I have already received some requests to post a wallpaper version of the first photo from my “how to photograph a lunar eclipse” article, so without much wait – here it is (the link to the large version is below the photo).
Total Lunar Eclipse 1920×1200 Widescreen Wallpaper
Unfortunately, I had to use high ISO levels to be able to photograph the moon at relatively fast shutter speeds, so there is plenty of noise in the above image…
I intentionally waited on posting this article on how to photograph a lunar eclipse until it actually took place on 12/21/2010, because I wanted to document my experience and provide information on what challenges I had during the process of photographing this rare, but stunningly beautiful phenomenon. This was not my first time trying to photograph a lunar eclipse – I tried it once back in 2008, but the weather did not cooperate back then and I did not get any good pictures. My luck was much better this time and although the sky was not completely clear, I was still fortunate enough to capture the entire process, from full moon to total lunar eclipse, then back to full moon. The next lunar eclipse will occur in the summer of next year, so if you missed it this year, definitely try to get out and take some pictures, especially when the moon turns bloody red.
Here is what the blood red Total Lunar Eclipse of 2010 looked like last night:
After taking a long break, I’m now back to posting as usual. Currently finishing up: “indoors flash photography using off-camera flash” and tomorrow will be hopefully posting two new articles – “how to take portraits indoors with a Christmas tree” and “how to photograph a lunar eclipse” (yes, info on how the above image was taken will also be posted in detail). Stay tuned!
One of our readers, Steven Ross, was kind enough to send an image to me as a Case Study. He is wondering why his image did not come out sharp, with some light spill and overexposure. Here is what he sent me:
San Jacinto Monument at night
And his comments:
I used the camera on aperture priority mode and on a tripod but it appears that since the monument was being lit by spotlights the shutter speed was too long and the monument seems much brighter/overexposed compared to the rest of the scene.
I was not really planning on photographing the fireworks on July 4th, because I was enjoying a short vacation with my family at Glenwood Springs. When I was told that the fireworks would be fired from an open area behind the hotel where we were staying (less than several hundred feet away), I decided to take the challenge and see if I could capture anything interesting from that close of a distance. As I pointed out in my how to photograph fireworks article, it is generally not a good idea to stand too close to fireworks. I wanted to see what other challenges I would face, considering that I only had two lenses with me – Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G, shooting on an FX body.
Wondering about how to photograph fireworks at the 4th of July fireworks show? With only a few days left before the US Independence Day, many of us photographers will soon be preparing to take pictures of beautiful fireworks. In this quick article, I will provide some tips on how to best capture fireworks, what type of equipment to use and what camera settings to use during the process. Although the process of shooting fireworks is relatively simple, there are some things that might be worth trying, as outlined below.
Fireworks, 3 second exposure
Our first case study was submitted by our regular visitor Dennis, who lives in Singapore. Here is the description of his problem:
Hi Nasim, I have tried night shots using 35mm f/1.8G. It is a landscape shot with river reflecting street lamps. I do it handheld, aperture mode, f1.8, shutter 1/5sec, ISO 1600. Strangely despite a dark black sky, the shot came out reddish sky and the center focus point have some reflected light that shouldn’t be there. I tried to shoot other night shots on sky, it appeared to have this reflected light. The pattern is random, depends on what I shoot. I don’t understand why. Do I have to take out the UV filter attached on it? I have read through these tips, but couldn’t understand what causes this to happen. Yours look sharp!
Dennis sent me the following picture as an example, which was taken in a public park in Singapore:
Case Study: Night Shot
Here are my comments on the photo, along with the solution to the problem:
[Read more...]
I have been playing with the new Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0 VR lens and I must say, this thing is sweet! The first thing that wondered me when I grabbed the lens, was to see if VR is truly useful on an ultra wide zoom lens like this. Well, after some quick tests, I must say that VR truly does work the magic!
Take a look at this shot at 1/10th of a second that I shot hand-held in a very dark restaurant:
Nikon 16-35mm f4.0 VR - 17mm, 1/10 @ f/4.0, ISO 3200
Too bad the kite surfer got mixed up with the black horizon – otherwise it would have been an OK picture.
I waited for the kite surfer to jump up, but he never did and it seemed like he spent more time in the water, trying to get back on. The sunset though, was beautiful!
Shot with Nikon D700 and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G lens.
Low light photography is not necessarily just night photography, as many people assume. There could be different amounts of light coming from various sources and whatever is less than daytime light outside, I consider low-light. Indoors photography without much ambient light (as in many of our homes) as well as the light that is barely visible to our eyes at night, is also considered to be low-light. In this article, I will provide tips on how to take pictures in various low-light environments, whether indoors or outdoors.
Antelope Canyon, 5 second exposure @ f/10, ISO 200
Before we go any further, let’s first identify the varying levels of low-light and categorize them, so that we could refer to them in examples. Although it is very hard to categorize the amount of light, due to the fact that it is a long range of light between very bright and pitch black, just for the sake of making it easier to explain and refer to, I still decided to divide it into three categories:
