Quoddy Coast - Moonlight

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 21, 2012226 views10 comments

Waves lap at the rocky "Bold Coast" at Quoddy Head State Park in Downeast Maine on the night of the "blue moon" (second full moon during the month of August, 2012). Taken on the night of the full moon about 3 hours after moonrise. There were a lot of bats out that night--they would come swooping by my head (within 1 foot) and the eerie thing was how utterly silent they were--I didn't know bats had such silent wings!
Canon 5DII, EF17-40 @ 17mm, 24min f11 ISO 200.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on September 21, 2012 at 7:10 PM

Very cool image. Especially like the wave action on the rocks - leads my ey through the image. I might prefer a bit darker land area to get a more night feel, but the moon must have been very bright.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on September 21, 2012 at 8:42 PM

I really like the silky smooth ocean from the long exposure. The star trails feel a little out of place in the light blue sky so I could do without them. The image is lovely

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on September 21, 2012 at 10:14 PM

Cool image. Like the star trails.

Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on September 21, 2012 at 10:28 PM

The time lapse elements create a lot of interest. Neat how the stars and blurry water are connected.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on September 21, 2012 at 11:27 PM

Nice comp Bill. I like the long exp effect on the water around the rocks. The sky blues seem a bit strong on the saturation, and there maybe some possible haloing around the trees on the left. The bats encounters sound a bit freaky

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

Comment posted by Nancy Wolfe on September 22, 2012 at 8:51 AM

Beautiful!

Registered on April 7, 2012, 42 Posts, 103 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Caldwell on September 22, 2012 at 3:01 PM

Thanks for your comments everyone! The interesting thing about these moonlight photos is that they look just like any daytime photo except for the smooth misty water and the star trails. I shifted the color balance towards the blue end and adjusted the exposure down to make it look more like night time.

Registered on October 10, 2011, 62 Posts, 508 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Hartmann on September 22, 2012 at 3:58 PM

Amazing how the colors look so vibrant under the pale moonlight. Artistic and pretty, I like it.

Did you use f11 simply to increase the exposure time? I would not expect f11 to be needed for depth of field with this comp.

One while in the presents of bats I heard high pitched sounds that I thought were their echolocation system at work. This was sundown in the quiet Utah desert, not the comparatively louder coast.

Registered on January 15, 2009, 13 Posts, 772 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on September 22, 2012 at 10:30 PM

Very nice night image Bill. I really like the misty feel of the water created by the long exposure. My only nit is that the image seems too bright to be a night image. I might consider darkening it just a bit to capture the feel of night.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Caldwell on September 23, 2012 at 5:30 PM

Thanks Richard, yes I wanted the longer exposure time to increase the length of the star trails and the misty effect on the white-water.

Registered on October 10, 2011, 62 Posts, 508 Comments