First wedding event last weekend. I was defiantly chartering into unknown waters, but it was good experience. Whatcha'll think?

Camera/Lens/Settings...how did you get such awesome shots??

Looks good! Maybe just a bit of flash or maybe some light reflection to soften up the shadows on their faces?

Ok, here is my master list of everything you will need to know for star shots. Not everything is absolutely critical, but if you can meet everything on this list, you will have success.

-Camera body capable of handling high ISO speeds (I shot ISO 2000 pretty much the whole night) My D7000 has been adequate, but I'm pretty much pushing it to it's limit as far as ISO
-Sharp 2.8 wide angle lens (the Tokina 11-16 2.8 is your best bet if you're shooting with a crop sensor camera body, worth every penny.)
-Settings: I shoot wide open at 2.8 with 30 second exposures (anything beyond 30 seconds will start to show the movement of the stars in your shots.) Use auto white balance, and matrix metering. and shoot in RAW
-Focus: always use manual focus set to infinity. Infinity can be hard find on most lenses. If you have live view, zoom in on a star and fine tune the focus till the star is as small you can get it. Also, if shooting photos with a prominent foreground (say a barn that is right in front of you) you may need to make a composite image with another shot focused on the barn.
-Sturdy tripod and wired shutter remote. If you have a costco membership, they have an awesome manfrotto tripod for 80 bucks (same model is 170 from most retailers online)
-Location with minimal light pollution. refer to this map Dark Sky Finder The location I was at is blue on the map (Independence Pass, CO)
-No moon light, or VERY minimal. Either shoot during the new moon phase, or when the moon is far beneath the horizon.
-Turn off "long exposure noise reduction" worry about dealing with noise in LR/photoshop. This in-camera feature will slow you down, and ruin multiple exposure star trails.
-Last but not least, you need a clear night (unless you want to get creative with clouds in your shot)

Might be a lot to swallow but it's everything I've learned so far that is key.
The hardest part I've found is finding a night in the new moon phase, with clear skies, that you and a buddy are free on.

Got my new website up and running fairly recently:

Pinnacle Exposure - Josh Heidebrecht

Yeah....about that....I'm not within 500 miles of dark skies...

Excellent use of natural light, I love the color balance of all the shots. I really like the bokeh in the middle one. Maybe just move the couple in a spot that their faces are brought out more? Pretty minor though. I personally don't think you need a flash on these rare beautiful Oregon days.

How do you turn off that feature and in what other scenarios is it beneficial to turn that odd?

Thanks

It will be in your menu settings. I have all in-camera noise reduction turned off. I feel that the results are better when removing noise in post.

Nice website and photos!

This is Upper Antelope Canyon from my last trip to Page, AZ. Click the image for a larger view.







Upper Antelope Canyon
by
Rob Rauchwerger

Wow, that is a really good picture. I don't think I have been there yet. I will have to check it out.

This is phenomenal..shutter speed?

Whats the darkest color on the map you can get to within 200 miles?

Thank you!

6 seconds, f16, iso 200

If you use Chrome check out the addon extension called "Exif Viewer". It gives you an option to view all the data about the image if it's available by right clicking (shutter speed, aperture, iso, focal length, lens, camera, etc). I highly recommend it.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/d...anjggkmjapkffm