Tuesday, June 10, 2014

05/18/14 Wind Farm & Astrophotography

A "bridge to the stars" outside Camp Grove, IL

Earlier last month, I ventured out on a chilly May night to a local wind farm outside Camp Grove, IL. I've photographed this area many times over the last couple of years, but in daylight however. On this night I wanted to really give my Canon 5D Mark III a shot at some night photography at this wind farm. I've always wanted to photograph this area under the stars in years past, but I didn't have the proper camera to get the quality I was looking for. Since I bought my Canon 5D Mark III last fall I've been eager to find a few hours after midnight to have this area all to myself. On this night, I was quite pleased with how the camera performed! Of course, as I get more accustomed to shooting night photography the results will be even more rewarding I'm sure. The only thing that didn't cooperate on this night was some pesky cirrus clouds. They helped some shots, but also annoyed me while taking others. It left me only wanting to visit again soon to polish a few shots. It was quite a chilly night requiring a jacket in mid-May. Crazy! I've added a few of my favorite photos I shot on this late night below:

Light painting this picnic bench with my flashlight to illuminate the foreground!
Streaking traffic (left) and wind farm...
The bridge! (looking south)
More light painting adding some color to the foreground!
A longer exposure here...
Light painting with cirrus clouds behind this tree giving it a ghostly effect...
I tried to use some car headlights in the distance to make this a spooky looking tree...
Wind turbines, stars, and more light painting!
"In a sky full of stars, I think I saw you"
Another neat perspective!
City lights providing an odd glowing night sky due to the cirrus clouds...
"Looking up at the stars"
Wind turbine and more stars...

That's all for now. I ended up storm chasing on May 20th and I'll post that chase account in a future blog post.