THE DARKSIDE

We are going to start this two part series on dark and light by focusing on the darkside of photography - yes think DARTH VADER. What do we photograph in the dark besides a lot of black? How about stars! Jay receives a bunch of questions asking how to photograph stars, so we want to give you the basics to at least get you out there trying to shoot them more often. First, a few things to consider before heading out in the dark. Bring - warm clothes, a tripod, a cable release with intervalometer, extra batteries for your camera, great optics (f/4 lenses or faster), and a headlamp. IN ALL CASES...USE LENS' WIDEST APERTURE (f/2.8 for an f/2.8 lens), FOCUS TO INFINITY (mostly), and ISO CONTROLS STAR INTENSITY. Next, to photograph star pinpoints there is an equation that you need to remember:

600 ÷ Lens Focal Length = Longest Exposure Before Stars Begin to Blur

Example:

600 ÷ 24mm Lens = 20.83 or a 20 Second Shutter Speed.

Jay typically sets his ISO to 1600 or 3200 here depending on the surrounding light pollution and then views what his camera records. Lastly, to photograph star trails, Jay uses a shutter speed of 4 - 8 minutes (this is where Intervalometer comes in), sets his ISO to 400 and again his lens to a wide-open aperture.

Photo Above Metadata: 70-200mm Zoom at 145mm, 241 Seconds @ f/2.8 

YOUR OWN PRIVATE TETON

Most people don’t realize that Jay leads spur of the moment trips in the Tetons almost every day he is home. We have a great system in place on our Teton Photo Workshops website that allows up to 3 people to travel around Grand Teton National Park and/or the National Elk Wildlife Refuge with Jay for $350 per 4 hour sunrise/sunset blocks. That is just a little over $100 per person! You can book as many 4 hour blocks as you like, and you can see if Jay is available when you are here because his calendar is live right on the website. Jay can take you off of the beaten path or he can push other photographers out of your way at the most popular locations, while teaching you how to get the best photographs in each location and shooting scenario. He can even teach you how to photograph stars in the field!

PLEASE RISE FOR JUDGE JAY

We are happy to announce that Jay has been asked to Judge the upcoming "ViewBug and Macphun ‘Outside Views: Adventure Land’ Photo Contest.” This is a great opportunity for photographers of all levels to submit Outdoor Lifestyle and Adventure images showing us your travels from around the world. Winners receive a copy of Macphun Software’s Creative Kit 2016.

Be sure to submit your images soon, as the contest closes on April 5th, 2016. There is no cost to submit your images, so select your finest and get them in!