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Night Photography in the Great Outdoors

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Night Photography in the Great Outdoors Collier’s Guide to Night Photography in the Great Outdoors Text and Photography by Grant Collier Collier Publishing Arvada, CO CP Acknowledgements About the Author I learned most of the information in this book by experimenting with different equipment, camera settings, and shooting techniques over 12 years. However, I wanted to ensure that this book was as thorough as possible, so I scoured the web for any other tips and pointers that might be useful. I would like to thank the following photographers for the advice they have provided to ensure that capturing a good shot in the dark is more than just a shot in the dark! David Kingham, Tony Kuyper, Floris Van Breugel, Mike Berenson, Nat Coalson, Steven Christenson, Ian Norman, Allister Benn, Royce Bair, John Mumaw, Mikko Lagerstedt, Jeffrey Sullivan, Brad Goldpaint, Thomas O’Brien, Phil Hart, Tony Prower, Marc Adamus, René Pirolt, Todd Salat, and Jason Hatfield. ©2015 Grant Collier All photos ©2015 Grant Collier Design by Grant Collier ISBN # 978-1-935694-17-5 Published by Collier Publishing LLC http://www.collierpublishing.com This book may not be reproduced in full or in part by any means (with the exception of short quotes for purpose of review) without permission of the publisher. Cover Photo: The aurora borealis lights up the night sky over Wiseman, Alaska. Title Page: A waterfall flows beneath Kirkjufell mountain in Iceland, as the northern lights dance in the sky. Author Page: Grant stands in the opening of Wilson Arch near Moab, Utah on an autumn night. Back Cover: The Milky Way provides a dramatic backdrop to a ruin in Canyonlands National Park. Acknowledgements About the Author Grant Collier grew up in the foothills above Denver the noise and produce high quality images. Over the and spent much of his childhood exploring Colora- years, he learned new ways of shooting and process- do’s Rocky Mountains. Grant took up photography ing photos that dramatically improved his images. while attending college in Los Angeles. He found endless photographic opportunities in the Desert Grant now produces the Starry Nights Wall Calen- Southwest while driving to and from L.A. dar, which features his night photography and in- cludes dates of major astronomical events. He also After graduating from college in 1996, Grant began publishes a Colorado wall calendar, featuring im- a photographic career that had him following, quite ages from his home state. literally, in the footsteps of his great-great-grand- father, the pioneer photographer Joseph Collier. Grant has authored numerous photography books, Grant traveled throughout Colorado taking photos including Colorado’s National Parks & Monuments, from the exact same spots that Joseph had taken Arches National Park by Day & Night, and Moab, his images over one-hundred years earlier. These Utah by Day & Night. His images have also been photographs were published in the book Colorado: featured in magazines throughout the United States Yesterday & Today in 2001. and Europe. In 2003, Grant began taking photos at night with You can see more of Grant’s photos and books at his film camera. This quickly grew into an obses- GCollier.com and CollierPublishing.com. If you sion, and a few years later he began shooting night are interested in taking a workshop on night pho- photos with a digital camera. These early cameras tography, you can join the Colorado Photography produced large amounts of noise at night, so Grant Festival, which Grant organizes each year. Find out experimented with different techniques to minimize more at ColoradoPhotographyFestival.com. Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 7 I. Equipment & Supplies ..................................................................................................... 11 a) Cameras ......................................................................................................................... 11 b) Lenses ............................................................................................................................ 12 b) Tripods ........................................................................................................................... 18 c) Accessories ................................................................................................................... 19 d) Clothing & Survival Gear ............................................................................................ 23 II. Planning Your Shots ........................................................................................................ 27 a) Software Programs ........................................................................................................ 27 b) Websites ......................................................................................................................... 29 c) iTunes Apps ................................................................................................................... 32 d) Android Apps ................................................................................................................ 32 e) Moon Phases ................................................................................................................. 33 f) Months of the Year ........................................................................................................ 36 g) Twilight Stages ............................................................................................................. 37 h) Tides .............................................................................................................................. 39 III. Composition ....................................................................................................................... 41 a) Scouting ......................................................................................................................... 41 b) Foreground Subjects ..................................................................................................... 42 c) The Night Sky ............................................................................................................... 43 d) People & Man-made Objects ....................................................................................... 45 e) Arranging the Elements ................................................................................................ 46 IV. Camera Settings ............................................................................................................... 49 a) Aperture ......................................................................................................................... 49 b) Shutter Speed ................................................................................................................ 49 c) ISO ................................................................................................................................. 51 d) Focusing ........................................................................................................................ 53 e) White Balance ............................................................................................................... 57 f) Noise Reduction ............................................................................................................ 58 g) RAW vs. JPEG ............................................................................................................. 61 V. Natural Light Sources ................................................................................................... 63 a) The Moon ...................................................................................................................... 63 b) Eclipses .......................................................................................................................... 64 c) Stars ............................................................................................................................... 67 d) Planets ........................................................................................................................... 68 e) Meteors .......................................................................................................................... 68 f) Satellites ......................................................................................................................... 71 g) Comets ........................................................................................................................... 71 h) Lightning ....................................................................................................................... 71 Contents i) Northern Lights .............................................................................................................. 73 j) Airglow ........................................................................................................................... 75 k) Zodiacal Light ............................................................................................................... 75 l) Noctilucent Clouds ........................................................................................................ 75 m) Lava .............................................................................................................................. 76 n) Forest Fires ..................................................................................................................
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