Off Into the Night

I’ve said it before, but night time photography is what got me started in this crazy world. Typically I like to choose small scenes, add a little light painting, I have tried the grand landscape a time or two before, but I don’t think I’ve ever nailed it before [mind you, I am not sure I nailed this]. This was shot from high up on the parkway over the Cradle of Forestry, looking down into the scene you can plainly tell there was still some light in the sky. It was ten minutes till the end of Blue hour, and I couldn’t see anything in the valley bellow, but there was still a nice burnt orange glow in the sky off to the right. I tried this shot several times, darker and darker it got, until eventually I wound up with three exposures I could work with.

This shot is a combination of exposure blending, color correction, and some simple editing. Color correction is actually the hardest for me when it comes right down to it, so I typically only do it in small parts of a photo, in this case I had to correct the whole photo form a deep, almost over saturated purple to what you see now. My editing program did make the process easier, but it can be tough getting right the first few times, I recommend starting small and working towards larger goals.

As far as exposure blending, the best way to manage it that I have found is in photoshop and using layer masks. It sounds intimidating, but believe me, exposure blending might be one of the simplest things you do in your photo edits. Sure, getting edges right can occasionally be tough, but the real goal is using the simple tools you have and creating depth in a photo. It’s easy to overdo it, but equally easy to begin mastering the process. If you guys have been watching me for some time over the last few months I have been using this technique to create my images. Look it up, and try it out!

Until Next Time!

Aperture: f6.4
ISO: 160
SS: 30secs
Focal: 33mm

Fujinon 16-55mm