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Contents equipment journey woodland park calhan painted mines great sand dunes national park thoughts resources
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EQU I PM E NT
NOTES CAMERA WIDE ANGLE LENS
I chose to continue with the same Nikon camera body from the last issue, yet I decided to buy a 24 mm Rokinon lens with an f number of 1.4., I’ll give it a go.
With low f number exposes the night TRIPOD REMOTE Movement equals disturbance (bad) HEAD LAMP
I took a tripod (very very important) this will keep your camera in a fixed position otherwise any movement will blur your image during shooting.
Allow you to play with lighting in your shots, and allows you to get around.
Use a remote shutter release, either a cable or remote, anything which will allow you not to handle or wriggle the camera. This protects from all sorts of movement, any time when one presses the shutter release it can cause movement. A remote is the only way to go!
It’s nice to have a cuppa, it brings civilization to the wilds.
You will also need photo editing software, Photoshop or Lightroom is what I will use for final results.
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CAMPING STOVE Optional
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JOURNEY This time our exploits will lead us further south near the New Mexican border, our first stop is outside of a small town called Woodland Park, the second stop is outside Calhan and the final stop is the Great Sand Dunes National park. Each of these locations was picked to see how light pollution from neighbouring towns would affect the outcome of the photographs.
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WOODLAND PARK Near Woodland Park Colorado, off of Highway 67 lies an outcrop of red rock formations. Here I will try to capture the formations under the November’s skys. Although cold, the earth being further away on its tilted axis allows the northern hemisphere shorter waiting times for it to become dark sooner. So not a lot of waiting time in the cold.
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Although I took these shots with my camera and was really pleased with the outcome. I wanted to experiment with the use of enhancing my photographs through the use of Adobe’s Photoshop. With some simple exposure adjustments and layer mask I was able to target certain parts of the photo. For instance the sky adjustment allows me to color correct to the blue.
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CALHAN Outside of Calhan lies a small place were star gazers can see the Milky Way from their doorstep. I am taking advantage of this and although the drive will be tiresome and a lot further from my doorstep this time. One side of the park, faces the city and the light pollution while the other side faces the Colorado plains. This mixture of humans and nature allows for light pollution to come together from the city and the plains to produce some interesting astrophotography effects.
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GREAT SAND DUNES ALAMOSA After driving 4 hours south to the Sand Dunes hiking to High Dune and having had a cuppa ( tea ) under the sliver of waxing moon, my work begins. Wandering from dune to dune searching for the right shot, which contained the endless sea of a sandy landscape washed with a carpet of stars that stretched out before I knew it, I was in the right spot. I begin shooting for nirvana.
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THOU GHTS Colorado has so much in the way of geological wonder and diversity, much like the night’s sky and to be able to capture both in one shot is simply amazing to me. The other amazing thing is, well the journey to get to these places. I find myself seeing other places along the way and making note to come back and shoot these places as well. Keep exploring
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RESOURCES 30
Here are websites which give you an in depth overview of how to shoot at night. Then equipment that you should know how to use or how long your exposure will be using Nikon or Canon cameras. www.lonelyspeck.com This site will supply you with the equipment you need sold new or used. www.bhphotovideo.com Camren photographic resources can provide local rentals or out of state rentals. They are not too hard hitting on the wallet. Camren has a ton of equipment for rent. www.camren.com
This site allows you to find dark skies through its map so you can take photos of the night sky away from light polluted inhabited areas. There are other cities that have taken steps to get rid of their light pollution altogether. maps.darksky.net This site tells you if the weather is clear or the moon is out. www.noaa.gov
More info at astrophoria0@gmail.com
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