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A Moonlit Night With Ike
A Moonlit Night With Ike
bvy


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Long Exposure IV (Minimal Editing I)
Camera: Olympus C-70 / C-7000 Zoom
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: Sep 14, 2008
Aperture: F/2.8
ISO: 400
Shutter: 15
Galleries: Sky, Nature
Date Uploaded: Sep 15, 2008

 The remnants of hurricane Ike ("remnants" might be an understatement) came roaring through Pittsburgh last Sunday night with wind gusts up to 70 mph. But here's the kicker -- it was clear and the moon was bright. About the time I was lamenting the fact that my neighbor wouldn't turn off his @$%&! flood light, BAM! -- the power went. The only light around was from the moon.

These are shots of the tree in my backyard. I experimented with placement and exposure, and when things started getting dangerous, I laid the camera face up on the ground, set the time lapse, and went inside. They're not great shots, especially given the limitations of this challenge, but I think they're at least interesting. The noise is going to kill me here, I know, as I working with ISO of 400. Oh well -- maybe at least a few voters will find something creepy or alluring in all that noise.

Shot in JPG. Then in PSP X2, rotate, resize, JPG. That was it. Sharpen only enhanced the noise, so I skipped it. Also, I used a "weighted average" resize which further eased some of the noise (and it was the only one that didn't brighten a few bad pixels).

---

POST: I'm completely stupefied by the reception this received. I truly almost pulled it at the last minute, and the only reason I didn't was because I had a good story to tell.

Truly, I did this in "sessions" -- I set the camera face up on the ground, set the time lapse for five shots or so, one a minute, and made a few trips back and forth to the tree to see what I got, tweaking the camera settings and recomposing as needed. During those fifteen second intervals, gale force winds would come and go, and clouds would zip by, blocking or filtering the moonlight for a few seconds at a time. My camera is a small point-and-shoot, so it wasn't moved noticeably by the wind while the shutter was open.

We don't get hurricanes in Pittsburgh, at least not the wind component, so this was a real novelty. I'm sure no one expected this from me -- not only because I live where I do, but also because I don't typically do nature shots.

Thank you! This was a blast...

Statistics
Place: 6 out of 127
Avg (all users): 6.7866
Avg (commenters): 8.8500
Avg (participants): 6.8182
Avg (non-participants): 6.7706
Views since voting: 5240
Views during voting: 476
Votes: 164
Comments: 48
Favorites: 36 (view)

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AuthorThread
 08/02/2012 03:07:51 PM
This is fantastic. I love the spooky eerie look.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2011 03:09:02 PM
wow, this is a magnificent picture..captures my inner feelings if I have to think about hate and passion blend together.that is a complicate feeling it gives me.brilliant shot, you know!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/06/2010 09:18:13 PM
I just visited this again, thanks to this thread. This had originally gotten a 10 from me. Great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/19/2009 03:04:51 PM
Well, I love this picture, and I'm glad you lived through it. Good story too.

I do have one memory of sitting in my car in a parking lot in Pittsburgh, terrified, while the car shook and bobbed and the trees bent over and the street lights sprang back and forth and I thought I would die in a tornado! Who woulda thunk. (we were driving to State College).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/06/2009 06:48:01 PM
Originally posted by skewsme:
if i didn't fave this before, it's because i was horribly jealous ;-)

That might be the best compliment I've received yet!
 07/05/2009 10:29:59 PM
if i didn't fave this before, it's because i was horribly jealous ;-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2008 09:19:05 AM
This is breathtaking. Wonderfully well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/29/2008 11:21:04 AM
you should have seen Ike in Texas...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/27/2008 02:13:46 PM
What I liked about this is that it seems like something someone would see as part of a Halloween nightmare. Very spooky. Congrats on the great placement in the challenge!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/27/2008 12:35:11 PM
This was also one of my highest scores given. Glad to see it took a decent finish. Congrats on your peer-review "ribbons"
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/27/2008 11:33:10 AM
very sinister, but beautiful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/27/2008 11:21:12 AM
great
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 08:38:40 PM
This is a beautiful shot! Finally, some creativity in the top 10! Should have been top 5, IMO.

_Nathanael
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 08:27:56 PM
PostLuminous Award Nominee!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 01:26:10 PM
I think this is telling you to start doing more nature shots.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 01:00:20 PM
Congrats on top ten!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 10:28:43 AM
Congrats! Always nice to see a fellow Pittsburgher (my hometown) do well, and an OLY user to boot!
Way to go.

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 07:33:19 AM
this was my top pick, good finish but not as good as i had hoped it would have placed
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 01:58:00 AM
My favorite, the wonderful taste of natural editing.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 01:44:28 AM
Wow! This is awesome! It looks like a painting! I love it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 01:18:00 AM
Imaginative (and brave!) capture of form and mood. Very impressed that you just let the exposure do the work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 12:55:47 AM
I'm back to say, this was my favorite of the challenge -- I gave it a 10. It really stood out from the rest. I'm glad you explained how you did it, because I really couldn't understand how this artistic effect was achieved without post processing.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 12:44:15 AM
very, very emotive image, huge congrats on top 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 12:42:41 AM
I really like this a lot - thought it might be too different for DPC. Glad to see it did well.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 12:42:36 AM
Hey, very, very cool! In fact, my favorite of the top 6. :) Congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 12:18:44 AM
This is a cool and rather spooky shot. I'm glad that you didn't get harmed while out in the wind and that the lights went out right on cue.
Congrats on a fine finish, and thank you for the thoughtful comment on my entry.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/26/2008 12:03:28 AM
My favorite of this challenge - moody, striking, very well done for straight from the camera! Congrats on a great score, a top ten, and a new image in your top row!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
09/25/2008 03:51:00 PM
Wow, what a moody image! This is a great example of how even the most steadfast and sturdy creatures can waiver. I love it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/25/2008 03:08:35 PM
wow, this picture is amazing!!! new favorite for me
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/25/2008 10:04:03 AM
Wow! With Minimal Editing!? You get a Posthumous Red Ribbon for this beauty.

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/25/2008 07:24:49 AM
Geez. I saw this one and realized I had to give it a ten. But to give it a ten I had to vote on thirty more. Thanks a lot! This is absolutely beautiful you know. Adding to favs.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/22/2008 02:09:23 AM
I love this photo. The sky and foliage give it an eerie quality. It could be an illustration in a spooky story book.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/21/2008 05:47:41 AM
Excellent! I really like this - the tree in the background looks like a person trying to reach up and slow the storm, or draw energy from it perhaps.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/20/2008 08:33:54 AM
Love the spooky feel.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 04:42:24 PM
I'm loving the painted effect in the treetops.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 10:51:52 AM
Mystical and almost fairy tale like. Nice effect!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 09:55:46 AM
Gorgeous, my only 10 for this challenge
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 09:01:42 AM
Creative. Great perspective and textures and tones. -8-
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 08:36:33 AM
Man, I should have done this. Excellent photo. My guess this is Dave or Ian. Or someone else from Houston that I missed. Great shot. Hopefully this tree didnt fall on your house. I love the effect
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 06:43:13 AM
Great atmospherics - looks like it was drawn with charcoal. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 06:07:08 AM
very creepy image - and creepy in a good way
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 05:55:36 AM
=]
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 05:19:27 AM
One of my two 10's in this challenge. This is awesome! straight out of camera and it looks like a piece of Photoshop art! love it
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 04:57:54 AM
That is a very creepy shot! Really like it. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 01:16:44 AM
Very spooky
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 12:40:21 AM
excellent! 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 12:25:45 AM
One of the better shots this challenge - 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/19/2008 12:17:11 AM
Wow! Very nicely framed and captured!
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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