About Focusing in the Dark
Question: I use a 5Dm3 and a 17-40mm f4 lens. and I struggle to get a good focus point for a one shot photo where everything must be sharp. Any suggestions?
Answer: Yes I do,and it's a problem for everyone. BTW the 5Dm3 is an excellent camera. First of all, the wider the lens the more Depth of Field. When up close use it at 17 mm. The fisheye lens are best when you are really close to something in the foreground. I have a sigma 15mm fisheye that works well. I use lens distortion correction on Lightroom. /use the widest lens you have. Next, take your lens out in the daytime and play around with hyperfocus distance. For example, at 17mm f 4 if you focus at around 10 feet or 3 m then everything should be in focus from about 4-5 feet up to infinity. Try it in the daytime and take a photo and check the focus near and far. Once you get it right, then tape the lens focus ring with masking tape (does not leave a residue) so it will not move. Use the lens at 17mm and do not change the focus. Second way: go to liveview and mag live view up to 10X. Pan around to Find a star in the field of view and focus on that star until it is sharp. Take a photo and view it and mag it up to make sure everything is on focus. If not then make tiny adjustments and check again. Third way: At 17 mm and f 4 shine a bright light on something farther than 10-12 feet or 3-4 m away, say 4-5 meters. Focus on that spot. Take a photo and check. Everything should be in focus from about 3-4 meters on. If not then make tiny adjustments and recheck. Cheers, Wayne
A Night with the Goblins by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook Hoodoos in Goblin Valley, Utah. There is lighting with LLL (Low Level Lighting) . This is not light painting but is very dim constant light that is left on and attempts to match starlight in intensity, typically done with light panels on tripods. One advantage is that it creates little or no visible light pollution and does not destroy your night vision. You cannot even see the light until your eyes become dark adapted, and then you can barely see it. You can still enjoy the wonders of the night sky. For more images like this please take a look at my website here . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. Cheers, Wayne
Wandering in the Badlands by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This is a panorama of one of the flatter areas in the Bisti Badlands in NW New Mexico. A few photos back I downloaded a view of a small wash or ravine surrounded by steep stony hills or ridges. www.flickr.com/photos/pinks2000/22455038082/in/dateposted... This badlands are a mixture of both broad flat areas (with many moderate to small hoodoos), mixed with long areas of water cut ravines and ridges. Both have their own unique beauty. It's certainly easier to walk around in the flat areas, and the flatter areas have most of the named hoodoos, but to get to these areas you usually have to negotiate the hills and ravines. It's a fun but lonely and desolate place at night. The first night I went there a German couple was trailer camping in the parking area and I parked near them. I was going out a little before sunset, and he said, "You're going out there? Now?" The chances that you will be alone out there at night are just about 100%. After all, who is crazy enough to go out there at night? This is a series of single vertical exposures combined in Lightroom. BTW, this was taken on May 18, not April. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Big thanks to the wonderful Flickr family out there. Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog
Recapture Pocket Panorama by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook Recapture Pocket is an area on hoodoos near Bluff, Utah. There are 2 fields of hoodoos here. I call this Hoodoo Arch because it is an arch that is mostly just 2 connected hoodoos. There is Low Level Lighting (LLL) with a Gaol Zero Micro Lantern behind the arch and an LED Light Panel on a tripod about 50 meters behind me and to the right. Panorama: 11 images, 20 mm, f 2.0, 20 sec., ISO 6400, Nikon 810A Hope you enjoy! For more images like this please take a look at Wayne Pinkston Photography . Thanks for all the kind support over the last year, it is much appreciated! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family!
Morning Twilight at the Trona Pinnacles by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: This one is a bit different. I overstayed my welcome, trying to get as many photos around the Pinnacles as possible before the sun rose, but despite my best efforts, the sun rose anyway. I was still shooting when the morning twilight started. As I took this photo the sun's glow was starting to be seen on the horizon, and with light pollution created a yellow glow. There were clouds near the horizon which were illuminated also. The sky was becoming noticeably lighter, but you could still see the Milky Way surprisingly well. There are 2 static lights helping to light the spires, one downhill to my right, and one downhill from my feet. There is also a fair amount of ambient light present from the twilight hour. It was a kind of "golden hour" before sunrise. Canon 1Dx Camera, Nikon 14-24 mm lens at 20 mm, f 2.8, 30 sec, and ISO 6400. Hope you enjoy!
Red Topped Hoodoos in the Valley of Dreams by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Red Topped Hoodoos in the Valley of Dreams, New Mexico Badlands. There is low level constant light on the foreground. This is not classic light painting, but more similar to modified studio lighting or "outdoor" studio lighting. It consists of light panels on tripods left on the whole time, very dim, barely visible or not visible to the naked eye. This takes time to set up. The light is intended to match the intensity of starlight (it does not take much!). This different from traditional light painting where you briefly shine a brighter light on the subject or near a subject. I have encountered several photographers at night that just about had a nervous breakdown when you mentioned light painting, but then became very quiet and cooperative when they saw the lighting I set up. I think we need a different label for this kind of landscape lighting, different from "light painting". I have decided to personally call this Low Level Landscape Lighting, (LLLL for short), or LLL, Low Level Lighting. I hope some term other than light painting catches on, as it just does not describe the more recent methods of landscape lighting at night. I doubt that anyone in a studio would describe their lighting as "light painting;. We just need some new language to talk about these methods more accurately. Thanks for taking the time to look. Hope you enjoy! Big thanks to the wonderful Flickr family out there. Please join me at: Website Facebook Instagram Blog
Canyon de Chelly Panorama by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Faceb ook Panorama of Canyon de Chelly in Chinle, Arizona, taken from one of the viewpoints on the Southern Rim. I had never seen a night photo from the rim of the canyon so I wanted to give it a try. There was so much light pollution that I did not expect this to be successful, and left disappointed after trying panoramas from several viewpoints. When I processed it, the image was more successful than expected, and the light pollution actually adds more color to the photo. For more images like this please take a look at Wayne Pinkston Photography . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. It's a pleasure to post here.
The Arch With No Name by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook Small unnamed arch in Nevada, USA. Nikon 810A, Nikon 14-24 mm lens, f 2.8, 15 sec., 24 mm, ISO 10,000. Lighting with Low Level Lighting (LLL). For more about this technique please see www.lowlevellighting.org For more images like this please take a look at Wayne Pinkston Photography . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. It's a pleasure to post here. Cheers, Wayne
Desert Dreams by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook Valley of Dreams in the New Mexico Badlands. 10 vertical images shot with a Nikon D810A camera and a Nikon 14-24 mm lens at f 2.8, 20 sec., 20 mm, and ISO 10,000. Lighting with Low Level Lighting (LLL). For more about this method of lighting please see lowlevellighting.org For more images like this please take a look at my website here . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. Cheers, Wayne
Whispers of the Past by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website, Instagram, Facebook An old house in New Mexico. Lighting with Low Level Lighting with a Gaol Zero Micro Lantern. There are 2 exposures for focus stacking, one for the foreground and one for the sky, both at 14 mm. Sky shot at 15 sec., f 4.5, 15 sec., and ISO 10,000, foreground shot at 25 sec., f 4.5, and ISO 10,000. I shot the foreground at f 4.5 to get more depth of field and forgot to change it for the sky. Oops... Thanks for all the kind support over the last year, it is much appreciated! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family!
Dunes by Wayne Pinkston Via Flickr: Website Instagram Facebook Located near Monument Valley. We were introduced to this very remote place by out guide, Quanah Parker from Majestic Monument Valley tours. We (Eric Gail and myself) would never have know that this place existed without his excellent guiding. Single Exposure, Nikon 810A, 24 mm, f 2.0, ISO 10,000, 15 sec. For more images like this please take a look at Wayne Pinkston Photography . Thanks for all the kind support! Hope you enjoy! A big thank you to the wonderful Flickr family. It's a pleasure to post here. Cheers, Wayne