Photographing the Night Landscape Workshop - Stellar Again!

Though I've explored many facets of photographing the night landscape, I'm continually learning, continually being surprised by how beautiful it is.  My night workshop in the Adirondacks last week provided more stunning revelations.  I was joined by an intrepid group of shooters looking to learn the intricacies of the craft: how to determine exposures in a variety of situations, how to focus in the dark, how to deal with noise, and discover the possibilities for recording details in the nocturnal landscape and sky.

Night cabin, Inlet

The night weather was threatening but variable, presenting a slew of photographic opportunities.  It was overcast the first night, and again on the second night, until fog moved in late, then clouds above it parted to reveal the Milky Way towering over Raquette Lake.  The third night presented a mix of clouds and clear sky, and the Milky Way shining brightly.  And then a surprise... Perseid meteors — which don't peak until the following week — raining out of the northeast.  We saw and captured dozens!

Milky Way over Raquette Lake

I impressed upon the participants to go out night shooting with a few goals in mind, and they took it to heart.  We shot stars as points of light, as trails and as circles.  We shot meteors, planets, and our home galaxy — the Milky Way.  We made vertical & horizontal panoramas of it, and time lapse sequences of it cruising across the night sky.

Milky Way & Perseid Meteor

If you'd like to explore night photography consider joining us for any of our upcoming fall workshops; the night is so photogenic, we'll shoot it at each.  And of course, I'll run my night workshop again next summer.  See API's website for full program descriptions.  There's so much to shoot at night.  My goal is to keep exploring it, and finding ways to push the bounds of what's possible to capture under stellar dark skies.