The Night Sky

As my ideas change and time progresses, I have decided to move towards the idea of photographing the night sky, as I have always had a fascination for the stars and how they can potentially make an interesting photograph, but haven't really had much of a chance to get out there and shoot some late night photos which show either the stars in their purset form, or with civilisation as a backdrop.

To assist with my quest for some excellent photos, I decided to carry out some online research of my own to see how other photographers have photographed the night sky.

I decided to search with Google and see what I could find and came across a website called Dan Heller Photography (www.danheller.com) which hosted photos taken by many amateur and professional photographers from around the world.

I found this example of an amazing photo taken from Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania which is shown on the right.

This photo was originally shot on Fuji Velvia film which brings forward the argument of which medium I should use for the final images; I will discuss this in more detail at a later date.

Fact File

1. Canon EOS 1v Body
2. EF 17-35mm f2.8 lens (@17mm/f2.8)
3. Velvia film (rated at 40ASA)
4. 3.5 hour time-release exposure

As for one of the first images, I can see that this effect will take lots of skill and determination to achieve, but I set a photo like this as a target for myself over the next few months; obviously some factors cannot be undertaken, such as the climb to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, or perhaps the ability to conduct a 3.5hour exposure, although the latter may be possible before the submission date.

Photograph Analysis
In my own opinion, this photograph is amazing, it shows sheer determination by the photographer to produce a decent photograph and I believe I can produce a high quality piece of work which will compare in quality, to this photo.
I can immediately see that perseverance and skill are required to produce a result which will be suitable for show in the summer so I will need to get out there ASAP and build up my own skills ready to shoot some final images which will wow my lecturers and coursemates.

Composition
This photo is well composed as it features several items in the foreground while having an amazing backdrop of the star trail, the photo follows the same rules as the photographer would follow during the day for a day time composition,regarding where the tents are positioned, almost in a 'visual pathway' which leads the eye into the enormity of the star trail behind.