Location: Cowee Mountains Overlook, milepost 430
A different take on capturing fall color – a near three minute exposure at Cowee Mountains Overlook, taken at 10 PM using the moon as the only light source. Star trails can be seen in the sky, a result of the long exposure.
Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Tokina AT-X Pro 12-24
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO: 250
Shutter: 171 seconds
Aperture: f/4
Filters: none
Exposure: Manual
How I Got This Shot: A clear night sky in autumn with a near-full moon created perfect conditions to try a night image from the Parkway – a “daytime at night” look with some star trails. Choosing Cowee Mountains Overlook for the scene was easy, but composing it was not; it was far darker outside than the image suggests.
When I first set up, I shot an initial test image at a very high ISO speed (6400) to get an idea of how best to compose the scene, then I shot one or two more test shots to adjust my tripod until I got the composition right.
Then there was the lighting. I needed moonlight for the camera’s sensor to absorb to get the “daytime at night” effect I was after, so I waited until the moon had moved overhead enough to “light” the valley so there would be no shadows in the final result – about thirty minutes after my arrival, about 10 PM.
In order to get the shot, I needed to shoot a fairly long shutter speed, so I set my camera on my tripod, set my aperture wide open to let in more light (f/4), focused on infinity so I would have good depth of field, and played with different shutter speeds and ISO speeds, starting at one minute, then two minutes and working my way up until I got the right lighting. The longer the shutter is open, the more light the camera’s sensor can absorb, making the image brighter. I managed to keep the shutter speed at just under three minutes with a relatively low ISO speed of 250, meaning I had very little noise or grain in the resulting image.
The final result? The “daytime at night” effect I was looking for, the Cowee Mountains and the distant peaks all lit evenly by the light of the moon, with some interesting star trails in the sky from the long exposure. At the center-right of the image you can see light pollution from nearby Sylva, and off in the distance light pollution from Cashiers can be seen at left-center.
Night images can be tricky to shoot, but the results can also be rewarding if you are patient and willing to experiment with different shutter speeds until you get what you are after. You also need available light from the moon in order to get the effect you see here.
For More Information
- Additional photographs by Solitary Traveler Photography
- Categories where this photo is found: Fall Color, Mountain Horizons, Night Photography, Overlook Views