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Ghosts in the Machine

An old truck is given new life in the ghost town of Bodie State Historic Park, California.  This was taken at 9:30 pm on August 24 last year.  We'll be back again on August 30 this year, when  the moon will be a 17% crescent gently illuminating the town until it drops behind the nearby hills around 9:45 pm.  Then we'll enjoy dark, starry skies for stunning Milky Way shots until we depart at 1 am.   That many weeks after the summer solstice, we'll have have a lot more time for night shooting than we would during the longer days closer to late June.

We'll have other Bodie workshop dates available in 2014 as well.  Check my blog for details: http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/bodie-night-photography-workshops/
#Bodie   #nightphotography   #photoworkshops   #milkyway   #astrophotography  

Night Photography workshop in Bodie State Historic park, California.
http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/bodie-night-photography-workshops/

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38 thoughts on “Ghosts in the Machine”

  1. There's just a hint of incandescent glow low on the southern horizon from the town of Lee Vining 15-20 miles to the south, but otherwise we have stunningly dark skies from here in the Eastern Sierra across most of Nevada.  There was a little smoke form the Rim Fire filtering the light from the stars.  We found that out a few minutes later when +Chris Whiting pointed out crepuscular rays shooting up into the sky from the light of the moon approaching the eastern horizon.  The effect lasted maybe 5 minutes, but it was stunning.

  2. +Tarjei Vassbotn  The park does close at 6 pm, but with a couple million dollars in liability insurance, current first aid certification, and several hundred dollars in permit and monitor fees, after hours access can be arranged.  It gets cheaper the more people you bring in, so I've had pro photographers who have gone in on their own join me for a couple of our workshops, since it's so much cheaper with our group.

  3. This is really cool. Have you ever been to Namibia? The night skies there are absolutely beautiful. They have tons of fancy telescopes and stuff because the skies are so clear. You should go there and take a series of photos, including the sky, among the many other things. +Jeff Sullivan 

  4. I'm not following you +Jean Beauregard.  This is a single exposure of what did exist, and does exist at this time on this day every year (and that's easy to confirm using star chart programs, like the ones I use to anticipate compositions like this, as I do on my blog page referenced above).

    I did use Adobe Lightroom to adjust white balance and perform dodge and burn operations.  It doesn't have the capability to edit the content in any major way, such as substituting in a different sky.

    When hundreds of night shots like this are taken consecutively, then converted to time-lapse video, you can watch the rotation of the earth under the stars.  I like taking it a step further and shooting the stars during meteor showers: Perseid Meteor Shower – "While The Sun Was Sleeping" by Life Audience 

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