Kyle Jones
Moderator
I had an evening as a bachelor tonight and saw that clear skies were forecast in Big Sur. That left me no choice but to drive down the coast and look for stars. A little research showed that a crescent moon would be setting at about 10:40 - the same time that astronomical twilight would end and the skies would be fully dark. I saw this as a great opportunity to get some moonset light on the landscape with the Milky Way overhead.
My target was the Bixby Bridge viewpoint, since I have actually never shot from there (even in the daylight). Unfortunately, as often happens, the viewpoint was socked in with a cloud even though the forecast was clear. I decided to keep driving south in the hope that I'd get around the cloud and find a view of the sky. I ended up at McWay Falls. The trail and viewing area is currently closed for reconstruction, but there is a nice view along the highway. The moon provided some nice warm light, but was dim enough to let the stars shine through. I blended three 30s exposures (ISO 3200 and f/1.4) to reduce noise in the ground layer with a single 15s image (other settings the same) of the sky. Any thoughts are welcome.
My target was the Bixby Bridge viewpoint, since I have actually never shot from there (even in the daylight). Unfortunately, as often happens, the viewpoint was socked in with a cloud even though the forecast was clear. I decided to keep driving south in the hope that I'd get around the cloud and find a view of the sky. I ended up at McWay Falls. The trail and viewing area is currently closed for reconstruction, but there is a nice view along the highway. The moon provided some nice warm light, but was dim enough to let the stars shine through. I blended three 30s exposures (ISO 3200 and f/1.4) to reduce noise in the ground layer with a single 15s image (other settings the same) of the sky. Any thoughts are welcome.
