Week Two (3)
New Camera, New Problems
The camera is a very significant tool. Photography allows us to capture the world around us without actually taking anything. It can save memories in greater detail than any mind ever could. It is also a great art form; able to convey messages, feelings, and ideas in a way not quite like anything else. That's what happens when the camera is used in the right way. Last Friday night, when I took the first photo on my new camera, I captured something truly terrible...
If you are able to look past the truly horrifying face of Chongwoo, you will see a high quality image. This is an incredible and unbelievable improvement from my last camera, and I'm excited to see where it will take me in the future. This RAW image literally took me no more than 3 seconds to capture; the auto-focus was quick and snappy. The quality is so good that it almost manages to make Chongwoo's face tolerable. Almost.
A problem that I kept running into this week was that I couldn't have the camera set to long exposure without the image getting washed out with light.
Camera set to 10s exposure. Taken at around 10:00 pm
Some loser across the street who wanted to see the new camera. Another good example of the 6D's extreme light sensitivity.
For all you noobs out there, a long exposure shot is basically a super long shutter speed setting (jeez, that's a mouthful). The way a camera creates an image is by opening a hole and allowing light to hit the sensor. The shutter is this flap that slides open when you take a picture, allowing the light to poor in. Usually when you take a photo during the day, the shutter speed is very fast because of the excess light provided by the sun. But our planet does this rotating thing, so for nighttime photography, light is in short supply. The solution to this is to slow down the shutter speed, allowing the most light possible to hit the sensor.
(Here's a link to a really great video explaining how a camera works. These guys are really great photographers and really funny people. After you watch this video, check out the rest of their channel: Inside a Camera at 10,000fps - The Slow Mo Guys)
So I started tinkering with the camera and discovered that my ISO setting was WAY to high. On the old Rebel T1i, the ISO had to be cranked up to compensate for the smaller sensor. The 6D has a much bigger sensor, so I had to crank down the ISO. The recommended setting for astrophotography is 800 to 1600. Mine was at 10000. This made a pretty dramatic difference in my photos.
High ISO
Low ISO
Unfortunately, having a jazz competition Saturday night and an on-call father Sunday night leaves little time to go out and photograph at night. The only photos that I was able to take were in my backyard on Friday night. This revealed two things to me: 1) Light pollution is a big issue. My backyard is not the best place to take photos, and that is proven in the following photos. I now clearly see the necessity of finding a truly dark sky. 2) My camera is so meta. In these terrible conditions the 6D was still able to pull some pretty nice shots. This weekend's session revealed the potential of the camera. I'm now starting to see future possibilities, and I'm confident things are about to go up from here.
Orion. I literally just pointed and shot this. No tripod or setting adjustments.
Auriga
R U KIDDING
ReplyDeleteThat is honestly a hot picture what do you mean Jack
ReplyDeleteWow! You're pictures look great, and I never knew that changing the settings a little bit had such a dramatic effect! In the future I would keep up with the photos, because they're a very helpful way to communicate some of the more complicate topics you are talking about. Great job!
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ReplyDeleteI do not agree with 김종우. I mean clearly it's a pretty cool picture, but because the image quality is high, it does not mean the quality of the subject is high. Hopefully by the end of your project you'll find a way to make Chongwoo look good. Maybe.
ReplyDeleteFor skys, don't use this area. Try going out west into the mountains, there is a lot less light pollution, giving a much better image, on a good night, with a good enough camera, you can see the milky way, which is impossible here.
ReplyDeleteWow! Your pictures are way cool. I love your picture of the Orion; I'm very familiar with it as I look up and see it every night from both my house and my beach house. I also agree that this area is very light polluted. Even though we're in the suburbs and are pretty far from the city, the night sky is still really bright! It's concerning that you have to drive 2 hrs away to see the stars clearly. Anyway, keep up the great work-- your camera is working really well.
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