Capturing Ghost Light

I will at times fall into in a slump. This past winter was a rather cold and dreary winter and for whatever reasons I failed to get out very much. That along with work related pressures took a toll and what I enjoy doing most suffered the most as a result. Even though those elements do carry a lot of blame, to be truthful, I have no one to blame except myself. I just did not take the time to get out when I had it, and my inspiration suffered.

Photography is not unlike writing in that we as photographers often stumble along with Photographers Block trying to reignite those creative elements that drew us to photography in the first place. As I reflect on the slump. . . again . . . and as I examine the quality of what I've recently created, I am not very pleased with what I discover. Usually, in time, I will happen upon the work of another and find inspiration from it. With any luck at all, it will trigger a string of ideas that leads to an exciting revelation.

One such event took place recently from an Arkansas photographer, Tim Ernst, whose work I have often used as inspiration. It is no coincidence that his style of photography and mine have some similarities. In recent months he has been exploring low light / night photography of waterfalls and other places of interest around his home range. His work is amazing. As a result I realized that I have been neglecting a wonderful opportunity to capture similar images, and so this spring I have started a new project called - Capturing Ghost Light. It just might prove the cure to my slump ailment.

Light possesses so many qualities it becomes difficult to attach meaning and purpose to the variety of ways it impacts a photograph. Low light, or what I call Ghost Light, imparts a magical softness to the scene. It works in almost all situations, but is especially effective with moving water, and works wonders with waterfalls.

So what exactly is Ghost Light? It is mostly the use of ambient light that softly glows in the sky after sundown. That glow will remain for quite sometime after, but it does fade quickly. Even after it fades, Ghost Light still provides a unique atmosphere. Another form of Ghost Light is the moon. Moon light is basically reflected daylight...just softer and less intense. A very bright moon will cast shadows, and it imparts a soft even light across the scene. But, the Ghost Light I prefer is when there is a redish, or pinkish, glow in the sky. That particular glow generates some amazing light reflections off water or wet surfaces and is usually present right up until it gets too dark to see.

Another form of Ghost Light comes from the night sky itself. It is full of stars, and during the summer, the band of the Milky Way arches across a clear dark sky like a silver ribbon and provides a wonderful subject when combined with proper technique. One of the best captures of Ghost Light is to combine moving water / waterfalls with the night sky. That is an area I will explore more as the season progresses.

Capturing Ghost Light is actually pretty easy. You will need a sturdy tripod as the exposures are long, upwards to 30 seconds or longer. A cable release is recommended, but not required. A wide angle lens tends to work best, anything from 10mm upwards to 35mm will do a good job...it just depends on the composition you want to create.

Camera setup is pretty much the same as any daylight situation, although you may want to experiment with a few things like White Balance, and Color saturation. For moving water, I will use a f/stop somewhere between f/16 and f/22 to be able to capture foreground to background sharpness...f/22 seems to work best. I will place the camera very low to the ground and make sure there is something in the foreground even if you have to reposition an old tree limb or large rock to do so. Even scattering a few leaves around will help. I usually shoot with Aperture Priority and focus about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way into the scene (with f/22). Auto focus may fail you during those low light times because there is not enough light contrast for it to work, so switch to manual focus. As mentioned previously, the White Balance is usually set to daylight or (5500k), but you can adjust up or down depending on the effect you want to achieve...you are the artist...you decide that...not the camera!

Ghost Light begins just after sundown. The soft ambient light eminating from the sky will fill shadowed areas with a faint even light. As the light grows dimmer, the only thing that changes is the length of your exposures. Even light where it is almost too dark to see will provide enough light to capture an amazing image.

I am growing more excited about this new project. Capturing Ghost Light is just another way to explore this amazing science called photography. It is also a great way to explore your own creative instincts.

Keith

Hunting Without a Season

It is amazing how five hours sitting in a hunting blind goes by so much more quickly than five hours sittings in an office. It's a whole lot more fun too. Today was no exception. The real turkey gun season does not begin for another couple of weeks, but I spent this beautiful early spring day sitting in the corner of a wheat field hoping the turkey's I had been seeing would again make an appearance. I was hunting, but not with a gun this time. I was hunting with a camera.



See the blind in the background?  Blends in well doesn't it!

You can hunt with a camera year round without a license and there are no seasons that apply. Seems to me there are numerous advantages to doing that, not the least of which is that the critter you hunting gets off unscathed, and you can go pretty much whenever you want to. All the techniques are the same as used in hunting and in some ways they more difficult with a camera because not only do you have to get the critter in reasonably close, you also have to consider the direction of the light and time of day...plus all that other camera/photography/composition stuff.

For the past couple of months I have been seeing anywhere between 25 and 75 turkeys using the same corner of that wheat field I spent five hours in. Almost everyday, they were there between 4:30 and 5:00 pm and many times they were also there early just at daybreak. I set up the blind in a perfect location about 30 yards into the wheat field next to a large tree with an old GMC 4x4 sitting under it. The three yards of dark brown burlap I had painted up blended perfectly with the backdrop and provided a great hiding place. I setup two hen decoys about 20 yards out. It was great fun whating them spin and tip up and down in the breeze. They sure provided a lot of eye catching movement and looked pretty real to boot.

She knew I was there...but couldn't see me

But, alas wildlife does not always cooperate even for a photographer, and today proved that rule true. Not a single sighting of a turkey where for weeks they have been. That is the luck of a wildlife photographer...or at least someone aspiring to become one.

I did see a few deer and managed a few long range photos. I also managed to develop a few cramps in my legs, back, neck, and rearend sitting there for so long, but it was fun none the less. It was good to get outdoors after the long hard winter and feel the sun on my back and breathe some good clean country air. Think I will do it again soon. Maybe next time the turkey's will show up.

Keith

The One Defining Moment

Here is a repost from a couple years ago. Sometimes I go back thru some of the blog posts for no other reason than to hopefully regain a bit of inspiration and to remind myself why I am doing this. This one I think is a good reminder....

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I've missed more great photographs than I've ever come close to making. Maybe one percent of what I take could be considered pretty good...the other 99 percent was practice. Even so, I am always on the look out for that one defining shot...the single moment in time where everything falls into place...when location, light, preparation, and opportunity all come together and I succeed in capturing that one defining moment. It hasn't happened yet...but I keep trying...keep looking.

Many years ago I witnessed such a moment...all the elements were there...except I wasn't prepared. On this occasion I was driving south along Oklahoma's I-75 and was a few miles south of Henryetta. A big spring storm was brewing...dark clouds...distant thunder. It was late in the afternoon not far from sundown. The dark cloud spread out above me and was threatening the entire region, but off to the west there was a break in the clouds low on the horizon.

There was plenty of lightning, but not the normal cloud to ground type...the lighting was spreading out across the sky from cloud to cloud in a web-like manner like electric fingers extending in all directions. There was very little flashing...just a slow expansion of electric tentacles that moved across the sky. As I topped a hill the view changed to where I could see a valley off to the west and at the same time the sun popped below that break in the clouds. Everything lit up in an expanding warm light...yet the lightning continued to flash across the clouds. For a few moments...that may have been one of the most remarkable sights I've ever witnessed....and I had not a camera of any type with me. That may have been the first time I've ever wished I had a quality camera and knew how to use it...but it wasn't to be. I've never seen anything that remotely came close to that moment.

Another time probably around summer, 1975, I found myself visiting Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. An absolutely remarkable place. I spent pretty much the entire day there making a couple loops around the rim drive, photographing ever nook and corner of the view I could find. I've never seen such blue water or blue sky. As I was leaving it was right at sundown and the entire region was enveloped in a red glow. The surrounding mountains were layered in purple and the sky was on fire and spread out from horizon to horizon. I was at the right place, at the right time, under the right circumstances...but I had no film left in my camera. All I could do was stop..get out of my vehicle...and watch one of the most spectacular endings to a day I've ever seen...and was unable to take a single photograph of the moment. All that remains of both of these moments are the memories stored in my mind.

That one defining moment is an elusive dream that maybe someday I'll be able to capture. My eye is always on that search...and as I mentioned before I still continue to miss great photo ops simply because of a lack of readiness. One of my favorite locations to photograph is Oklahoma's Tallgrass Prairie. If there is any location that will offer such a defining moment that is unique to photography, it must be this place. I can visualize what it must look like...that one moment...but time and circumstance has yet to provide it.

That one defining moment may never happen...but I'll continue to search for it and even though I'd rather be good than lucky...maybe a little luck will come my way and I'll stumble onto a magical moment of light and actually have my camera in hand.