My version of Dancing with the Stars began on my last morning in North Carolina's Cape Hatteras National Seashore at 3:00 a.m. After my iPhone alarm sounded, a phone call from my husband who wasn't with me on this particular trip and a wakeup call from the hotel's front desk, I was up and moving. Why so many wake-up calls?
Cold, a bit windy and no coffee, several photographers and I headed out to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse to photograph stars and star trails.
I was determined to get these shots!
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| Star Trails after the Moon had Set |
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| Dancing Stars |
Cold, a bit windy and no coffee, several photographers and I headed out to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse to photograph stars and star trails.
The gear? My Nikon 600, a 14-24mm 2.8 lens, tripod and cable release. Accessories included warm clothing, a timer, Photographer's Ephemeris app and a stars trails map on my iPhone so I could readily locate the North Star.
First on the agenda was a 30 minute exposure of star trails. With ISO set at 100, manual focus set to infinity it was a few moments of hurry up, frame the shot, adjust the composition and wait.
After the star trails, it was on to capturing multiple, 30 second exposure settings of the brilliant array of stars. ISO was raised to 1600 while focus was still set to infinity.
The morning was followed by more photography at sunrise on the beach. The joy of light and life under the sky!
The morning was followed by more photography at sunrise on the beach. The joy of light and life under the sky!
