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Midnight on the Back Nine
Midnight on the Back Nine
Rob O


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Long Exposure III (Basic Editing)
Camera: Canon EOS-30D
Lens: Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4.0 AT-X Pro DX
Location: Whirlwind Golf Course - Wild Horse Pass
Date: Dec 17, 2007
Aperture: f/8.0
ISO: 400
Shutter: 30sec
Galleries: Landscape, Astrophotography
Date Uploaded: Dec 18, 2007

 Okay, so it was 11:06pm ... but that didn't roll off the tongue as nicely. ;-)

Wanted to do something using the first-quarter moon to create a "day at night" scene with the stars visible and that surreal light with deep blue skies. I originally wanted something considerably longer -- like 5-10 minutes -- to get star trails as well, but didn't have the time to fiddle with settings.

Shot on what I think is the 15th hole of the Whirlwind Golf Course at Wild Horse Pass in Arizona, located just southwest of Phoenix. I was facing almost due west. There was little ambient light (it was pitch black actually!) with hardly any light bleed from the nearby city. I wondered onto the green(s) around 10:45pm.

This exposure was "only" 30 seconds; I did several at 1 minute-plus. ISO was raised to 400 to ensure shadow detail even with the relatively short shutter speed under dark skies. Of course, the moon helped and I was counting on that. Had I shot ISO 100 this same shot would probably have been 2min (?).

Increased Exposure and Brightness during RAW conversion (ACR 4.1) as well as tweaking color temp (3300k) and black levels/contrast. Once in PS CS3 I used Curves and Selective Color adjustment layers to futher highlight light and soften shadows. Finished with Noisware NR and smart sharpen.

***post challenge***

Thanks for all the comments and votes!

Statistics
Place: 9 out of 158
Avg (all users): 6.6622
Avg (commenters): 7.8235
Avg (participants): 6.5690
Avg (non-participants): 6.6946
Views since voting: 2426
Views during voting: 370
Votes: 225
Comments: 20
Favorites: 3 (view)

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AuthorThread
 05/10/2010 06:26:16 PM
One of my favourite ever photos.
Not just on this site, in the "hole" (get it) world of photography

Message edited by author 2010-05-10 18:26:58.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/30/2007 11:27:17 AM
Congratulations on your top 10 finish. Great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/27/2007 06:20:47 AM
I love the simple composition and the moon and stars both shown in the sky. very nice. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
12/24/2007 01:50:44 PM
WOW. I think this one should ribbon
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/23/2007 11:21:32 PM
Nice
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/22/2007 10:03:24 PM
Interesting shot, the pin should be in the 3rd portion of the frame and the moon should be a bit more round.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/22/2007 09:04:07 PM
This picture really grabbed my attention! Great Job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/21/2007 08:54:43 PM
Simply exquisite! The mood, color, clarity - very well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/21/2007 04:35:09 PM
Wow, you made golf look interesting!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/21/2007 10:36:08 AM
This is creative. :-) That moon looks like the sun with this exposure length. Well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/21/2007 08:50:48 AM
Nice shot, long enough to get the moon burned out but short enough to leave the flag shadow. And breaking the rule of thirds works well here too. nice ballance IMHO.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/20/2007 10:18:04 PM
Nice job. This came out very well.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/20/2007 03:40:17 PM
Superb! Love the moon shadow, feels extra-terestrial.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/20/2007 01:02:24 AM
My favorite. Great lines. Noise on the green is distracting, but I love this.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2007 07:13:27 PM
I love this shot. Could do with a bit of grain reduction but it's beautiful nonetheless. Simplicity for the win!! (for some reason this photo reminds me of a Magritte painting, only without the drugs or surrealism!!)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2007 06:47:32 PM
Very nice ideea and nicely done also :) ... 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2007 06:36:53 PM
i wish the flag wasn't so centered
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2007 06:29:23 AM
Nice shot. Might've been neat to roll a ball out there too, or maybe you did and it was too washed out.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2007 04:27:05 AM
I really like the simplicity/minimalism of this. Creates a very nice mood - a nice golfer's dream - playing by moonlight.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2007 12:08:48 AM
great exposure, love the light, well done...9
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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