Under the Influence | Celestial drama Blissfully illustrious Effulgent above all |
W
hen setting-up before sunset for an extended three hour photographic engagement, there is always an element of uncertainty because the exact lighting conditions which will prevail as darkness descends are unknown. Therefore the initial compositional decision is critical and must be based on an informed supposition. Fixing the camera rigidly on my stable Gitzo Series Three tripod, a firm commitment is made to one location for the majority of the evening. In this example, when I made the first exposure, the artificial light on the far bank was not yet illuminated. The fact that I was situated to feature Polaris in such a favorable position was pure happenstance. And the specific combination of colors that became available as the Earth rotated away from the sun were unpredictable and rapidly shifted during the recording episode. In this progression, the shutter durations start very short, and gradually get longer and longer, eventually evolving into 30 to 45 minute periods. Many exposures are collected, and a batch of raw images resides on the 16 gigabyte compact flash card ready for subsequent processing and layering. I never know exactly what I have accomplished until returning to home base.
“What hath night to do with sleep?” - John Milton
