timelapse goals

Earlier this year, "goals" was a frequent social media comment.

"You two are relationship goals"

"Body goals"

...the list goes on.

Now, there have been some phrases popular in social media and popular culture that I don't get:
life "hacks", on "fleek", "bless"; but "goals"...that one I can get behind.

I set a goal for myself three years ago to make a timelapse video of night scenes.  This goal hasn't really come to fruition yet. I've made some short clips, but because timelapses at night take time, and sleep, away from me, I haven't made great strides on this project.

So, this year, I would like to change that.

With summer comes shorter nights, but it also is prime time to see the brightest part of the Milky Way.  It is beginning to rise earlier in the evening (currently, I believe it rises around midnight).  Being obsessed with the Milky Way, I have opportunity knocking at my door!

There may be some sleep-deprived days, but hopefully it will be worth it!

Until then, I would like to share a short clip of some previous timelapse work:
https://vimeo.com/125383398

It's a little rough, but it's a start!

Stormy Weather

It's March!  Usually I feel relieved when the calendar hits March; I've survived another winter. Unfortunately, this year, I know that's not in the cards just yet.

Soon, though, it WILL be spring.  And with spring comes, as they say, "April showers," but in Kansas, these showers are usually thunderstorms.  Last year, during a visit with my parents, I got the chance to witness a thunderstorm move in the late evening, and watch the lightning light up the sky in the east afterward. I was taking pictures of the lightning in our yard when my dad offered to take me out a little bit into the country, where these shots were taken:

I was hoping to get an individual strike of lightning, but there were so many strikes of lightning, hidden behind the clouds that I don't think it was possible to capture such an image.

Last November, a storm moved in very quickly and left as quick as it had arrived.  It was an eerie night, as the moon was full in the east, but this storm moved in from the west and moved north.  I took some photos of this as well:

It should be noted that in both sets of pictures, the storm had passed far enough that I didn't think I was in danger of being hit by lightning.  The skies above me had cleared.

This is still a phenomenon that captivates me in night photography!

Post # 13, Podcast

Post # 12, Thoughts

I went to a photography seminar over a year ago.  Instructors at this seminar included photographers featured in the National Geographic, Pulitzer Prize winners...the list goes on.  I was very excited, but also nervous: who knew what these people would be like?  Would they snub their noses at me for lack of creativity, lack of credence? 

To my surprise, one photographer sat down next to me and my computer, looked over my shoulder, and said, "You need a card reader."  (I was uploading my photos through a USB cord attached to my camera).  Later he said, "You need to upload your photos in a program that will allow you to organize your photos."  This photographer was Jim Richardson, who was the one who inspired one of my photographs featured earlier in this blog.  I was so amazed at his willingness to help, to offer advice, and at his attitude in general.  Upbeat, approachable, modest.   During this seminar he spoke to the class, and recommended a photo shoot opportunity of the springtime burning of the Flint Hills at the Flying W Ranch in Chase County.  I took his advice and went to this event this past April (see photos below).

My point in sharing this story is that every photographer begins somewhere.  The first photos they take are usually not that great.  But they keep trying and learn from others who have more experience.  Nowadays, cameras are more accessible and so are the tools to learning photography; almost anyone with a camera can call themselves a photographer! What I learned from Jim Richardson was that even with so much competition these days in photography, it doesn't hurt to share your knowledge; in fact it may be an even more rewarding experience!  I appreciate this attitude and hope to pass that on.

Post # 11, People and Night Photography

As you have read this blog, you may have noticed that most of these pictures are landscapes, not necessarily portraits of people.  This is an element I wish to add to my pictures: people.  A problem with taking pictures of people at night or in low light is that most shutter speeds are slow, so action is blurred.  This is a cool effect, if desired.  Turning on the camera's flash can freeze motion, but can also be too harsh for contrast.

You can also combine these elements:  give a friend a flashlight, take a picture for a minute or two, and let your friend move around, turning the flashlight on themselves as they move around.

Here's an example:

Or, have your friend make patterns in the air with the flashlight:

This picture is one I took for a photography (Darkroom Photography) class I'm taking this semester.  This is me on my boardwalk outside my apartment, looking out at the night sky.  I put the camera on the tripod, and set it behind me; framed the shot, set the camera to bulb, and pushed the cable release down so it would stay down for as long as I desired.  I then walked into the frame, posed for 20 seconds or so, and walked back to the camera and ended the shot.  I ended up with a ghostly effect:

It should be noted the light from this photo is from the building's floodlight. 

In general, I would like to add more portraits of people to my portfolio, and especially photos taken at night.  I think the effects you can get are pretty cool!

Post # 10, White Balance and Noise

Today I will touch on a subject that may be specific to photographers: white balance and noise.  White balance refers to the color of the light in which you are shooting; daylight, especially at noon, is usually white, but sunrise and sunset usually feature a warmer orange/red tone (as the sun is at a different angle in the sky, passing through a thicker atmosphere at that time). You can adjust your camera to take pictures with this warm tone.  At night, for example, I usually try to shoot in a blue tone (tungsten).  However, sometimes I forget to adjust my settings, so I have to edit my pictures later.

Another thing I want to discuss is noise.  My camera, a basic, entry-level DSLR has a noise-reduction feature for my higher ISO settings.  ISO, you may remember, is a level of the camera's sensitivity to light.  The higher the ISO, the more light it will pick up, so you can use a faster shutter speed (take less time to take a picture).  However, with this heightened sensitivity comes a price:  the pictures are usually "grainy", or pixelated.  Even though I have turned my noise-reduction setting on, I still notice some graininess.

Here is an example of both image noise and also daylight white balance.  Notice the color of the horizon; that is where I notice image noise and grain the most in this photo (but please ignore the pickup)!

Here are two photos: one shown as taken, and the other one edited to look more blue:

I do like the blue color of the sky, but editing it to this much blue may be too much, as I've lost some detail in the sky and also the rock formations.  I just wanted to show the difference white balance can make!  

Post #9, Autumn night skies continued

Thanksgiving is soon approaching, and I will be heading home to western Kansas for the holiday.  The last two Thanksgivings have been productive for my night photography hobby.  I was able to take advantage of unseasonably warm weather two years ago for a night photography session, and last year, my hometown added a fireworks display to its annual Light Parade on "Black Friday" night.  (Actually, it was too dry on the Fourth of July to shoot them, so they tied in the display to Light Parade.)

Regardless, I thought this was a cool chance to take pictures of the fireworks and of people enjoying the fireworks.  So I took my camera, my tripod and my cable release to the parade, and set up for the fireworks.  I ended up with around 200 pictures of fireworks, and this is one of my favorites:

The moon was out last year, so I didn't take any pictures of the Milky Way, but instead I wanted to use the moonlight to illustrate the abandoned landscape of the area.  My parents joined me in taking pictures at a vacant farmstead, and here are some shots I took:

I actually took several shots of this tree, hoping to stack the images together to show a time lapse.  Here is a little gif of those shots!