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by Kim on Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:50 pm
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I am doing a 3 day trip to photograph a series of art silo's plus birds and wildlife about 200 kms from my home.

I would like to try some night time shots of the silos but have no experience with this type of shooting. Below is an image from a professional of one of the silos, they are spread out at intervals covering 200 odd km. 

ttps://i1.wp.com/leannecole.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/silos-painted-patchewollock-long-exposure.jpg?fit=1000%2C667

I will be using my Nikon D750 plus 24-70mm or 17-35mm lens. I have a cable release and the camera has bulb mode. Would I need an ND filter too? I have a tripod.

I am in my seventies and have trouble with my eye sight and will buy a head light before I go. I do plenty of landscape shots during the day but not tried shots like above.  Any help would be appreciated.


Last edited by Kim on Mon Jul 30, 2018 5:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 

by SantaFeJoe on Thu Jul 19, 2018 9:53 pm
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I think the link you provided is missing an “h” at the beginning. When clicked on, it says it is an invalid address.

This is it:

https://i1.wp.com/leannecole.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/silos-painted-patchewollock-long-exposure.jpg?fit=1000%2C667

This is a nice one because it includes more of these unique silos:

https://leannecole.com.au/weekend-wanderings-silo-art-trail/

Sorry I can’t help with advice.

Joe
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.  -Pablo Picasso
 

by Kim on Thu Jul 19, 2018 11:11 pm
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Joe thanks for fixing the links for me. Much appreciated. All 6 silos are now completed so I am keen to get good shots of all of them.

I do hope I can get some help with methods to do some night shots.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Fri Jul 20, 2018 4:52 am
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The thing you definitely will not need is ND filters- those slow down the exposure. You will already be shooting with very long shutter speeds. The headlamp could give you lots of problems with composing the scene since it will ruin your night vision. Make sure you get a headlamp that can be switched over to a red light and then only use the red light once at the shooting location. This will protect your night vision. Note that your vision will get better and better for the first 20 minutes as your eyes adjust to seeing in the dark. It's similar to not being able to see anything when you first turn out the lights at night but then if you wake up in the middle of the night, you can see.

There are tons of books and online material for night time shooting so use Google. But in general you will need a sturdy tripod. To determine exposure, first set your camera to some ridiculously high ISO and see what shutter speed that gives you - take some test shots. Then when you have a proper exposure, dial the ISO back and for every ISO stop, add a stop of shutter speed. For example if your exposure is 1/4s at ISO 64,000, it would be 1/2s at 32,000, 1s at 16,000, 2s, at 8000, 4s, at 4000, 8s at 2000, 16s at 1000, 32s at 500, 64s at 250, etc. This may mean that you need a cale release if you get into exposures that are longer than 30s since you will need to use Bulb mode for that with most cameras. Also I recommend putting at least a couple of seconds of shutter delay. Make sure you sue your lens hoods, this will help stray light from getting into the exposure. Make sure the headlamp of you and all others around you stay off for the entire exposure.

As for other gear, make sure you sue the fastest lenses you own or rent even faster ones. Realize that DOF could be a challenge when using large apertures so don't rule out focus stacking. Realize that if you leave long exposure noise reduction on, it may be several minutes, depending on exposure time of the shot, before you can use the camera again. If you turn it off that won't be a problem but you could have some hot pixels.

I could go on and on, and as I said, there are entire books on this subject but this will at least give you a start as you prepare for this.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Fri Jul 20, 2018 4:53 am
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One other thing, if you have trouble seeing the scene through the viewfinder, try live view.
 

by Kim on Fri Jul 20, 2018 8:01 am
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Thanks EJ. I use back button focusing so I will set that to single focus and then lock that. I use my cable release and focus stack my daytime landscapes in live view so I am good with those requirements. The thing you explained with exposure was of most help so I think I will be OK with that. Just a matter of trial when I get to a silo at might. I do know about the red light on the headlamps as I have used them alot on my tent camping trips but need a new one.


If the silos are not lit at night I am thinking I wil need to try painting with light. It is winter here but the moon will be a 90% full so if cloud free that may help me.


I did try google but most of the information seemed to be shooting in a city or night sky shots.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Fri Jul 20, 2018 8:07 am
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With a 90% full moon, I would try ambient light primarily rather than light painting.  In that situation just pretend the moon is the sun with a strong neutral density filter in front of it :)  It's a similar sized point light source, just not nearly as bright.  A D750 is a pretty good camera for noise and dynamic range so ISO 800 or even 1600 should not be out of the question if you need it.  Of course if you have the luxury of time, ISO 200 would be the way to go.
 

by SantaFeJoe on Fri Jul 20, 2018 9:11 am
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Leanne has an article about long exposure photography here:

https://leannecole.com.au/learning-abou ... otography/

She also does one-on-one instruction in Melbourne, if that would be feasible for you. Most instructors I have been around, or taught with, are willing to give you a fair amount of help, if you just ask. It’s generally part of their nature. A few will want to charge, but many just want to share knowledge accumulated over the years. I would recommend trying test shots near where you live under similar conditions to what you would be shooting at the silos. Digital makes that pretty painless cost wise and you can get an idea of what works and what doesn’t.

Joe
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by Phil Shaw on Fri Jul 20, 2018 12:20 pm
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Don't discount light painting. It will give you more options and control. Check what time the moon comes up. Also you need to be prepared if the artist carelessly neglected to paint the side of the silo illuminated by the moon ;). Hope you have a good time with it.
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by Kim on Fri Jul 20, 2018 7:52 pm
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Thanks Joe and Phil.

The lady from the link charges $200 for a two hour session and does not have a spot available until after I get back from my trip unfortunately. I have been trying the last few nights to go out and have a try but we are locked into a very cold and windy and wet spell here as it is the middle of winter.


Phil the lighting situation is what worries me the most even for the daylight shots as to the direction of the sun relevant to each of the paintings on the 6 silos. I can not work it out from my google maps searches either to help me. I may end up needing two trips to get it right.


Here is a link that shows a map of the trail and shots of each silo.

http://siloarttrail.com/home/#other-attractions


My grandson is lending me two big maglites so if not light and there is cloud cover with no moon I can give it a go with the light painting.
 

by Scott Fairbairn on Sat Jul 21, 2018 6:54 am
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Kim wrote:Thanks Joe and Phil.

The lady from the link charges $200 for a two hour session and does not have a spot available until after I get back from my trip unfortunately. I have been trying the last few nights to go out and have a try but we are locked into a very cold and windy and wet spell here as it is the middle of winter.


Phil the lighting situation is what worries me the most even for the daylight shots as to the direction of the sun relevant to each of the paintings on the 6 silos. I can not work it out from my google maps searches either to help me. I may end up needing two trips to get it right.


Here is a link that shows a map of the trail and shots of each silo.

http://siloarttrail.com/home/#other-attractions


My grandson is lending me two big maglites so if not light and there is cloud cover with no moon I can give it a go with the light painting.
There’s a helpful app called “The Photographers Empemeris” which should be able to help in figuring the direction of lighting from the moon. 
 

by signgrap on Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:58 am
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Scott's recommendation of The Photographers Ephemeris is right on point. It will provide exactly what you need.
Here's a link: http://app.photoephemeris.com
Dick Ludwig
 

by SantaFeJoe on Sat Jul 21, 2018 9:25 am
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Hey Kim
I found the names of a couple of different photographers who do night photography of the silos. You may want to try and contact them for specific information. Also, there is a Facebook page for the silos.

https://m.facebook.com/siloarttrail/

Les Okey Photography

Les has one image from July 2nd at 10:00 pm lit up only by a 90% rising moon and another lit up by a handheld/hand-fired Canon speedlight.

Grant Schwartzkopff Photography

Here is a story with some of Grants’ images:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-01/overnight-road-trip-shines-a-different-light-on-grain-silo-art-/9104902

David Harberts seems to use huge lights to illuminate the silos:

https://www.instagram.com/harbo_db/

Joe
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by EGrav on Sat Jul 21, 2018 12:01 pm
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I suggest you look at Photopills. IMO, much better the Photographer's Epheremis. YMMV


Last edited by EGrav on Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 

by Kim on Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:43 pm
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Thanks to all the new responders and to Joe for all the new info on night shots of the silos. I am not a member of Facebook thus can not access them unfortunately.

Re the apps, they look very usefull but the problem I am having is working out which side of the silos the art work is on. Will the apps tell me that.

I should say that I am in my seventies, female and in recent years have had a few 'incidents', like head on car crash where I acquired a mild brain injury then I fell 7 mts off a cliff, hit my head again and undid all my good recovery work plus broke both wrists and my shoulder. As a result I get confussed easily, struggle reading maps and need to use the lighter camera equipment these days. So planning a trip away for night time photography is not that easy for me.

The area of the silo art is remote and the towns have as few as 30 people so it will be only me out there especially as it is winter time here. Plus you need to watch for kangaroos when driving at nigh and the last thing I need is another accident.

From Joes links I did work out the silos are not lit at night, looks like some people used car head lights to get the shots. The weather forecast is cloudy and light rain at times with possible fog on the second morning so availabel light is problamatic. Fog could give some great shots though.

I plan a second day trip to the area to see a wonderful old grain shed http://murtoastickshed.com.au/ as it is only open on a Sunday once a month so I can shoot the first two silos on that day. That means I can concentrate on the 4 silos from the top down.
 

by SantaFeJoe on Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:57 pm
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Kim wrote:Thanks to all the new responders and to Joe for all the new info on night shots of the silos. I am not a member of Facebook thus can not access them unfortunately.
I guess Facebook works differently down there. I am not a member of Facebook either, but I can usually access their sites. Sorry about that.

Joe
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by Kim on Sat Jul 21, 2018 8:33 pm
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Joe I can see the images at a small size only but I can not contact the photographers, you need to be logged in for that. I did learn a lot more from those shots though so thank you.
 

by Kim on Mon Jul 30, 2018 5:11 pm
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Thanks to every one for your help. I am back home from my trip. It went well but alas I did not get any night shots as on both nights it was raining and stormy with strong winds.

I am going to plan another trip in the near future to try again.


Have posted a shot in the Gallery.
 

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