Answering questions about night photography is our livelihood, and it’s our passion. We do it on workshops, we do it at conferences, we do it here. And we’re happy to do it in all those places.
This installment of our “Five Questions” series features inquiries about remote setups, multi-row night panoramas, tripods, high ISO noise and controlling a Luxli via Bluetooth.
If you have any questions you would like to throw our way, please contact us anytime. Questions could be about gear, national parks and other photo locations, post-processing techniques, field etiquette, or anything else related to night photography. #SeizeTheNight!
1. An Overnight Remote Setup
Question:
I live 5 miles from a spectacular 30,000-acre nature preserve of Sonoran desert. I have never seen a nighttime star or Milky Way image of this location, and I want to do one. The problem is that the preserve adamantly closes at sundown. I thought maybe I could take a camera and intervalometer and tripod just before sundown, set it up in an untraveled area and throw a bit of camouflage cloth over it. I can pull it off, but how do I keep my Nikon from powering down? If I use a muted wireless strobe to add a touch of fill, how do I keep the strobe from turning itself off ? Will an intervalometer let me program an 8- or 9-hour delay? — Jim
Answer:
The Vello Shutterboss II—set for a 9-hour delay.
First, is there any chance the preserve would give you special access, knowing what you’re trying to do, and that the photos could be used to help support the preserve? As my lawyer step-father always says, you never get what you don’t ask for.
That approach aside, and barring a coyote mistaking your tripod for a saguaro (if you catch my drift), I think your plan would work.
Yes, you can set an intervalometer to delay the start of its program. My Vello Shutterboss II allows me to set a delay of up to 100 hours, so 9 hours certainly wouldn’t be an issue. I would, however, make sure the batteries are fresh, just in case.
The camera should stay on without a problem, again, as long as the battery is fresh. (See a pattern?) If you want to be really sure, you could use an external battery, like the Tether Tools Case Relay. If you’re going to be running long exposures back-to-back all night, I would do the latter for sure, or just let the camera stop when it stops.
As for the strobe, it’s probably a nonstarter. If you have one that can use an external high-voltage battery pack, and/or if you can turn off low-power mode, or if the camera’s signal will wake the unit via the hot shoe, PC cord or wireless trigger, then technically you’re all set. But the bigger issue is that a flash would definitely be noticeable even from a distance. A flash in the dark is hardly discreet. It would also likely be quite startling to wildlife, so cue that coyote to exact its revenge. However, you might be able to use a Luxli Viola set at very low power—i.e., Low-level Landscape Lighting, which can be surprisingly discreet, as well as relatively non-distressful to critters.
Finally, before trying this on-location, I’d give it a test run overnight in your backyard. Set up exactly how you would in the preserve, and let it all run. Once you perfect the approach, then bring the setup out for its overnight wilderness experience.
I’m very eager to hear how this turns out. Please send the results! — Chris
2. Foreground and Background for Panos
Hovenweep National Monument, Utah. Two multi-row stitched pano frames shot at different exposures. © 2017 Gabriel Biderman. Nikon D750 and Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens set at 14mm. Sky: 20 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 3200; foreground: 3 minutes, f/2.8 ISO, 1600.
Question:
Is it possible to shoot panos with a well-exposed, moonlit foreground, not move the camera, then after moonset shoot a Milky Way pano background, then blend them in post-production? — S.W.
Answer:
In short, yes! You got it right. If your tripod doesn’t move, then you can do exactly what you’re talking about, exactly as you described. Ideally your tripod head’s tilt angle will be parallel with the ground—in other words, no angle at all, just perfectly straight and level. Then you can make one pano pass for moonlight at a low ISO for the foreground and one after moonset at a high ISO for star points.
Here are a few of our blog posts that might help you make the panos:
“How to Plan, Shoot and Edit a Milky Way Arch Panorama” Part I and Part II
“10 For 2017: Breaking Down Our Favorite Images of the Year” (see Gabe’s pano from Hovenweep, pictured above, and read about he used two separate exposures like you are planning) — Matt
3. Induro a Good Low-Cost Option?
The Induro CLT303 Classic Series 3 Stealth carbon fiber tripod.
Question:
I’m interested in purchasing a tripod, and I’m hoping that I can stretch my dollar. I have my eye on the Induro line, which Lance suggested as a reliable option in his book. I like to shoot wildlife (birds, especially) so I’m wondering if the Series 3 tripods (which I know would serve that purpose) would be stable enough for night photography, or do I need to go with Series 4 or 5? What are you using? — Christopher Z.
Answer:
I think that you’ll be fine with the Induro Series 3 tripod. For less money, you could consider the Series 2 or 3 Benro, but the former is a considerably better tripod. Also, check out their new Animal Series, featuring the Tortise, Bat and Rhino models.
There are a lot of good options out there, so it’s worth looking around.
I’ll offer two further suggestions:
See our e-book Three Legs to Stand On: A Guide to Tripods. There’s a lot of info in there that you might find helpful.
If or when you can, make a trip into Manhattan and visit B&H Photo, where you can put your hands on pretty much all the options, and also get expert in-person advice. If that’s not an option, try to attend a photography trade show or large conference where you can do the same.
I’m currently using (and am very happy with) a Gitzo Traveler tripod and Acratech head—but that’s a $1,100 combo. — Lance
4. How Much Noise is ‘Acceptable’?
© 2019 Gabriel Biderman. Nikon Z 6 with a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens. 15 seconds, f/2.8, ISO 12,800.
Question:
I’ve read your article “The Z 6 is the Best Camera for Night Photography.” I’ve been set to purchase a Nikon D750 because of its low noise, specifically at ISO 3200. But actually your observation of the “highest acceptable ISO” more precisely zeroes in on the most important camera characteristic for a Milky Way photographer. Since you’ve photographed the night with both cameras, what’s the highest acceptable ISO for the Nikon D750? — Bill W.
Answer:
The “highest acceptable ISO” is subjective. Your high ISO threshold might be different than mine, which might be different than Lance’s, etc. It’s all about what’s acceptable to you. Though I will say that for night photography—and especially for Milky Way images—we tend to be more forgiving, because the noise of the higher ISOs blends in with the natural granularity of stars.
Another thought to consider is that noise from the same high ISO is more prevalent in darker moonless images than in brighter moonlit images—especially if we need to open up the shadows in post-production.
That all being said, I am comfortable shooting my D750 at ISO 6400 and I try not to go any higher. ISO 6400 is very workable, but if I go to 12,800 then I need to really massage that image in post, or I need to shoot multiple frames for stacking sharp stars and reducing the noise with Starry Landscape Stacker.
However, while the D750 still holds its own at ISO 6400 and has excellent color and image quality, a lot of the rest of the technology behind it dates back to 2014. So I would consider investing in a D780 (if you want to stay on the DSLR route).
In his post “Best of Both Worlds,” Lance does an excellent job comparing the D750 versus the D780 versus the Z 6. We feel that the D780 is the perfect marriage of the D750 and Z 6. You get a very similar sensor to the Z 6, and improved live view and autofocus over the D750. — Gabe
5. Remote-Controlling a Luxli
Nelson ghost town, Nevada. © 2019 Chris Nicholson. Nikon D850 with a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, light painted with a Luxli Viola (interior) and Coast HP7R (exterior). 16 minutes, f/4.5, ISO 64.
Question:
After your presentation at the Optic 2020 conference, I bought the Luxli Viola and am starting to play with it. I’m curious if you guys ever use the Luxli Composer app and Bluetooth control? There seems to be a dearth of instructional stuff on the many useful options. Perhaps all I need is to dial in the desired color temperature and “go for it”? — Steve W.
Answer:
I do use the Composer app! Not all the time, but it’s usually great when necessary. For example, I might want to place my Viola in a place that’s hard to reach, such as on top of some high rocks. Instead of climbing up and down every time I need to make a change, I can use the app to alter the settings remotely.
Another example is when putting the light someplace within the frame, where I might not want to walk through mid-exposure to turn it off—instead, again, I can do that remotely with the app. The image above is a good example of when I took that approach. Even at the dimmest setting, the Viola inside the General Store was too bright to leave on for the whole exposure. To avoid walking into the scene mid-exposure to turn it off, I used the Composer app to snuff the light after 8 minutes.
To learn how to use Composer, check out this YouTube tutorial that Luxli put together:
For our take on how to use Luxli lights, check out Matt’s 2017 blog post “How to Master Color at Night with the Luxli Viola.” — Chris
