High Altitude Moonlight

[availablelight]

Hi all,

I was a little disappointed when my last post West Tibet was thought to be a composite. I have never done any composite work, not would I try to pass off an image as genuine when it was a product of photoshop. Obviously I am new here and my word may not count for much, on Naturescapes.net where I am Regional Moderator for the Asia Forum my reputation is more solid.

I believe we are in a golden age for night photography, as camera sensors are becoming more sophisticated and noise is being controlled at higher ISO's. I posted a short article on this subject this week on my blog:

Night Light

This is a shot from last weeks trip up to 15000 feet in Sichuan Province China, the most perfect conditions I have ever shot in, being calm and totally clear:

Shooting Stats: Nikon D700 24-70/2.8 @ 29mm 30s @ f4 ISO 2000

[Sterling]

Beautiful shot. I also appreciated the tip on your blog about first taking a high-ISO test shot to gauge composition, etc. before committing to a long exposure. Good advice for night shooting.

[nemesis256]

Wow, absolutely amazing! The stream leading to the mountain, and the stars topping it off. Was this taken during sunset/twilight? There's too much light to be only lit by the moon.

[availablelight]

Originally Posted by nemesis256

Wow, absolutely amazing! The stream leading to the mountain, and the stars topping it off. Was this taken during sunset/twilight? There's too much light to be only lit by the moon.

Thanks... The shot was taken at 21:04 sunset was at 18:21. The amount of moonlight at that altitude (15000 feet) is huge, there is no light pollution and very little atmosphere to reflect the light. Also @ 2000 ISO I am shooting about 3 stops over what is considered normal for night photography. The D700 really sees in the dark.

[CaptainNH]

Originally Posted by availablelight

I was a little disappointed when my last post West Tibet was thought to be a composite.

I'll stick my hand up for that one, though I didn't think that your image was PP because it LOOKED PP, but because I've only ever seen such perfectly exposed landscape elements in a night shot arrived at through blending.

Take it as a compliment, not a criticism

Your landscape shots are stunning.

[availablelight]

Originally Posted by CaptainNH

I'll stick my hand up for that one, though I didn't think that your image was PP because it LOOKED PP, but because I've only ever seen such perfectly exposed landscape elements in a night shot arrived at through blending.

Take it as a compliment, not a criticism

Your landscape shots are stunning.

I can live with that... I confess to being guilty of that myself, if I can't think how it was done, it's easy to jump to the wrong conclusion. Of course in many cases it is the right conclusion...

Thanks again...

[gnardog]

this photo is great, such a nice composition, and the stars are so visible!

[OsmosisStudios]

West Tibet was an amazing image: this doesn't disappoint either! Great job!

[Jim Bryant]

Great info there. Sorry for the comment. But, in this day in age, if a photo looks too perfect, as a trained photographers and editors, we suspect it's been played with. Too bad our editorial and news ethics and judgments get into the way of pure art. Like I said a PM to you, "You've got some truly great images!"

[availablelight]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

Great info there. Sorry for the comment. But, in this day in age, if a photo looks too perfect, as a trained photographers and editors, we suspect it's been played with. Too bad our editorial and news ethics and judgments get into the way of pure art. Like I said a PM to you, "You've got some truly great images!"

Thanks Jim, I'm really pleased that's all sorted out. It is incredibly tough these days and I think we can usually spot the fakes, but it is a difficult call sometimes. The D700 has revolutionized what I consider to be possible and has pushed me on incredibly. Can't wait for the D800 :-)