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A Light Source, Timing & Luck
A Light Source, Timing & Luck
ralph


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Contre-jour (Basic Editing)
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon MF Reflex-Nikkor 1000mm f/11.0
Location: My front yard, Ottawa Ont
Date: Mar 28, 2007
Aperture: f11
ISO: 320
Shutter: 1/160
Galleries: Astrophotography
Date Uploaded: Mar 28, 2007

 perfect timing for this challenge ..
i went out to try to find Saturn & was just dicking around
just prior to it getting dark .. the sky was quite blue

um .. crop usm & curves
going to submit proof right away because I can barely believe the luck
i've calculated the plane moved 4-5feet (1.5-2 meters) while the shutter was open ..
Post challenge: sigh ..

right out of the camera shot .. the moon was moving very fast out of the frame ..
Saturn that evening ...


It would have been very difficult to have stopped/frozen the plane - as the lens is a fixed f11 i could have only upped the ISO .. this shot was 1stop low to start

there are about five frames of Just the moon prior to this pic. - i looked up & saw the plane coming . had that fleeting thought.. "gee... i wonder if it is going to pass in front of the moon" ... as it got closer i was not looking thru the view finder but looking at the moon bare eye'd .. pressed the remote at what i thought was the right time .. looked back instantly at the camera realizing i had the delayed expoure on (.4 second delay between mirror up & shutter) !!!! gack !!!!
but then glanced at the view finder & saw it perfectly aligned :) .. i would have screwed up if the exposure delay was not on ... ...
& i was bouncing up & down my driveway inviting the neighbor over to have a peek & etc ;)


Statistics
Place: 5 out of 332
Avg (all users): 6.8947
Avg (commenters): 7.9333
Avg (participants): 6.9032
Avg (non-participants): 6.8866
Views since voting: 6996
Views during voting: 560
Votes: 190
Comments: 67
Favorites: 44 (view)

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AuthorThread
 08/10/2010 01:52:20 PM
Great story to go with a great shot!
 01/15/2009 02:28:00 PM
Such an amazing shot.. love it.
 02/20/2008 11:04:21 PM
ooo i see
i guess i could say im exceptionally jealous of your zoom power
lol i bet you could sell this to the airlines. that'd be gnarly 2 see walking through the airports :P
 02/15/2008 08:50:57 PM
Well done. Truly an awesome photographic moment.
 10/25/2007 07:56:30 AM
Outstanding Shot, Ralph. Faved it.....
 04/25/2007 10:40:22 AM
This is an amazing capture. Way to go!
 04/21/2007 02:57:19 AM
The plane must be 30000+ feet.
Great Shot luck or no luck; Part of life is luck.
Great.
04/17/2007 10:05:12 PM
Congrats on a terrific image! Way to put yourself in the right spot at the right time. :)
 04/16/2007 11:42:36 PM
Great !
 04/16/2007 08:35:23 AM
Excellent capture. Best I would have done, even with a perfect lens, is probably an out of focus moon behind a moving blur of a plane. Amazing.

And for my rant: People, stop voting low because they think "it's not real" and judge the photo for its artistic qualities and how well it fits the challenge. Even the title of the image includes Luck. Leave the technical stuff to those in charge. It's a real photo, and the few voters scoring it very low stripped it of the ribbon it should have received.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/14/2007 11:50:08 AM
What an incredible pic. Luck may have played a part in this shot, but like someone else said, you make your own luck. I didn't join in time to vote, but I'd have given this a 10.
 04/12/2007 03:43:11 AM
That is quite spectacular, I missed voting on this challenge but I would have handed you a 10. should have ribboned IMHO. Well done nevertheless
04/11/2007 10:26:37 PM
Just an awesome shot! They say you make your luck and I'm sure you deserved this moment. Congrats on the top 5 and who the heck would vote this a 1 , 2 or 3 ??????
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/11/2007 10:53:16 AM
Definitely shoulda been a ribbon...!
 04/11/2007 10:24:37 AM
This photo just blew me away the minute I saw it first! It is incredible and I'm amazed that it didn't win a blue ribbon. You must have thought you died and went to heaven when you saw that plane scoot across the moon and realize you CAUGHT it in your photo! How cool is that too for it to happen during a challenge where you can use it! It really should have ribboned, but congratulations on an honorable mention!

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/11/2007 06:17:52 AM
Good capture, Solid finish
 04/11/2007 06:13:01 AM
WOW talk about being in the right place at the right time! Congrats on the top 5!! :)
 04/11/2007 06:08:13 AM
Excellent shot and really good editing. Desreves a ribbon indeed.
 04/11/2007 04:43:45 AM
Wow. Great work. I'd love to do a shot like this. Good editing to bring it up the way you have too.
 04/11/2007 02:57:57 AM
amazing shot
 04/11/2007 01:07:47 AM
wonderful job capturing this innovative interpretation of contre-jour. congratulations on top 5.
 04/11/2007 12:46:18 AM
This had to do well, it's just so amazing. Great capture, Ralph and congrats on top 5.
 04/11/2007 12:05:24 AM
OMG this shot is AMAZING! Well done!
 Comments Made During the Challenge
04/10/2007 11:53:56 PM
Don't have the slightest idea how this was done in basic, but it's awesome.
 04/10/2007 11:38:48 PM
This is definitely a luck :) but well taken.
 04/10/2007 10:28:34 PM
Not what I would have in mind for this challenge but, what an awesome shot this is! :)
 04/10/2007 08:36:03 PM
Well you KNOW this is awesome!
 04/10/2007 08:10:16 PM
Definitely luck and ... a good lens ;) Great capture, very effective. 9
 04/10/2007 01:00:39 PM
Wow! Amazing shot.
 04/10/2007 09:48:06 AM
haha.. nice timing like you say.. but not doing much for me..
 04/09/2007 04:49:27 PM
WOW
 04/09/2007 04:00:48 PM
I wish i had a 1000mm lens, very nice! Maybe you should have bumped the iso for a higher shutter speed.
 04/09/2007 03:27:10 PM
????? how the heck did you manage this shot lol, looks cool. Id like to see this reedited for advanced to get the most out of it. 10
 04/08/2007 09:50:51 PM
Cannot wait to see how this was done. Great photo!
 04/08/2007 04:01:50 PM
wow!
 04/08/2007 02:43:06 PM
Wow, that was close! The plane almost crashed on that ball!!! ;-P
Excellent capture and composition! (I guess was too much asking to have the plane on sharp focus too).
 04/07/2007 07:51:05 PM
Excellent. I just saw a similar shot being featured on the front page today at eyefetch by bobdaveant but it was from 2006. Strange to come across two like this on the same day.
 04/07/2007 05:59:27 PM
Lots of luck! or do you just happen to live at the end of a runway?
 04/07/2007 01:51:18 AM
lots of luck! Great shot! Rated well because it's basic editing, and not double exposure
 04/06/2007 08:48:25 AM
Pretty cool!
 04/06/2007 03:16:14 AM
Amazing !!! unbelievable !!!!
 04/05/2007 09:10:31 PM
Great timing..as you already said!!This is a keeper for sure.
 04/05/2007 04:31:57 PM
Very nice shot, do you live near an airport or you were just lucky with the plane?
 04/05/2007 08:47:59 AM
Dude, what the hell focal length were you using... a 800 w/ a 2x TC?!?!
At first glance looks like a comp. but if not, cheers to your patience and good fortune. Very cool shot.
 04/05/2007 05:26:27 AM
Wow , i can actually see the details on moon
 04/05/2007 04:17:17 AM
Oh my word, what a fantastic photograph. I cannot even comprehend how you have got the moon so fantastically zoomed and yet you have not lost either the jet or even its vapour trails.

You say luck but I am sure it is the old adage...the harder I work the luckier I get

I appluad and envy you in equal measures
 04/04/2007 11:25:25 PM
I should have such luck great shot
 04/04/2007 11:24:19 PM
Holy Cow! totally surreal.
 04/04/2007 09:48:01 PM
Damn... that's just friggin' incredible! If this doesn't ribbon, it's an injustice!
 04/04/2007 09:22:23 PM
REMARKABLE
 04/04/2007 08:57:26 PM
Wow! How was THIS done?! Very visually interesting!
 04/04/2007 08:10:07 PM
COOL.
 04/04/2007 02:44:17 PM
Nice composition, but the plane is a bit blurry
 04/04/2007 01:41:07 PM
if this is real, it is a very impressive and great shot.
 04/04/2007 12:54:06 PM
great shot & title
 04/04/2007 11:46:51 AM
Wow. Now that is cool.
 04/04/2007 08:44:19 AM
Is this for real...I mean...WOW...I couldn't imagine trying to get this perfect. I even like the plane looking slightly blurred. The trail is awesome. One of the coolest images on the site.
 04/04/2007 08:30:24 AM
Wow this one is really cool !!
 04/04/2007 07:54:09 AM
Came out quite well.
 04/04/2007 05:42:30 AM
The blurriness of the airplane is a little anoying, but otherwise, good shot.
 04/04/2007 02:56:13 AM
That is amazing! I wish the plane would have slowed down for you to get it sharper.
 04/04/2007 12:56:56 AM
Stunning!! Excellent capture..10
 04/04/2007 12:52:24 AM
unreal !!! This is so good it's just stupid.. lol.. 10 10 10 10
 04/04/2007 12:43:15 AM
Wow great capture! my only issue is that the plane is so blurry, but of course you couldn't do much about that. 9
 04/04/2007 12:42:22 AM
I love this shot!!
 04/04/2007 12:26:13 AM
Amazing shot, sorry the best I can do is a 10.
 04/04/2007 12:21:40 AM
You have a lot of patience.


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