davew

I was quite surprised how many boats went passed while I was there. There were the usual observation boats and one wide beam party barge ( Read floating pub ! ) that you could hear well before it appeared ! I'll have a look at those websites but I'll avoid the gear reviews Dave.

I thought I'd have a go at a Day to Night Moonrise timelapse over our brand new city centre super shiny high rise buildings 😎 So new they haven't even been rained on yet ☂️ Normally a Day to Night is a complicated manual nightmare but with the modern mirrorless cameras it's become much easier. Once you know what effect you want to achieve and the settings to get there then it's all done in camera and a video appears at the end of it all. I set my Nikon Z6ii up in Aperture Priority at f8 to keep the buildings fairly sharp and, so as to keep Moon trailing to a minimum, I set the maximum exposure time to 3 seconds for a 70mm lens. During the exposing stages the settings went from F8, ISO 100 and 1/100 seconds all the way to F8, ISO 1100 at 3 seconds. All I then had to do was trim the beginning of the video as I'd started a bit too early. The shooting spot is on the Manchester Ship Canal at Pomona Dock No. 3. Video best viewed in 1080p Cheers, Dave.

Another shot from Pomona dock Salford. It's hard to believe now that this is where ocean going ships would unload their cargo. Shot with a Nikon Z6ii, 70mm, f8, ISO 100 and 1/40 second. Dave

Here's a shot taken in the old Salford docks on the Manchester Ship Canal. It's Pomona number three dock. Shot with a Nikon D810, 105mm, f8, ISO 200 and 1/8th second. It reminds me of an old Father Ted video about things that are small verses far away. 😁 Dave.

I admire your clean foregrounds. I should try harder. That R8 seems to be serving you well. Dave

Never a truer word spoken. I often get in the situation where the forecasts say no and when it's too late to get out, the sky says yes ! I'll play around a bit more with the LLL and see where I get. I'll also try and match up lighting with timelapsing. It's still possible to process video of course but should be better if you get it reasonably right in camera which is not my greatest forte. I normally underexpose as modern sensors will take the abuse after stacking. Cheers, Dave.

You know Lee, I often like the chase of light painting and am all over the place with my torch. I bought a remote ( Up to 100m range ) just so I can indulge Thanks very much mate. Orion has to be the finest sky target there is so good luck this winter. Dave.

I've had a look at my 14mm LLL image side by side with it as it appears on my PC and the difference is mainly the colour balance. Rather Gaudy is a good description It actually looks brighter on here but isn't ! It's the colour of the reeds that throws the eye so very interesting. If I see a valley or hill I'll still do the long exposures but don't really blend day and night photos as Lee does. Just as an aside, quite a few National Parks in the USA have now banned all photographic lighting, much to the anger of many imagers, even though you can drive through them with car headlights ablaze. I do understand though. Dave

Thanks Paul, I seem to change what is acceptable lighting for me based on what is in the foreground as natural light with a long exposure often does the job better than I can ! You are quite right. There's an old abandoned quarry ( North of me and south of you ) I'll try and get to and give it another go. Dave.

Now then ... Timelapses. I hadn't thought too deeply about that but it's a good shout. I think it would take more effort to balance the colour temperature and light output than I've done here. I'll have to experiment, unless someone with colour balance experience can advise us ? Ha Ha. I ate all the dark chocolate mint KitKats already I still have a chunky left over but as it doesn't travel well I'll have to eat that too ! Dave.

In the past I've almost always lit my night scenes with targeted torch waving. It's been a reasonably successful method and the more I practice the more I'm happy with it. There is a situation where it doesn't really work and that's over a large and open area. Last year I took a snap of the fishing pond and Orion at Kelling with no wide area lighting and this Autumn I tried low level lighting for the reeds and trees to see if it looked ok or not. Here's a side by side photo of the pond and you can see it's completely different. The image is a tad boring but it's just an experiment 🤨 I think it's very personal as to whether or not you like it and I have to say it looks too bright posted here but that too is personal. It looks a bit darker and subdued on my laptop. These images were taken with a 20mm lens but the one I've settled on below was taken with a 14mm lens and takes in a much wider area. As you can see from the trees and reeds it was slightly breezy ! I think in the main I like it and will be giving it a go more often. What I tend to do now is long exposure foregrounds and normal exposure skies blended together. The method I used was setting up another tripod with a light attached on top way over to the left and leaving it switched on the entire time I was exposing. This won't be very popular with other imagers in the area however so it's a good job I tend to go out on my own 😎 I set the light rather " Warm " and some of my shots look like the reeds are on fire ! I'll try daylight settings next time. Dave.

Nice images that convey the atmosphere of camping at Kielder 👍 I agree with Lunator that the Milky Way looks very good. Also a fine image of the " Secret " lone tree. Dave.

Another nice image 👍 I like the stars in this one as the colours stand out well in the fuzz. However what I particularly like is the texture and sharpness in the foreground. Very nice, Dave.

Hi Lee, Just to let you know I've looked at this on three different devices ranging from an ancient laptop screen to an OLED screen and they are definitely " Dark " Now this is a mere suggestion and you are, of course, at liberty to ignore 😱 but I feel you'd produce a better foreground impression if you got in much closer to the tree. The sky stays pretty much the same and the tree would be easier to light. In fact if you're not careful you could over light it. If it's on private land or surrounded by a bog then it may be slightly difficult ! Dave.

That's really impressive Ivo and shows great dedication ! Cheers, Dave.

I do enjoy your videos Paul. I wouldn't know where to begin so I'll stick to watching yours. Just one thing, was that selfie as dangerous as it looks ? Dave.

Oh that's nice. I've seen movement in the sky at Kielder but I'm not so sure I've seen much colour. When my aurora app goes off I'll be thinking of you ! Dave.

Quite spectacular ! I imagine that looked pretty good to the eyes too ? Cheers, Dave.

Hi Mark, Now THAT is the way to do it ! Great photos too. Dave.

I knew I would even before switching it on ! Very nice and thanks. Dave.

Wow. You've an eye for the shot I must say. I also enjoy your lyrical prose I'll be watching your video later on this evening so thanks in advance, Dave.

Thanks Wulfrun and I take your point. I used to be the same with clouds but I do now realise they actually enhance some night shots. I suppose what I meant, and didn't make clear, was that I shot at f11 and it should have been at f16 to crisp up the sunstars a bit and I'm not over keen on so many reflections below the sun. I did bury the major one right in the sun but the rest I'll have to accept. Thanks for the comment as it does boost the confidence and gets me trying different stuff. Cheers, Dave.

Thanks Lee. I thought the first photo looked like lava flow when I finished it. Cheers, Dave.

I don't think I could walk up it now. Certainly not with photo gear and copious quantities of chocolate. Hmmm, perhaps the chocolate is the problem ? Dave.

Wow, what a coincidence. I've driven and cycled on the road you were talking about before the landslide so imagine my face when I cycled up there one year and the road was gone ! Dave.