Round and Round

I had the opportunity to head out and catch the re entry of one of the SpaceX rockets, I was excited at the chance, then I found out it was a bit too late to move on the shot, get to a clear patch of sky in time. I still went out with my camera and pointed it into the sky with a little hope. Go time came and went, I frowned for a moment, just a moment. Rather than get down on myself for missing a shot, I improvised. I wasn’t setup for it, but at the same time, I was excited at the prospect. I had my camera set on interval shooting, and so I let it run longer than I originally intended, and shot a very short star trail, ending when a car came by and flooded the lens blowing everything out. While it’s not my most technical piece, it’s still one I’m satisfied with.

Improvisation. Simple, easy to comprehend, difficult to execute. That’s often the nature of photography in the field though. As a landscape photographer I have learned about getting to location early, finding a composition and waiting for those five minutes of golden, perfect light. Yet, despite all of the work that goes into getting just one shot, you will find yourself half the time having to re compose a scene for a different image than you originally anticipated. It’s the proverbial sink or swim moment, you can either let the situation defeat you, or work with the scene to create something unexpected, yet still breathtaking.

Photography is a field that hinges on the idea of perfection in the minds of so many, yet its the imperfections that draw the eye. The clouds in the image bellow, don’t exist, it’s light pollution from the car, I borrowed the effect and incorporated it into the scene. I by no means had to, but in a way it lent a certain depth to the shot. I went with that depth and pressed forward, working to turn my flat stars into a almost tunnel shape in the sky, used a bit of dodge to create hints of light traveling down from this “tunnel”. Photography isn’t about perfection, it’s about finding imperfect things, and showing everyone why they’re beautiful, interesting, and in their own way…. perfect.

Until Next Time!

Aperture: f2.8
ISO: 1600
SS: 18mins 30secs
Focal: 16mm

Fujinon 16-55mm