Blue Bell Falls

Title

Blue Bell Falls

Artist

Mike Berenson

Medium

Photograph

Description

There's nothing like the magical combination of waterfalls and wildflowers especially when they're bathed in a gentle moonlight under Milky Way skies. Seeing all those elements come together on this night hike into the Indian Peaks was one of the highlights of the summer.

This image came from an exceptionally beautiful area on the uphill side of Lake Isabelle. The Saint Vrain River is really pretty with several cascades and a couple waterfalls and in mid-August, wildflowers can still put on a commanding show. They're especially thick in that area.

How I Got The Shot
There's a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time. You'll notice that the foreground is all well illuminated all the way up the mountain to the Milky Way and I couldn't have done this without the help of some gentle moonlight. Admittedly I would have liked an even thinner moon but when you consider all the factors it gets pretty daunting. Between the wildflower timing, the weather, and the timing of the moon, it takes some dedication (i.e. repetition) and a little luck to get it all to come together. In the end my biggest challenge was a little bit of breeze - which made the long exposures with dancing wildflowers tough in some places.

With two exposures of the same settings, I just focused once on the flowers and again on the stars. Then I blended the two together in Photoshop to get the results you see here.

Photo Gear
• Camera Body - Nikon D800 Digital SLR Camera
• Camera Lens - Bower 14mm f/2.8 Ultra Wide-Angle Lens with Focus Confirm Chip for Nikon
• Tripod Head - Acratech GV2 Ball Head / Gimbal Head with Lever Clamp & Acratech Large Leveling Base
• Tripod Legs - FEISOL Elite CT-3472 Rapid Tripod Legs
• L Bracket - Kirk BL-D800 L-Bracket for Nikon D800, D800E and D810

Exposure Settings - 2 Focus Stacked Exposures
• ISO:3200
• Aperture: f/2.8
• Shutter Speed: 30 seconds

Uploaded

April 18th, 2016

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