When it rains, look for rainbows
When it is dark, look for stars
When it rains stars, sit back and enjoy the show :)
Even when we don’t see – the night falls, stars raise and the show continues. Here is a fleeting moment spread across 25 mins, from a random night captured from few years back.
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 2500 : 10 mm : f3.5 : 30 sec [50 shots]
Cosmic Showers
Harmon, Illinois, USA
The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows. – Brene Brown
This shot is from few years back, when we used to do occasional visits between Greenville, SC and Alpharatta,GA. Enroute is the fabulous forests of Tugaloo, right adjacent to lake Hartwell. From one such drive, sunday late into the night, ignoring the imminent monday morning blues – pulled over an arbitrary & craggy road. Decided to take a stroll and it didn’t disappoint.
Set on a timer, this was captured as contiguous 177 shots spread over 45+ minutes. As for the processing ran the 177 shots through the (free) Creative Effects UI Photoshop script with Saucer effect. This could have been shot as a single exposure, but I always prefer smaller multiple exposures. It gives a lot more freedom around the creative processing :) How do u like it !
Forest of Tugaloo
Lavonia, Georgia, USA
This is not a great shot in technical sense, but the experience was quiet surreal …
I was really lucky : I got to experience the synchronous fireflies at Smokies for two years in a row. For the first year I got the tickets (this was the first year when they introduced the lottery for the viewing). For the second year I was not that lucky – the tickets got sold in minutes, from when it was opened up online.
As I was exploring to see if anyone would share or other alternate options – realized that booking a camp site at Elkmont campground, during the same days – would grant access to the trails. After trying few days, was able to grab a reservation as someone else cancelled. This even had an added advantage – It gets you within a mile of the Elkmont Viewing area. Even more, one could hike up the entire trail to avoid the crowds, much beyond the set area for lottery viewing. Just make sure to carry the campground reservation.
This shot is a composite of 164 shots (22 minutes) and around 8 sec exposure for the foreground. Thanks to the Sony A7S II that I was able to rent. This low light monster was able to capture so much of details even in the faint moon light !
The 70% gibbous moon was not conducive for the fireflies, but that did help light up the nearby stream :)
The hustling stream, chilling breeze, dark of the night, the little bit moon lit forest, walking with my son, by the trail into the Smokies Forest & Fireflies along the path – it was indeed a surreal experience !
Sony A7S II : Sony 28 mm: ISO 12800 : 10 mm : f2.0 : 8.0 sec [164 shots]
Great Smoky Mountains
Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA
Dying daylight & rising twilight,
Kindles the tiny angels of the endless night.
It is quiet a sight
Witnessing the symphony of light.Specks of light, Shining bright,
Weaving a silent song by moon’s light,
So nimble & ever in flight –
To watch them twinkle, is always a delight :)
If you are interested with how this was shot & processed, check out this article.
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 400 – 3200 : 10 mm : f8.0 : 30 sec ; 245 Shots
| Elkmont Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA |
It might be hard to believe, but this was shot just minutes before, on the other side of the road from this thunderstorm. It is indeed amazing, the kind of light that extreme weather brings. To make things interesting, I captured multiple consecutive shots to get the flower effect. Though these windmills were close, their different rotating speeds caused different flowery effects.
Whenever I had come across a windmills, while driving in the past, I had always wanted to get a shot like this. But today, it all came together – the light, the composition, the clouds & even the flowers :)
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 100 : 16 mm : f4.0 : 1/125 sec
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Windmill Wild Flowers Hwy 65, Indiana, USA |
After driving for 14 hours straight, I thought, all I would want was to get some break and sleep. But I was wrong ! As we reached the Smoky Mountain National Park and set the tent well into the darkness, the conditions were just ripe to explore some stars and was too tempting to miss ! The moon was not up, it was one of the darkest skies that I had seen in a while. It took a while to drive around and identify a spot, safe enough to shoot shoot the stars with some interesting foreground. Being new to the place, the mystery of the night and the sound of the rushing stream near by, added to the experience. The clouds were moving pretty fast, and helped set the mood of this shot to a great extent.
As for the processing of this shot : it was aided by the nifty Photoshop script(s) – Creative Trails UI & Creative Effects UI. I wrote a whole article about these scripts over the weekend. You can download the scripts here (for free, of course !) . If you are into photography do take some time to check it out.
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 2500 : 10 mm : f3.5 : 30 sec 
| Great Smoky Mountain National Park Elkmont Road, Tennessee, USA |
Know the diff between Science and science fiction : Science needs to sound and feel real to be accepted.
In the same lines : Photos need to feel and look real to some extent. But the painting is not restricted by these views.
I had been fascinated with painting from young age. I am grateful to have had my chances to play around with the same during my childhood. Growing up, I lost touch with most of these, dabbling only occasionally. There is something magical about working with art that is physical like drawing, painting, pottery or crafts. Something is missing with working on the computer as compared to the old school hand work. But given the constrains especially on time, and to kindle some of those experiences decided to take up digital equivalent, rather than missing out completely.
Have been working on the digital watercolor over the last year, trying out different techniques to get the feel right. It is no way complete and am trying out different things & refining the process, but do love the options it opens up ! It is different, personal and all the more fun. Hoping to create more art of these kind in future.
This week post is watercolor on paper based on the shot from the same location that I had posted earlier. The clouds and the light was changing so rapidly. It was literally a splash of colors. That is the mood I had wanted to share. How do u like it … Looking forward to your comments and feedback :)
Watercolor on Paper
| Busse Woods Lake Elk Grove, Illinois, USA |
Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are …
Up above the world so high , like a diamond in the sky.When the blazing sun is gone, when he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light, twinkle, twinkle all the night.Then the traveller in the dark, thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go, if you did not twinkle so.In the dark blue sky you keep, and often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye, ’till the sun is in the sky.As your bright and tiny spark lights the traveller in the dark,
Though I know not what you are – twinkle, twinkle little star.
It has been so many years that I totally forgot the lyrics of this lovely rhyme. On second thoughts – never mind – I wouldn’t have remembered past the second line, even if you had asked me then :P In the days of yore, one can only imagine how close people would have been with nature to be inspired to create such simple yet acclaimed art.
But these days, it is really unfortunate, that we are spoiling our night sky with all the light pollution. Did you know that nearly $2.2 billion dollars is spent every year in the U.S. alone on light that is wasted because it is spilled up into the night sky where it’s not needed. I drove 2 hours for this shot to get to a decent dark sky area, but still there were jarring lights on the horizon. It is high time we spread the word and raise some awareness to protect our night sky for our kids. And don’t forget to turn off the lights on Aug 12, 2013, if possible make it a habit :)
This weeks shot is from Green River State Wildlife area. And if you would like to create shots like these, check out the article – Stacking up the Stars – for the technique, Photoshop script (free download of course) and sample files to try hands on. The below is just one of the many ways you can process using the script (Creative Style Option 1 + Star Spike Pro). If your are getting started with night photography, check this write up – Sleeping with the Stars :)
You weren’t just a star in the sky, You were the whole damn sky …
Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 2500 : 10 mm : f3.5 : 30 sec [86 shots]
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Like the Ocean 