Old car just after sunset
Wildfire using standard 18-55mm lens
Wildfire using zoom lens and 5 second exposure.
My proud star trail photo from last year! This year's attempt was a sad failure. Boo!
Well my goal this year was to improve upon my prized star trail photo from last year (see last photo), but alas it was not to be. I waited every day in the 5 nights that we spent in Bishop in May for an opportunity. Overcast skies and rain ruined my chances then. One of the reasons I wanted to go back this July was for some more chances for star trail photos and I was rewarded on Saturday night (7/18) with the opportunity. But alas I didn’t compose the picture right, and didn’t paint enough light into the photo to light up the car, and it was not to be. Way too dark (I won’t expose you to my miserable result) (And when the shutter is open for an hour, and drains down your battery, you don’t get a second chance…at least if you want any sleep.)
What we did get was a good glimpse at a wildfire. Christy and I spotted two fires, one big and one small, caused by lightning strikes as we drove back to my parents home from town. The fact that there is so much open space makes it possible to see a fire from 20 miles away or more. It was fairly surreal to see. That night while waiting for my star trial photo to expose, the big fire was growing before my eyes. I think that I will blame the smoke for ruining my shot, not the fact that it wasn’t properly exposed. The big fire burned 3500 acres I think (or possibly 35000) and took more than a week to put out. The little fire was out very quickly, and probably burned less than one.
Anyway I was happy to get at least one good shot from that fateful night, it just wasn’t the one I expected. I hope you enjoy!
August 2nd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
It was 3500 acres that burned and was put out by a combination of wet weather and fire fighting response! The photos turned out great.