All sky-watchers are hoping that comet ISON is spectacular when it emerges from the solar glare. there is no guarantee on this, we just do not know. But it could be as pretty as comet Ikeya-Seki or comet McNaught, both of which became far brighter after perihelion passage.
An ohia tree silhouetted against the dawn in the SaddleIf this does happen the question is where to go to photograph the comet. A week ago I found that ISON was slightly behind the ridge from the Mauna Kea VIS. Not badly, but enough to delay when I could acquire the comet and start taking photos.
This recent Saturday I only went partway up the Mauna Kea access road, just high enough to be clear of the clouds and haze. There is a turnoff on the east side of the road just above the cattle guard at about 8,000 ft, one mile below Hale Pohaku. Plenty of room to park a vehicle or two and plenty of level ground to take photos from.
What to do when you get a check from selling some time-lapse footage? Go out and buy another camera, of course. Just a case of using hobby income to support the hobby. The curious coincidence of the check arrival and a very nice package deal at B&H Photo helped in the process.
Rasalhague mugging for the camera. Canon 6D and 50mm f/1.8 lensThe new camera is a Canon 6D, my first full-frame digital camera. I have been considering the purchase for quite a while, basically since the camera was first announced just over a year ago.
The real attraction to me is the low noise performance of the full frame sensor. This is critical when shooting in the dark for nightscapes and for astrophotography. The camera is currently one of the best on the market, beating out the more expensive Canon 5D MkII and MkIII’s. I am looking forward to what this camera can do when mounted to a telescope or paired with a fast lens in the dark.
One of the major problems in underwater photography is the loss of color as you descend. The water filters out the red end of the spectrum, creating the blue world all divers are familiar with.
Visually this is a problem, divers are unable to appreciate the beautiful colors of marine life without using an artificial light source. Most divers carry lights, even on daytime dives, for this reason. It can be quite dramatic to turn on a light and watch brilliant reds and yellows appear where there was little color without the light.
A blue manta photographed at 40ft depth
Photographically it is even more challenging, a strobe can light up nearby objects, revealing the colors. For more expansive scenes even the most powerful strobes fail, resulting in photographs heavy in greens and blue, with very little red. For some photos, the blue works, a “true” representation of what was seen. Often the blue does not work, the resulting photograph is an unattractive blue tinged with green, that no amount of fiddling in Photoshop will salvage.
One method in dealing with the loss of color balance is to simply take the loss further, convert the image to a black and white photograph. This is a technique you will see used in underwater photography quite often. By removing the distraction of color, the viewer is able to focus on the subject. The same reason so many modern photographers eschew color, even in an age when wonderful saturated colors are easily reproduced.
What can you do with a little camera? A camera that is rugged and waterproof? A camera that shoots video, stills and timelapse?
A GoPro set up with a window mount doing a timelapse of sunset as we cross the Pacific.That is the challenge of a GoPro.
It is a fun little camera. The video quality is decent as long as there is enough light. I have been using it for diving, I know that the case is good to well over 100 feet. The little camera is a good choice when the mantas show up to dance.
Why not take the camera fishing in Alaska?
For this trip I have set up to find out just what you can do with it. GoPro camera? Check. A variety of mounting methods? Check. My friend Mark has done some fun things with his GoPro lately, providing some inspiration and setting me a bit of a challenge. I may have taught Mark a few things about video editing to get him started, he has taken those lessons and run with them.
One of the intruging features is the WiFi back. This gives me remote control of the camera from my iPad. There is no viewfinder on the back of the camera, but with the WiFi setup my pad becomes the viewfinder allowing the camera setup to be checked.
The remote option also allows me to mount the camera on the boat somewhere and control it with the tablet. Hanging off the bow? On top of the mast? The little suction cup mount should stick to the boat just about anywhere. One of the provided adhesive mounts, designed for a helmet, looks to have just the right curve for the radar mast.
The front ring of the camera case has been replaced with an aluminum ring and a mounting point for a lanyard. A ten dollar EBay purchase that looked to be a wise idea. This should allow a strong safety tether and more freedom in placing the camera in otherwise risky locations. Need to buy some strong cord in Juneau.
What do I come up with? Anything worth watching? Stay tuned to DarkerView to find out…
Ever take a photo you think is going to be great, to have it ruined by too much color?
A spiny lobster (Panulirus marginatus) among orange cup coral (Tubastraea coccinea) at 20′ depth, PuakōI turned the color down in the image, then turned it down again. Even working from the raw data was of little use, the colors in this image are just too much. Not that it is a bad photo, just that given the elements of a pretty lobster and brilliant cup coral, I had expected it to be a great photo.
Some of the best underwater images I have are full of subtle colors and textures. While a splash of bright color can make a photo, too much bold color can take it too far. Another lesson in learning the art.
Beaches? Tropical gardens? The volcano? Yeah, BTDT, not what I came to Hawaiʻi for. Visiting Mauna Kea is at the top of the list for some folks who visit our island, a priority I can fully understand. Even better? Bring a camera to this spectacular mountain. After six years of working on Mauna Kea I still carry a camera and find new shots. Some of the most fascinating photographic opportunities occur after the Sun has set. For those who pursue shots in the dark, long exposure photography, the summit provides a setting that is worth the effort to shoot.
The Keck 1 Laser undergoing engineering tests, Subaru telescope in backgroundThe summit is open after dark, but not unconditionally, I need to stress some explanations concerning that. Officially the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan limits public recreational use to ½hour before dawn and ½hour after dark. This has not been strictly enforced any time in my experience on the mountain. There is no gate in use, you will see people drive up the summit road in the middle of the night.
So what are the real rules for summit access after dark?
It was another hike out to see the lava. Not that I really need an excuse to make this hike. This time it was to take a friend along. I have worked with Olivier for several years, between the two of us we do much of the physical maintenance on the Keck adaptive optics systems. Shortly he will be departing the island for another opportunity. Before he leaves he wanted to cross off one more item from his bucket list, seeing the lava close up.
The ocean entry at KupapaʻuUnlike last time we found the ocean entry was going strong, lava pouring into the sea very near where we saw nothing in December. There were multiple small entries spread along hundreds of yards of sea cliffs. On the west end of a shallow bay, we could get a decent look from promontories on the east end, upwind of the acrid plumes. Right below us was one particularly good font of lava, in reach of a modest telephoto lens.
It was still completely dark, the light of the full moon masked by the clouds. The waves were lit by the crimson glow, occasionally surging against the cliffs and hiding the lava from view. The glow also illuminated the billowing clouds of steam rising above each rivulet of lava. The scene is surreal, something that is both unexpected and somewhat difficult to believe. This is something that is outside our usual daily experience.
An active pāhoehoe breakout at KupapaʻuAfter spending some time at the ocean entry we searched inland for a breakout we could approach more closely. A slight glow to the north indicated a possible breakout, but I had no idea if it was close or miles away. With hope we headed for the glow and got lucky. It was only about a quarter mile to the breakouts. Several lobes of lava were advancing over the slightly older flows. Dropping our gear well back from the active lava cameras were deployed. This is what we came to see and photograph, lava as close as the heat would let us get.
Olivier hiking over the lava at KupapaʻuFor two hours we shot the breakouts. As usual, the flow would crust over, just to break out and advance again. The changing flow would provide ever different photo opportunities as the light of dawn slowly waxed. It was a cloudy day, small showers moving through, softening the dawn light and making the hot glow stand out all the more. The photos and video capture the scene, but do poor justice to the sound. The crackle of the cooling crust, raindrops hissing on the hot surface, low resounding cracks from deep in the rock under our feet.
With the day well begun we headed back to the ocean entry to shoot a few more frames in the early light. We sat on rock that was fairly warm under us, shooting the lava pouring into the waves. Relaxing a bit, digging a few bites to eat from the pack, we talked of cameras and lenses, of life on the island, a last bit of camaraderie with someone I might never meet again. We sat and just enjoyed this spectacle of raw nature. This was why we came, there is some risk in just being here, but the experience is worth it.
For your viewing pleasure, here are some of the best photos from Darker View assembled into a gallery. New Year is a time for reviewing the year past. I have enjoyed the last year, with the photos to prove it. I hope that 2013 brings you the chance to collect your own gallery of photos and memories.
Karen, Darcy, myself and Deb horseback riding in Waipio Valley
Apple bananas in our patch ready for harvest
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
A pāhoehoe breakout near Kupapa’u
A Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) leaps from the water near Seymour Narrows, British Columbia
Tools and parts ready for use in the workshop at Lagoon Cove, British Columbia
A fishing boat offloads fish at the packing plant in Petersburg, Alaska
A black bear (Ursus americanus) fishing at the Anan Wildlife Observatory
A workshop at Lagoon Cove, British Columbia
Visitors observe through the 40″ Nickel Telescope at Lick Observatory
Stars above the 40″ Nickel Telescope at Lick Observatory
The 36″ refractor at Lick Observatory
The roller coaster and rides along the boardwalk at Santa Cruz
The 16″ guns of the Battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor
A Snowflake Moray (Echidna nebulosa) in the reef at Three Tables, Oahu
A green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) rests on the stern of the YO-257
A female sea urchin crab (Echinoecus pentagonus) in the anal cavity of a large banded urchin (Echinothrix calamaris)
An Arceye Hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus) hides from the photographer deep in a coral head
Diver Mark Devenot cruising the reef at Hoover’s Towers north of Honokohau
Hawaiian Toby (Canthigaster jactator) under a coral head at O’oma
Keferstein’s Sea Cucumber (Polyplectana kefersteini) at 30ft, Puakō
Yellow-spotted Guard Crab (Trapezia flavopunctata) at O’oma
Fourspot Butterflyfish (Chaetodon quadrimaculatus) under a coral head at O’oma
Flowery Flounder (Bothus mancus) on the reef at O’oma
A pair of White-margin Nudibranch (Glossodoris rufomarginata), 25ft depth at O’oma
Blackside Hawkfish (Paracirrhites forsteri) at O’oma
Gold Lace Nudibranch (Halgerda terramtuentis) in a small cave at 25′ depth, Puakō
White-margin Nudibranch (Glossodoris rufomarginata) grazing on colorful sponges, 25ft depth at O’oma
You never know what terrifying monsters of the deep lurk in these caves… Oh.. Hello dear.
The Keck crew lowering OSIRIS into Keck 1 AO
The team moving a mirror segment from the telescope to the coating facility
Three AO lasers aimed at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, the lasers are from both Keck 1 and Keck 2 as well as the Subaru telescope
George Wall snowing the Keck 1 Primary Mirror
Hard hats ready for use just outside the Keck 1 dome
A set of tools ready for use on the Keck 1 nasmyth deck
Both the Keck 1 and Keck 2 lasers in operation under a nearly full Moon
It took 3 hours to fly to Juneau, it took 18 days to get back.
The video is done. Shot with a Canon 60D, a Canon G11 and an iPad, the video documents the voyage from Juneau to Anacortes I took last month. Bears, whales, dolphins, and a whole lot of water. It was a great trip, I can only hope I convey a little of the experience in the video.
Compressing 1,800+ photos and dozens of video clips to three minutes is an interesting exercise. This is compounded by the thousands of timelapse exposures that needed to be assembled. It went surprisingly quickly this time, a mere three evenings of work. (As long as you classify evening as getting to bed before 2am.) Either I am getting better with the tools, or I just got lucky when it came to fitting the thing together.
I have produced several videos about these voyages by boat through the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. How do you keep each video from looking just like the last? This time I changed it up stylistically, opting for a much more driving soundtrack coupled with the frenetic pace of timelapse.
The G11 clamped to a piece of construction gear to shoot a time lapse of sunrise atop Mauna KeaA few projects have been completed, but more are in work. I continue to accumulate material for new video projects.
Sometimes I specifically plan to shoot a scene. Other times I simply take advantage of what opportunities present as go about the usual business of life. Driving home the light and clouds catch my attention. I stop along the road, setting up the camera and shooting 20 minutes of time lapse. This will become ten seconds of video, clouds sweeping past the summit of Mauna Kea in late afternoon light.
I have located several more pieces of music appropriate for soundtracks. It is the music I start with, building the video around the soundtrack. With music in hand I can plan, visualizing the finished video, deciding what further scenes I need to go out and shoot.
