Salton Sea ideas

[GB1]

Camping out at the Salton Sea this weekend. This is a very blighted spot and always makes for interesting pictures, but I'd like to do something different this time too -- whatever that is.

Any ideas?!? There's no moon, so might be perfect for an al-night shot of the north star with some old rusty foreground object.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_Sea for a writeup on the place.

thanks in advance

[Greg McCary]

I you are going digital I think that I would take a tripod and take a ton of pictures and try some HDR pictures. Check this guys site out. Most all his landscapes are HDR....
http://www.around395.com/
Greg

[GB1]

Greg -

Still using film at this pt (though considering the Nikon D200). HDR... I assume that means High Dynamic Range. What's the story with that?

[Greg McCary]

You take two or more exposures, for the sky and then foreground and then CS2 can combine them to make a perfectly exposed shot. I have been playing with it some but I have had hit or miss results.
Greg

[GB1]

You take two or more exposures, for the sky and then foreground and then CS2 can combine them to make a perfectly exposed shot. I have been playing with it some but I have had hit or miss results.
Greg

OK, I remember hearing about it. Unfortunately it seems ideal for digital but unadvisable for film cameras.

Check out this shot by someone on photo.net. He did a heck of a job with it

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5153168

[another view]

Here's an idea - Lost America

He has done some work in that area, see the image galleries.

[GB1]

Here's an idea - Lost America

He has done some work in that area, see the image galleries.

He has some unusual colors there alright. Not sure how that was done (?)

They are very good, but I really want to do something different -- if that makes any sense.

[another view]

Not sure how that was done (?)

He has (or at least had) a how-to section on the site, describing his technique. From what I remember it was pretty simple but I'm sure it takes a lot of practice to get it right.

Ingredients: One clear night with a full moon, a long ways from city lights. One sturdy tripod. One cable release (probably two, in case you lose one - hard to see in the dark). A couple of flashes, flash lights and some colored material like gels or even filters. A roll of slide film (I'd probably try Fuji Provia 400, but it looks like he's used Tungsten film on some of them, like Fuji 160T). A bubble level on the hotshoe of the camera would be my suggestion too...

Get a couple of used cheap flashes - doesn't matter if they're manual only or dedicated to some other brand of camera. Tape gel material (used for theatrical lighting) to them for colored lights. With a digital SLR like he's using now, you can figure out if what you're doing is working or make changes right then and there. With film, you'll get it developed and then have to wait a month for the next full moon to try it again.

[GB1]

He has (or at least had) a how-to section on the site, describing his technique. From what I remember it was pretty simple but I'm sure it takes a lot of practice to get it right.

Ingredients: One clear night with a full moon, a long ways from city lights. One sturdy tripod. One cable release (probably two, in case you lose one - hard to see in the dark). A couple of flashes, flash lights and some colored material like gels or even filters. A roll of slide film (I'd probably try Fuji Provia 400, but it looks like he's used Tungsten film on some of them, like Fuji 160T). A bubble level on the hotshoe of the camera would be my suggestion too...

Get a couple of used cheap flashes - doesn't matter if they're manual only or dedicated to some other brand of camera. Tape gel material (used for theatrical lighting) to them for colored lights. With a digital SLR like he's using now, you can figure out if what you're doing is working or make changes right then and there. With film, you'll get it developed and then have to wait a month for the next full moon to try it again.

Sounds interesting ............. He achieved the glowy effect via a combination of the full moon and the artifical lighting with gel colors. I've heard of a similar technique, and seen a few pix, of the gel and flashes on models -- some of the shots came out pretty neat.There wont be any moon this weekend, but maybe a flash-only try.

Now I have one more day to think of some additional ideas.