Succulent Sentinel

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 24, 2011239 views7 comments

I love capturing "starscapes", especially here in Southern Africa where there are still quite a few places with little light pollution, far away from cities and towns in the wilderness...those who have been to Africa tell many tales about her immense starry expanse.

This Aloe Ferox was keeping watch over a kopje in the Karoo desert, South Africa. I was illuminating the foreground with an LED torch bounced off my hand. When I opened the photo on my computer, I was delighted to see that the full moon which was just rising behind me at that time had also illuminated the background behind the plant, giving the scene a bit more context.

I kept the exposure to just below 30s to minimize the effect of the earth's rotation while maximising the amount of starlight captured by the sensor.

Techs:
Canon 7D with 10-22mm USM @ 12mm
f3.5 @ 25s @ ISO-1600

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Adam Gibbs on March 24, 2011 at 4:39 PM

Well done Morkel. Almost looks as if the stars are emanating from the Aloe.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 168 Posts, 870 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on March 24, 2011 at 7:50 PM

Excellent starscape -- the sky is amazing. The composition is classic, too. Light painting worked well, but I wonder if it might look even more natural with just a tiny bit less brightness/contrast just on the Aloe. (Very minor point -- just wondering.)

My only major suggestion would be to add "/STARS" to the title (because there is not enough room for " - STARSCAPE"). That should get more people to look at this, because the thumbnail does not do justice to this beautiful image.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on March 24, 2011 at 8:09 PM

Very nice, Morkel. I like the way the stars appear to be rising out of the plant. I agree with Wayne re the light painting is a bit bright as it doesn't look all that natural in with the rest of the image. Still, I'm very much enjoying your star shots.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on March 24, 2011 at 9:42 PM

The star field is amazing Morkel. The trunk of the plant is bit on the light side but minor nit considering the beauty of this scene.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Jason Risinger on March 24, 2011 at 10:07 PM

Incredible photograph, Morkel. Fantastic job with exposure and light painting.

Registered on July 13, 2010, 13 Posts, 91 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 25, 2011 at 12:26 AM

Thanks for the feedback folks.

Regarding the brightness of the aloe...that was also the result of the full moon rising behind me over the mountains. It just touched the plant and further illuminated the background, but was not yet high enough to cast light on the immediate foreground. My light painting technique is very even and I know how to "spread it nicely"...I did not realise at the time how much I would need to account for the effect of the moon here

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Luis Argerich on March 27, 2011 at 2:35 PM

Hi Morkel,
Very nice starscape, the stars have perfect shape and color and you have a nice hint of the Galactic Center even with the moon. Scorpius is very prominent in the picture with red Antares shining brightly in counterpoint with the Aloe.

Registered on December 22, 2009, 91 Posts, 1349 Comments