Night photography at Loop Head Lighthouse in Ireland
At the tail end of our journey around Ireland, we spent a mystical evening on the southern tip of the Clare County of Ireland's west coast. The location is called Loop Head, a mispronunciation of "Leap Head" from Irish folklore where certain gentlemen escaped a witch by leaping out to the island featured above, and then back. They escaped because the witch did not make the leap back, and legend says her head was found 3 days later at Hags Head up the coast along the Cliffs of Moher. The story illustrates why it's important to not stand too close to the edge, as what my look like solid ground, may have naught underneath it and can fall into the sea.
We scouted earlier in the day, having a wonderful afternoon walking around the lighthouse grounds on the peninsula. Here are a few daylight photos from that jaunt.
Breathtaking views, seals, birds, sea, air... it all adds up to an ideal location for night photography... one would think! But when the night comes, all that sea air and ocean makes for a quick dew/mist. As we approached midnight, it became unbearable - one swipe of my lens to clear it and not three seconds later it was covered in nature's soft focus filter ;-) If you also choose to go here after dark, it's easy to park (and free). But please do be extra careful near the cliffs. Here are my best from the evening:
Photographing the Giants Causeway in Ireland at Night
I must say that I was very lucky. The weather at the Giants Causeway is reportedly very uncooperative on a regular basis. We chose, totally at random, a near-perfect evening. Am I am very grateful, as this location was of singular importance photographically during a vacation with my wife.
But I must stress that daytime scouting is integral to a successful night photo shoot. We visited in the late afternoon and that experience gave us a footprint and game plan for later that evening. Here are some shots of what it looks like during daytime from my phone:
While daytime scouting, I used a combination of apps to determine the moon's position and time, including Photographer's Ephemeris, Starmap2, Tides, LightTrac, MoonPhase and WeatherUnderground (the latter is fantastic for both weather and sunrise/sunset in on place).
It was only one day after the popular Blood Supermoon Total Lunar Eclipse, so we had a daylight-bright moon coming over the south rim of the cliffs ahead of us. And partly cloudy, but very high, slow-moving clouds. All in all, it was a stupendous setup for night photography. But it had its challenges.
The rocks are study, but uneven. Dangerous if you like to move too quickly - care is paramount. And the ascent to the main part of the causeway is a little steep. but manageable. And since the moon was due south, it was also a challenge to find angle where the moon was not totally flaring the lens or flat lighting the unique geology. I think we did pretty good.
I also would like to add one important thing about being a night photographer - the community is outstanding. We met another fellow long exposure devotee there named John, who lives only 30 minutes away. Not only was he extremely friendly, but he was also helpful. A young couple was camping and attempting their first NPy, and he generously provided tips and instruction to them, as well as some insights and encouragement to us. Well met, John! I hope to shoot with you again. And now, the photos:
Clonmacnoise Monastery in Ireland at Night
My wife and I had the an amazing evening photographing the ruins of Clonmacnoise Monastery in Ireland while on vacation last week. The ruins were rumored to have banshees coming from the moors and ghosts from the ruins. We only encountered a group of fellow photographers from nearly camera club (very friendly!) and some noisy swans down by the water where they nest.
Enjoy the photo gallery:
NIGHT PAPER in Astoria Park with Lulu Limoncella
Last night we had the pleasure of working with the talented Lulu Limoncella in Astoria Park. Our neighborhood. If felt good to bring the project to a space that is special to us, and to work with someone so vibrant and excited. It was a beautiful, clear and warm evening and here are the images we made. Thanks, Lulu!
If you want to learn more about Lulu, check out her website (and catch one of her burlesque shows!) or perhaps say hello on Facebook.
NIGHT PAPER with Tiny D on an Upper East Side Manhattan Rooftop
I am delighted to share with you the next adventure in the NIGHT PAPER series. We had the fortune of working with Tiny D last night on a friend's rooftop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
It was a gorgeous summer night. Mild, partly cloudy and very private on the fairly expansive rooftop. This evening/s paper fashion was black and white Tyvek mirrors sewn together to create a gown of sorts, along with a bristol paper mask.
Without further introduction, here are our favorite photos:
Want to learn more about our fabulous model?
Tiny D - The Queen of Latin Burlesque
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Want to become a part of the NIGHT PAPER project? Learn more.
Night Paper with Iris Explosion in Central Park
I am so pleased to present the next NIGHT PAPER art experience. Our guest for this evening's gorgeous night in Central Park, NYC, was Iris Explosion. She brought beauty and grace to one of New York's most iconic public spaces, and we're so glad to work with her.
We visited the Naumburg Bandshell, the Minton Tiles at Bethesda Arcade, the Bethesda Fountain and The Pond. At night, they all take on new faces and when combined with long exposures, multiple light sources and artists performing, the spaces transform into something otherworldly. Enjoy the art set from this shoot, and welcome back NIGHT PAPER after a hiatus from last Fall.
Featured Photographer of the day on Art Director's Club blog
I'm delighted to share with you a short interview I did with the ADC - published on their blog at ADCglobal.com. Read it here.
Teaching at creativeLIVE Photo Week 9/21!
I am delighted to announce that on Saturday, September 21, 2013 I will be teaching TWO sessions during creativeLIVE's Photo Week. I am both very excited and honored. You can watch live for free! After that, there ail be a fee to purchase one of three tracks they are offering.
Noon EST - 1:30pm
SEO for Photographers
1:45pm EST - 3:15pm
Night Photography: No light? No problem!
I am flying out to Seattle to join the over fifty instructors that are participating in Photo Week and present in person at their studios.
My presentations are polished up and ready for you! Watch me live, ask questions and we'll have fun learning together.
Valley of Fire Revisited
Back in 2010, I went out to the Valley of Fire for the first time (Read more: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 and Part 4).
Last night I went back with a different group of friends - Joseph Carey and John Faison. It was legendary. Ask me about stories when you see/meet me.
I was testing out my new Trigger Trap dongle and iPhone App on the way out and back, using the DistanceLapse feature - set to trip my D700 shutter every 130m or such. I forget what the setting was since I was playing with it... Anyway, I made that into a nice timelapse for your viewing enjoyment with images from the shoot in the video! (If you are curious, I assemble the timelapse in iStopMotion. This time I edited the movie in iMovie - i normally use FCP Studio.)
I like the results! Great feature. I have reservations about using Trigger Trap on a night shoot, so I used my other external trigger. Here are some final photos!
69th St Transfer Bridge Revisited
Five years ago, Gabe and I had our first night out shooting NPy together at this location.
Two nights ago, I had the pleasure of revisiting this place with Erik Ward and Dan O'Neil, two guys who also met around five years ago and have been doing Urbex together ever since. Cool guys, very fun with which to shoot.
I must admit, one of my favorite NPy photographs I have ever shot was at this location and I was loathe to encroach on my personal enjoyment on its happy memory. But I approached it with an open mind to experiment and apply all that I have learned in the last five years. Great decision :)
Here is the image I hold dear from back then:
May, 2008
Mamiya 7, 43mm, f/16 @ 12 min
Ilford XP2 Super, 120
I remember Gabe shooting for much shorter times and wondering why I was exposing so long. I am not sure I knew what I was doing, but instinct told me to expose for 12 minutes. In hindsight, I knew I wanted the transfer bridge to stand out and since it was at least 3 stops darker than the correct exposure for the rest of the City, I let it burn...
This lesson has stuck with me over the years. Upon returning, I wanted to test the theory again and shot two different exposures just to see what happened:
March, 2013
D700, 14mm, f/13 @ 2 minutes
March, 2013
D700, 14mm, f/8 @ 2 minutes
I think they are both successful for different reasons. The former has the qualities of all the light sources and shadows. The latter is more of an artistic statement about the relationship between the foreground and the background.
Moving on... here are some more shots & experiments from the evening:
