Psychedelic Karoo Dreams

[Morkel Erasmus]

This surely won't be everyone's cup of tea, but here goes...:bg3:

I was photographing this dry shrub under the Milky Way in the Karoo desert of South Africa earlier this year. After getting the standard "static" starscape I normally attempt, I started playing around a bit with in-camera techniques.


For this photo, I started at 14mm focal length, performed light painting to get the bush sharp and lit up, and merely zoomed the lens in to 24mm gradually during the last 10 seconds of the 30 second exposure. You need to be very steady and gradual in this process.

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8
f2.8 | 30 seconds | ISO-3200

[Diane Miller]

Very clever! Your own private meteor shower! Like it!

[Don Railton]

Hmmm, nice to play Morkel.. Maybe the trekkie in you is looking for a jump to light speed?

Don

[Don Lacy]

Cool image.

[Andrew McLachlan]

This is cool Morkel...I love it and will need to try this out for myself :)

[Gabriela Plesea]

My cuppa tea, Morkel!

This moves me. Very dramatic and I love your playfulness, as well as the psychedelic mood here.

This is a bit like a painter's work, and original too. Love those naked branches thrusting up from the ground, like arms ready to hit out - they portray a kind of contained energy.

Wonderful capture, really enjoyed this Morkel, TFS:)

Warmest regards,

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - Nice job on the light painting and I like the experiment. Will confuse many who think it is star trails but won't understand why they aren't circular.

TFS,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks folks :5