Experiments with time....

If there is one thing about photography everyone must embrace; it's learning to experiment. I love to experiment in preparation for a specific event or photo shoot. Aside from general portrait shoots this weekend I took some time to do some experimenting.

My first experiment was last night. I attended a Star Party with a group of astronomer friends. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night in July. The stars were bright and I learned much more about our great universe.

Now the whole astronomy field has been a new experience for me but it also gave me a chance to experiment with a technique I've wanted to perfect. I have an image in mind for a fine art piece I want to take in a very specific spot here in Malibu. One I hope to share with you soon when completed. The image involves long exposures that allow me to capture "star trails" as the earth moves through space. 

My experience for this project was actually successful. I aimed my camera straight at the big dipper among all these telescopes. Here is my end result.

It's not my best work by far, but it did provide me with valuable insight for my planned fine art piece. So in most regards it was a success. I was able to capture the star trails.

What you see above is a compilation of 140 photographs stacked on top of each other. How did I do this?

It's really not that hard. I aimed at the Big Dipper and took 140 thirty-sec exposures. So for almost 2 hours I pressed my camera shutter every 30 seconds. Yes it takes patience, but the result can be intriguing.  

I used image stacking software to place every image on top one another to get the final product. So essentially what you see above is nearly a 2 hour long exposure. With the success of last night I am now excited to go out an complete the photograph I really want to take....more on that in the future.

The other side of the spectrum:

This afternoon, I decided to experiment with the other side of the spectrum; High Speed photography. I decided to test out some high speed work with the fountains we have on our property.

This experiment is also for a special shot a client has ordered from me that involves photographing an arrow from a bow while in midair. Yes...that will be a complicated photo shoot.

So I set my camera to 1/8000 of a sec, set the F-Stop to 2.8, and bumped up my ISO to 640. 

This is what I got.

Now I'm confident that I will be able to create both of the shots I have planned. It's takes experimenting, but I'm always amazed by the amount of fun it can be when you experiment. Hopefully soon  I can share the real photo shoot that these experiments have helped me prepare for. -cg