Passage of Time, a photo from Armagh, Northern Ireland

Photographer's Note

My first ever attempt at startrails, very pleased at what i got even though i messed it up a bit.
I did 12 x 5 min exposures and only 7 were ok as the lens fogged over and i didn't realize till i was finished. I blended them using a stacking action in PS and merged the finished file with a separate exposure that i had done some light painting on the dolmen using my torch.
Learned a lot trying this, especially that it is quite difficult to get right.

Some info on Ballykeel Dolmen:
Ballykeel - Baile Caol, the narrow farmstead -is a small river valley at the western foot of Slieve Gullion Mountain, Just over 7 km south west of the village of Camlough in South Armagh, Ballykeel Dolmen. a well-preserved Neolithic monument over 5,000 years old, stands on the edge of a level terrace overlooking a tributary of the Forkill River and is known locally as 'The Hag's Chair'.
The notched capstone (the only one to have been replaced on a dolmen) barely rests on the uprights. The 'chamber' is about 1.5m wide x 3m long and faces south east.

Thanks for looking :)
Gary

baladeva, loves_summer, CLODO, jvsb, Silversnow, OLF, Fiddlee, alainh, rajhema, jocduerr ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

baladeva (252) 2009-01-23 19:14

nice composition.keep posting :)

loves_summer (1310) 2009-01-23 19:22

Hi Gary,
Great shot! I love the illuminated rocks...and of course, the startrails. Very good first attempt, and informative note. The sharpness and colours are just right, and I like your POV.
Thanks for sharing!

mints (169) 2009-01-24 0:57

Great shot…and well engineered. It defiantly stands out as a shot worth taking a closer look at. Congrats.

migjan (2927) 2009-01-24 1:02

Pomys³, wykonanie i wra¿enie-wszystko piêkne.

The idea, execution and impression-all beautiful.

pozdrawiam.JBB

CLODO (45116) 2009-01-24 3:04

Hi Gary
Stunning shot, mainly when we know how you managed to realise it!
Regards
CLODO

giorgio2007 (266) 2009-01-24 3:39

Compliments! Great picture and technik.

jvsb (1382) 2009-01-24 5:23

Truly fabulous, Gary! The composition is indeed perfect, with the dolmen rising sturdly in the diagonal pointing to the north. The lighting is also stunning! You got an awesome gradient of night an sunrise/sunset colors in the sky and a natural-looking-lit foreground and dolmen. The blue color cast over the dolmen is just great. The startrails work for me, but in TE size is just hard to either miss pictorial information and get a blurred effect, or sharpen and get an aliased look. I’m confident the original file is perfect!
Just one question: what was your chronology here and the interval between the 5min shots?
Regards,
Victor

dkeus31 (27739) 2009-01-24 8:32

Hi Gray,
a nice image, the long exposure shows the star trails very nice, you found a great foreground as subject here.
regards,
didier

zanzi (13690) 2009-01-24 9:03

Hi Gary
For a first one, this is a very good one.
I have chosen a great subjet and used it perfectly.
Bravo
Chris

douglascraig (260) 2009-01-24 16:58

Hi Gary,

I love night photography, so I like this excellent example a lot! Your notes are particularly useful, I only ever thought to use stacking on astronomical images. Presumably this allows you to get round noise and overexposure?

Excellent use of the wide angle for a dramatic close up. The north star in the background is the icing on the cake.

I know what its like trying to focus on the ground in the dark. Besides the technical difficulties its very uncomfortable. I will have to brave the elements again soon myself! Congrats on a great photo, very well done!

Regards,

Douglas

gneufeld (15890) 2009-01-24 17:01

Hi Gary,
Some impressive work here - would never know that this was your first attempt! Great startrails and the colors and details through are exceptional. well done and TFS. Gerald

Dpbours (222) 2009-01-25 13:39

Hello Gary,

I do love the light painting on the dolmen! Keep that flashlight in your bag with props ;-). Great work here with the stacking!!

Greetings, Dennis

batalay (41261) 2009-01-27 9:08

Hello Gary,

This is the best startrails image I've seen, and, as a professor of physics, I have seen many. Presenting the sky against the backdrop of a ancient temple/observatory/computer, I imagine in the manner of Stonehenge, makes this a truly memorable photograph. My new book, "Leonardo's Universe," was just released by National Geographic Books, and I am proposing a new book to them, on Scientific Genius. I would love to propose this image as one of the "Must-Have Images" to appear early in the book. It was Aristarchus and Eratosthenes in the 3rd century BC who taught the picture of a Heliocentric Universe, and an image like this would demonstrate a phenomena that they would have loved to have seen. At this juncture, the book is a "pie in the sky," but I will hang the photo among my favorites (as soon as I make some room).

Warm regards,

Bulent
Bulent

Silversnow (2319) 2009-01-28 10:12

WOW
This is not an attempt, it is a masterpiece!
The Startrail is very well done indeed, the dolmen an ideal subject, the lamplight adds a mystical quality, the composition is superb, the POV well aimed, the exposure perfect and the colors magnificent!

Thanks for sharing your technique and patient setup, it is a compelling source of inspiration!

OLF (4017) 2009-01-31 0:41

Hi GAry,
Well done pov from the grass on the dolmen, all is well placed in the composition. I like the exposition speed effect on the stars.
Very well done!
Regards,
Olivier

Rooster_kool (860) 2009-02-23 5:16

As always ur photo looks awesome. U even managed the light to the stone with effect of the sky. It's really dramatic ever.

Jamierussell (6015) 2009-02-28 18:19

Yum! I love star trails, they are one of my favorite things to do myself!
Everything in this shot is good, even if there weren't any star trails :-)

alainh (33209) 2009-02-28 23:28

hello Gary
a masterpiece, you made here !!
silence, and loo at !! congratulations
firiendly
alain

Signal-Womb (13048) 2009-05-21 15:43

A fantastic and memorable shot Gary and seen it in print, well done m8. I am not a big fan of star-trails but in the right context it works to great effect. Tried this technique in March and kind of got it right (fogged lens) but my suspicious actions aroused the "locals" and I got a visit from police the next day asking a few questions. Your a busy man, never stop taking photos :) Iv had to take a long break to refresh and catch up on a lot of stuff at home. So its back to sensor cleaning, raw files and sore eyes in front of computer :)

Best Regards Steve.

scorfel (4294) 2011-12-03 5:20

Cette photo est excellente, très bonne idée de compo avec le filé sur les étoiles.

Alex