A Few Pints
What started out as a normal night in the pub ended up something quite different indeed. When Kathryn and myself were leaving a pub in town, we looked up and saw a myriad of stars. When we got home, we decided that we would have to make the most of it and decided to head to Lough Derg straight away! When we arrived at Lough Derg I didn’t quite know what to do or where to go. The amount of stars was overwhelming. After a few minutes I decided to set up at the edge of the lake to try for some reflections as well as the Milky Way shot.
Utilising the Surrounding Nature
I soon decided to move along the lake and try and find some foreground interest. The reflections were nice and all, but I felt the shot would be too flat and bland. Moving towards the nearby pier I found a tree that could add a lot of interest to my photo. I took some test shots with the ISO jacked up as high as it would go. When I was happy with the composition I turned the ISO down to a more acceptable level and lengthened the shutter speed. The finished image can be seen below.
After a few shots I went to see how Kathryn was getting on. She was just finishing up so I got her to come over to where I was set up when she was ready. There were some poles along the end of the pier. One seemed to be missing. I got her to stand in the middle so it looked like she had replaced one. I told her to turn on the headlamp and face a certain was so she was looking up at the Milky Way. The results were quite nice and can be seen below.
And Now For Something Completely Different
Utilising the headlamp gave me an idea. Why not get into the picture myself for a self portrait. I took a few test shots with Kathryn in the frame herself. I got everything lined up and then went to join her. The camera was taking continuous shots so we could attempt it several times without moving. This proved quite difficult but we got it in the end. You can see yourself below.
Lough Derg reflections – 8mm, f/2.8, ISO 3200 at 30 seconds
Lough Derg tree – 8mm, f/2.8, ISO 3200 at 30 seconds
Lough Derg headlamp & tree – 8mm, f/2.8, ISO 3200 at 30 seconds
Lough Derg Stargazing – 8mm, f/2.8, ISO 3200 at 30 secondsIf you have any like my work or want to see what I’ve been up to, please check out and like/follow my website, my 500px, my Facebook, my Instagram and my Twitter.
