Chapter 3 - Using bulb mode for long exposures

[ganagr1]

This photo was taken at 10:30pm far out into the Wisconsin countryside of an abandoned farmhouse (circa early 1900's).  It was a cold evening with a brilliant, full moon.  I wanted to take advantage of the moonlight to be able to see what I was doing in the dark regarding camera settings, manual focusing, etc. (and yes, to be forewarned of any coyotes and any other curious critters of the night that I might attract).

Using the bulb mode, and with a tripod of course, I took a series of photos---this one with an exposure of 45-50 sec./ASA 400/f11 with a Sony a850 coupled w/a Zeiss 24-70 (2.8)lens.

If you look above the farmhouse, near the upper middle edge of the photo, you can see the constellation Orion.  I was unaware that I had captured it as part of the image until I loaded the picture onto my computer back at home........Okay, I admit that I packed up rather hastily in the dark and ran to the safety of my car---I could have sworn that I heard the patter of coyote paws rustling in the brush behind me.....

[goldcoastgolfer]

Looks pretty good - especially if you were trying to avoid coyotes.  I think you've done a brilliant job of catching the stars in the sky.