Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Landscape & Nature Photography => Topic started by: Roman Racela on May 01, 2015, 03:02:29 am

Title: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Roman Racela on May 01, 2015, 03:02:29 am
Before calling it a night I decided to take a few photos. I took this image back in September 2014 out in New Mexico.

Nothing beats sleeping in the middle of nowhere under the stars without a tent while coyotes were howling out in the distance. :)

Thanks for viewing.

(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h88/romanwarrior/_DSC2123%20v2%20crop_zps8efscdmz.jpg) (http://s62.photobucket.com/user/romanwarrior/media/_DSC2123%20v2%20crop_zps8efscdmz.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: francois on May 01, 2015, 05:51:07 am
Pure magic!
Congrats…
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on May 01, 2015, 08:40:19 am
Pure magic!
Congrats…
+1.
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Bob_B on May 01, 2015, 09:04:25 am
+1. It's pure magic.
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: framah on May 01, 2015, 10:00:46 am
Sure looks like you are on another planet!!!

GREAT shot!!!
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Roman Racela on May 01, 2015, 10:25:55 am
Thanks for the compliment guys. I think I'll do a bit of dodging and burning on this and repost a reworked image tonight. I think it could look a bit better. I was falling asleep while I was processing this :)
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Roman Racela on May 01, 2015, 10:52:58 am
I was able to rework the photo in about 5 mins. I just wanted to add a bit of contrast so I did some dodging and burning. It's a night scene so I hope it wasn't too much.

(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h88/romanwarrior/_DSC2123%20v2%20crop_zpstzmvkmwa.jpg) (http://s62.photobucket.com/user/romanwarrior/media/_DSC2123%20v2%20crop_zpstzmvkmwa.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on May 01, 2015, 11:46:17 am
The reworked version is better, and just right IMHO.
My one regret now is that I have only been to Bisti once, and in the daytime. It is a magical place.
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Rajan Parrikar on May 01, 2015, 11:56:28 am
The second version gets it right.  Well done!
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Roman Racela on May 01, 2015, 12:40:23 pm
Thank you, Eric and Rajan.  I though a bit of contrast via D&B method would make the flat image pop some.

Rajan- you have to go before June and after September. It was hellish when I went. Hiking to all the good spots before the sun sets could be brutal when temps are hovering around 100 degrees. Share some pics when you go again! :)
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on May 01, 2015, 01:12:17 pm
Daytime temperature s were quite nice when I was there in April (2008), but the wind was howling.
Not another soul was there.
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: mbaginy on May 01, 2015, 04:14:00 pm
Wow, a wonderful shot!  The second version is a bit more pleasing, shows more detail.  Not easy to judge on a night shot.
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Roman Racela on May 01, 2015, 05:19:23 pm
Yeah…I bet March, April, October and November would be good months to go there as the temps would be a lot better.

Daytime temperature s were quite nice when I was there in April (2008), but the wind was howling.
Not another soul was there.

Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Roman Racela on May 01, 2015, 06:13:45 pm
Wow, a wonderful shot!  The second version is a bit more pleasing, shows more detail.  Not easy to judge on a night shot.

Thank you, Mike. I'm not an expert by any means but I think because a night shot gives a photographer a very flat image when properly exposed, it also gives him or her an opportunity to mold or shape the image via dodge and burn. But one also needs to be careful that the image still looks true to a night shot.

Have a nice weekend. :)
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Rainer SLP on May 01, 2015, 06:31:51 pm
Interesting image.

Myself being also an Astrophotographer with telescopes and dedicated astrocamera with filter wheels ans special imging techniques, that violet or purple color is somehow quite unreal for me.

What time at the night was that shot taken ?
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Roman Racela on May 01, 2015, 07:26:04 pm
Interesting image.

Myself being also an Astrophotographer with telescopes and dedicated astrocamera with filter wheels ans special imging techniques, that violet or purple color is somehow quite unreal for me.

What time at the night was that shot taken ?

Hi Raier. This was taken Sept 12, 2014 around 11pm. This photo was taken with a Nikon D800 camera, 16-28mm zoom, used 23mm focal length at f2.8, 2500 ISO, 20 second exposure.

The color is due to me adjusting the WB down to 3900 Kelvin and pushing the vibrance slider a bit to the right. I wasn't too concerned about the colors being too violet or purple for this "alien" landscape. I think it matches it the scene. If I wanted the image to look more realistic, it would look darker, flat and more on the dark bluish grey color pallet…and left it closer to what the original photo looked like. I was looking at it from a creative point of view, injecting my own interpretation of what I want this image look like and creating a moody image without going too much over the top…or maybe I already went over the top. Ha! But I was definitely not approaching this from a photojournalistic or documentary point of view. I hope this makes sense.

Thanks. :)
Title: Re: Bisti Dreaming
Post by: Rainer SLP on May 02, 2015, 11:33:20 am
Hi Raier. This was taken Sept 12, 2014 around 11pm. This photo was taken with a Nikon D800 camera, 16-28mm zoom, used 23mm focal length at f2.8, 2500 ISO, 20 second exposure.

The color is due to me adjusting the WB down to 3900 Kelvin and pushing the vibrance slider a bit to the right. I wasn't too concerned about the colors being too violet or purple for this "alien" landscape. I think it matches it the scene. If I wanted the image to look more realistic, it would look darker, flat and more on the dark bluish grey color pallet…and left it closer to what the original photo looked like. I was looking at it from a creative point of view, injecting my own interpretation of what I want this image look like and creating a moody image without going too much over the top…or maybe I already went over the top. Ha! But I was definitely not approaching this from a photojournalistic or documentary point of view. I hope this makes sense.

Thanks. :)

Hi Roman,

Thanks for the explanation and yes well we all have different taste and that is what it makes interesting.

I tend to a more realistic photography  ;D but OK, as said it is a question of taste  ;D

Your image remembered me the time when taking such photography with film and the Schwarzschild effect (reciprocity failure) came up ?