Wednesday, May 30, 2007

I Can Keep This Up for Weeks, People

Click to enlarge all photos, please
It's starting to look like I have a never-ending supply of Corpus Christi night photos, but I think these three are the last ones.

The marina was cool and quiet and calm, an inspiring place to take pictures and I tried to make the most of my time there.
It was one of the more rewarding night shoots of my life, and I'm glad the results have been enjoyed so much here, on Flickr and at Shuttertalk Forums where I have just started showing them off.
The picture above is one of the very few that needed more than minimal post-processing and I almost didn't bother, but am glad I took a second hard look at it.
Most of the rest are pretty much straight from the camera--it's all about unlearning daytime exposure methods and "rules" and treating the night with the care and respect it deserves.
Forget cranking iso and thinking too much about DOF, it's all about jamming as much light onto the sensor as fast as the situation requires to stay far above the noise-floor, and be sure to have NeatImage or NoiseNinja, too.
Signal-to-noise ratio is king at night.

Finally some life among all the inanimate stuff I usually feature.
This sea bird (what is it Bruce?) had an unusual way of moving.
It would freeze, then back up a step and freeze, back up and freeze.
Otherwise this photo would have been a blurry mess, so thanks Mr Bird.


Coming up next is either a break in the action or I might just finish out the Corpus trip with photos from the USS Lexington.

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