D. Night imagery is tricky in the digital world because the longer the shutter speed the more noise is generated. This image at 56 seconds is pushing it, but with acceptable results. The haze is from approaching clouds which were catching the lights of Fairbanks a few miles to the south of where I made the image on my property.

Winter is a difficult time of year for photography in Alaska. Conditions can be brutally cold, which is hard on equipment, hands and the rest of us. But the rewards can be great. Even close to Fairbanks we have superb sky watching, some of the best in fact. The aurora can rise in green curtains without warning and disappear just as quickly. I have relatively few images of the aurora, and once again, on the night I made this image it was absent yet again. I'll continue to keep my eyes on the sky this winter, and hopefully I come up with some images to share.

Oh, it's clear, full moon and -5 out as I write this. Welcome winter!

1 comment:

  1. I think you're too modest when you say "acceptable results". :-) I wish my vocabulary was better. To say it's beautiful seems trite, but it is.

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