Yep, and a whole lot better than the photographer on the other end of it does!
I had to run down to Durango from Denver to do some work stuff and so decided to head out early and spend a night in Alamosa, which meant an early AM trip to Great Sand Dunes NP was on the agenda. I left the hotel at 5:30 and got to the park at 6. On the way two different temperature gauges mocked my plans by indicating -29 and -33. When I got to the park I had it to myself (!) and wandered out towards the dune field. Truthfully, it was pretty hard going and it was still dark so it was harder getting a comp than I expected and I wasn't as successful as I would have liked.
OTOH, the gear held up perfectly. The Gitzo tripod and RRS ballhead were smooth and even though the ballhead ended up with a bit of frost on it, they worked better than I expected. As for the camera, it did everything I wanted. I was outside for about 90 minutes and it did take about 2 hours for it to come back up to temp (wrapped in a towel and left in my shooting bag to avoid condensation), but then again so did I and I had the benefit of hot shower.
'Nuff talk, here's a quick edit of one of the first shots, and yes, those are a couple of stars hanging out above Mt. Herard
Here in Minnesota, we're supposed to get a couple negative days for the weather, possibly dipping in the -10 to -20(f) degrees. Was there any shutter lag at all? I know it's a D800 but for that beast to hold out that well in that kind of weather for that amount of time is quit impressive. My Nikon D90 begins to lag a bit on focus once it's out too long in that kind of weather.
beautiful work Todd, I have been out in those temps shooting before and it can be a real challenge. Very good work and i am amazed at the dynamic range represented here.
What did you pick for white balance? Make the sunlit peak white and let the shadows fall where they may?
Thanks Vox - in camera I shot the scene on auto WB and then in post did just as you surmised, setting WB on the peak. The scene really was about that blue - this was just before sunrise and so the snow was picking up all it's reflected light from the sky. I'll post a few pics taken later in the session as things warmed up a bit, though never all that much.
Boy, that is sure pretty cold. It looks like it was worth it though, a pretty sweet shot here.
Jim
Thanks Jim, it was a worthwhile outing even without a shot. Now that I'm back home I'll take a better look at what I got and try to post up a better one.
Here in Minnesota, we're supposed to get a couple negative days for the weather, possibly dipping in the -10 to -20(f) degrees. Was there any shutter lag at all? I know it's a D800 but for that beast to hold out that well in that kind of weather for that amount of time is quit impressive. My Nikon D90 begins to lag a bit on focus once it's out too long in that kind of weather.
No shutter lag at all. And I was surprised at how well the AF worked considering that it was focusing on white snow with little light. Remarkable camera.
jmcfadden wrote:
beautiful work Todd, I have been out in those temps shooting before and it can be a real challenge. Very good work and i am amazed at the dynamic range represented here.
Thanks John. The best part is that I left a lot of DR on the table. I am amazed at what this camera does.
SSISteve wrote:
You are a real trooper to get out there in that kind of cold. The image looks a little too blue for me. I would like to see it warmed up a little.
Thanks Steve. To be honest, the scene was that blue, perhaps even a bit more so as I warmed it up a touch in post. That said, I processed this on a laptop in a hotel in five minutes. I'll take a longer look at it in the next day or two and see if I can't come out with something better. BTW, it was that blue as this was still before sunrise and so all the light on that snow was from a barely lit sky.
That's a lovely shot Todd. Very nice. The GSDNP is a wonderful place; I stayed at the lodge just outside the park entrance and froze myself off waiting for star trails. -31F is simply unbelievable!
My Nikon D90 begins to lag a bit on focus once it's out too long in that kind of weather.