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Valley Of Fire

© Jeff E Jensen

Valley Of Fire

Uploaded: January 15, 2013

Description


15 Sec - f/2.8 - ISO 1600 - 14mm
Canon 5D Mk III - Canon 14mm f/2.8L II


Exif: F Number: 2.8, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 15/1 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, ISO: 1600, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 14.00 mm, Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Comments

Dale Hardin January 15, 2013

This is almost carrying minimalism too far, Jeff. :o)

But must admit it has a great story and dramatic focal point. #1509159

Rita K. Connell level-classic January 16, 2013

way cool jeff was that a shooting star or airpland...? no mater which it added just what you needed for this shot. #10517745

Jeff E Jensen January 16, 2013

Thanks! Rita - the streak is an airplane headed to Vegas.

This is one of 438 frames that I shot for a time lapse sequence. The beauty of this is that the images also worked well for a stacked star trail image. #10517925

Debbra Bailey January 16, 2013

Both are very cool Jeff! The time lapse creates such cool lines with the stars :) #10518419

Jeff E Jensen January 16, 2013

Thanks, Deb!

Check out my blog post on this, some pretty cool stuff:

http://jeffejensen.blogspot.com/2013/01/stars-trials-time-lapse.html #10518483

Beth Spencer January 16, 2013

Jeff they are amazing pictures. Very beautiful! I loved the video on your blog.
I am curious about the f stop. I am wondering why wide open and not the other way? #10518542

Jeff E Jensen January 16, 2013

Ah, that is a great question, Beth. The logic behind using a smaller f stop would be to get a greater depth of field. In this case, depth of field is not an issue as the stars are so far away and the silhouette of the foreground isn't affected by DOF. The advantage to shooting wide open is that you are getting more light. With more light, you are better able to catch more stars. In addition, by shooting wider and gathering more light, you can drop your ISO significantly and avoid as much noise as possible. Also, you can go with a longer shutter speed and drop the ISO even more, but in this instance, my goal was to grab as many images as possible in about two hours to make the time lapse sequence. If I'd had all night, I'd have gone to 30 seconds at ISO 800, it just would have taken 4 hours to capture the same amount of images. Would make a great time lapse as the stars would have traveled twice as far, I just didn't have the time to do that. Make sense? #10518556

Beth Spencer January 16, 2013

Yes it does. Now I will ask what settings are generally used to shoot a full moon if I used my 70-200mm 2.8 lens?
Just some starting point, I am sure one day all the fog, snow and ice will clear! #10518571

Jeff E Jensen January 16, 2013

Actually, shooting the full moon is easier than it sounds. You don't want to get any movement in the moon, so you want a quick shutter speed. With your 200mm lens, I'd suggest at least 1/250th of a second, but preferably 1/500 or 1/1000. Because the moon is so far away, DOF isn't an issue, so f/2.8 should allow you to keep your ISO down. What most people forget is that the moon is just a big reflector, bouncing sunlight back at us. Because of this, your settings are going to be similar to shooting in regular old sunlight. #10518587

Beth Spencer January 16, 2013

Thanks, Next time I see the moon I will try. #10518604

Teresa H. Hunt January 16, 2013

These are amazing Jeff . . . as usual. :)

In the star trails photo I love how you can see which direction the north and south axis are. :)

I do have one question. Why didn't we shoot at night when we were in the Valley of Fire? #10518983

Jeff E Jensen January 16, 2013

Cause y'all wanted to sleep. . . . . #10519004

Teresa H. Hunt January 16, 2013

Well that was a silly decision #10519016

Kristin Duff January 16, 2013

good answer! and congrats on the EP! #10519084

Debbra Bailey January 17, 2013

I agree Teresa! Silly us! We didn't need those 4-5 hours of sleep! lol

Jeff, how close do you live to the Valley of Fire? #10519655

Jeff E Jensen January 17, 2013

Yup, seep is overrated. . . .

Deb - Not close at all. From my house it's about a 7 hour drive. I was in Vegas for 10 days for work, so I headed out there a couple of evenings. #10519712

Dale Hardin January 17, 2013

And he didn't call me so I could join him. I guess the affair is over. :o( #10519929

Stephen Shoff January 17, 2013

I wish you'd posted the Star Trails as the primary image rather than Valley of Fire. Much more interesting to me.

The star trails are broken lines rather than continuous. Makes an interesting difference from a smaller series of longer exposures #10520767

Debbie E. Payne January 18, 2013

I like the original image posted but way prefer the one with the star trails. That one blew me away. LOVE it. How long did it take to shoot the star trails and just how BIG is the file size? #10521824

Jeff E Jensen January 18, 2013

Thanks, all!

Debbie, the stacked image is only about 55mb, not too bad. It took a little over two hours to shoot the 438 images that were used to stack for the trails. #10522441

lisa anderson January 20, 2013

Beautiful! I'm taking an astronomy class right now, so it's especially great to see these. #10524011

Kristin Duff January 20, 2013

...isn't technology wonderful? these are so cool Jeff! #10524260

Jeff E Jensen January 20, 2013

Thanks, ladies! #10524586

Peter W. Marks January 20, 2013

Interestingly different my friend. But I can't recognise a single constellation, can you help? #10524755

Jeff E Jensen January 20, 2013

Sorry, Peter, I'm not much help there.

If y'all want to check out the finished time lapse video, head on over to my blog:

http://jeffejensen.blogspot.com/2013/01/night-skies-in-nevada.html #10525060


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