Hehe... Timelapse Crane

[ericyoung]

But the shot at the top of this thread wasn't lit, except by moonlight, right, or am I going mad? :smile:

 

[Tom Lowe]

That's correct Eric. That was moonlight only.

Tom

 

[Richard Foster]

Tom, FWIW, I like the idea of a little light on the rocks and the Coleman lantern is fine, if no moonlight, but too bright. I would put it higher as the light should feel like it's coming from the sky and maybe put a tree branch in front of it to break it up and create some shadow. I would also try a take with no light; even with no moon, you may be surprised at this long exposure for the stars that there is actually enough sky spill to show the rocks up with some detail. You could test the balance with shooting at single frame with the DSLR at your exposure to see what the ambient no light looks like versus a dimmer coleman with a branch shadow.

I hope this helps. I am not criticizing just offering suggestions on fine-tuning some amazing stuff. Well done.

 

[Tom Lowe]

Richard, yeah, you are right... I did know it was a little hot. Two nights before, I actually did the EXACT same shot in the exact same place and underlit it, which was a disaster. It's tough to get it right, and I am working with pretty crude tools, but I think I will improve over time. I am getting some nicer (dimmable) lights and defusers soon.

I still might be able to work the RAW channels on this shot and bring it into balance a little better when I have some time.

I need some guys with lights and lighting knowledge to come out shooting with me.